Tompkins County – Page 27 – Rural Tompkins County

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “The names have been changed” Bumper sticker

“The names have been changed to pass for individuality.”

If you were to search for any common name for anything on the internet; you would probably find it was being used to brand a company. [Just as businesses used to put “AAA” before their name to be placed first in the Yellow Pages listings.] Many parents however; seek to change up the common name commonality by changing the spelling of their child’s name – I admit that “Brandiiiiiii” has a certain uniqueness; but that is no guarantee of individuality.

In marketing a “NEW” product – today’s entrepreneurs have embraced the idea that by changing the spelling of a product; they may convince an increasingly conforming public that they are being unconventional [if not actually individual.]

Let’s take “beer” for a makeover: Lyte beer, LiiiT beer, Lytisha beer, Lyyte beer; or maybe Beeyr, Beyre, or Beeeeerrrrr [a “growler”]

I’ve had commonly labeled “beers” that are more than just individual – they’re unforgettable . . . terrible. Is individuality good? Does the protruding nail get hammered? [Is that another beeyr drinking reference?]

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “There’s more to policy than meets the law” Bumper sticker

“Al“There’s more to policy than meets the law” Bumper sticker

Tompkins County’s policies are legal: sort of — the sort of legality that lets people get away with things – the “fine print,” the meeting the “minimum” requirements, the deceptive phraseology, the shameless assertion, the credentialed cronyism, the “in-house” decision making, the agenda-filled survey, the “loophole,” the gerrymander — it’s actions without ethics; it’s law without legitimacy – but it’s all swept under the rug.

In a college county with a four-year memory: a couple of graduations and a friendly newspaper is all it takes.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Tompkins County Legislators” Bumper sticker

Government guidelines are simple in Tompkins County: “Shut up, pay your taxes, and do what you’re told.” — and there’s nothing you can do to change any of it. Even if you talk; they never listen – they know that you have no power; no one can “upset their applecart.” The tax breaks all go the big corporations that run the county. And new laws and regulations are constantly being passed to repress the rural community and drive out the ones who haven’t already been forced out by high taxes. You can still hunt deer to help feed you family: but you can’t hunt up the cash they demand to support their luxury school system. Tax assessors are the only County outreach most rural people ever see.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Couplets” Road Signs

“Old School – New School – Gat Tattoo School” Losing control on the learning curve.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Don’t Wake Me” Road Signs

It’s bad enough to be a piece on the board in a political game; but with a dictatorship – it’s game over. In Tompkins County; the people have no human worth — they’re just a material that’s used to cast the “selfie-statues” of the elite — a humanity that their impaired “vision” can’t see.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Reasonable Rhymes” Road Signs

Peel back the skin of today’s cosmetic world; and all the problems are still there. They go too deep to build a world of electric cars and ecological shoes on. People are selling their products, they’re selling their policies, their selling their image – but they aren’t selling the dirty job of responsible living and thankless effort that makes you an adult — it’s up to you.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Victim’s Rhyme” Road Signs

People are tired of being victims of the overflow from our societal cesspits. If it’s so hard to live without victimizing other people – how can so many people manage to do it?

Our prison policy is like rehabilitating an alcoholic by locking them in a bar with other alcoholics; who force liquor down their throat. Forcing criminals to adapt to a criminal society and then compassionately releasing them back into the community is the sort of ill-logic that breeds in our hot-house bureaucracy. Isn’t it time to open the doors and let the reality in?

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “COVID Voicemail Menu” Bumper sticker

Oh well . . . There’s no vaccine for COVID Crazy.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “The role of the victim” Bumper sticker

Just as the bereaved are sometimes put in the position of comforting those who are uncomfortable talking to them – victims can be put in the position of justifying their own “victimology” – even if they’re already deceased.

But then; they play such a small part in the Criminal Justice System – do they really need to?

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Tompkins County is so stratified” Bumper sticker

“Tompkins County is so stratified: You can’t just kneel – You have to grovel.” It’s not just that the County’s policy-making elite think so much of themselves; it’s that they think so little of everyone else. Their pretensions can be laughed at – but their pronouncements must be feared. A fool with a gun; has a gun.