OpinionSeptember 25, 2007
Speak Out 9/25/07
Tasering issues; Secondhand smoke; Teacher participation; Center lane; Not a stereotype; No public smoking; Receipt suggestions; Patient driver
Tasering issues
I BELIEVE law officers should have the use of Taser guns, but many use them at the wrong time. We are told that we should pull over and stay in our cars, but if you don't know that it's truly an officer, we should drive to a well-lighted area. The problem then becomes that most officers lose their cool. In today's world I don't trust any officer I don't know. It is a shame that we have gotten to this point. I am not saying all officers are that way. I just don't trust them like I used to. I don't think Taser guns should be used by campus officers or security officers unless they have been through anger-management classes and taught when to use -- and when to stop using -- a Taser gun.
Secondhand smoke
TO THE person who wanted credible evidence that secondhand smoking is bad: Visit the American Lung Association Web site. In short, "Secondhand smoke has been classified by the EPA as a known cause of cancer in humans."
Teacher participation
I AM a mother of two children in Jackson schools. I view the online Parentlink daily. Today is the last day of the six-week grading period. What's the point of having Parentlink if the teachers are not going to keep it updated? Both of my children have at least one or two classes that have yet to have anything posted for that class since school started. I have e-mailed teachers and received promise to have information posted by the end of the week. That was three weeks ago and still nothing. Parentlink is useless if the teachers are not doing their part.
Center lane
I HAVE read numerous items in Speak Out about center lanes in Jackson being used to merge into traffic. I see this done all the time along Kingshighway and on U.S. 61 from Cape Girardeau to Jackson. It has created a lot of near-miss incidents from what I can see. I have nearly been hit head on by drivers trying to drive down the center turn lane (for whatever purpose) and also been nearly hit in the side by drivers trying to get up speed to merge into the fast lane. To the person who plans to do that, even if it's against the law, because it was convenient: Anarchy does not reign, I hope you get a ticket before you kill yourself or someone else due to your selfishness.
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Not a stereotype
I FIND this sad. We are complaining about smokers and the effect on children, when only mere days ago 12,000 kids were sent home from school because of a hoax bomb threat in New Jersey. I find the bomb threat more important than the fact that someone puffed on a cigarette. Smoking is an addiction. Nonsmokers cannot understand this for some reason. I am a smoker, but I respect myself enough that I am trying to quit, I respect nonsmokers enough to not smoke in public places where you're breathing the same air. So don't lump me into the stereotypical smoker who throws butts in your yard or smokes in front of your children, because I make every effort to respect anyone I see. If the world could do that as a whole, things would be peachy, but I can see that it most certainly does not by reading Speak Out. Knock it off with the discrimination, stereotypes and acting like you yourself have no flaws.
No public smoking
I WISH Missouri would ban all smoking in public places. Smokers have cost many businesses to put in special ventilation which took from wages and profits. Individuals who want to smoke should only be allowed by law to do so in their car or house.
Receipt suggestions
IF YOU don't want a big receipt, throw it away. If you need the receipt but not the bulk, rip off the part you need off and throw away the rest. If your purchase is taking up the whole receipt, that means you bought a lot.
Patient driver
IN RESPONSE to the comment "Safer to merge" in which a driver said he would rather break the law by using the center lane to merge into traffic and receive a ticket than follow the law and cross the turn lane in Jackson: I believe the driver has mistaken the reason for the turn lane. It is there to avoid slowing traffic when making a left turn. If any questions need to be answered about any driving law, drivers should obtain a copy of the book given to student drivers. The laws regarding the turn lane exist to keep drivers safe by avoiding accidents. If our patience has degraded to the point of using the turn lane as a merge lane, endangering fellow members of our community, then we need to re-evaluate ourselves. Patience.
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