Dear ED,
I was not surprised to find far too overmuch of the usual high apathy around the TSU voters’ precinct yesterday election US day, as I leafleted “outside” for Democrat candidates. Neither the losing-in-the-nineteenth century electoral college relic process, my top presy candidate, Hillary, nor Donald, were inspiring alike older, weren’t they, types. To anyone young in heart and possess of any of one’s sense of decent self-rationality with their insult-laden three debates — from which fine policy visionary candidate rivals like Left Green Stein and Righist Libertarian, Johnson, were excluded, calculatingly so!
What was, though, noxious was the disinterest by both you local students, and we male-bullied lordly landlord oppressed residents, in LOCAL contest combatants. And the resultant upsetting defeat of sole Democrat Commissioner, Carlson Adams, by a mere few votes. Really by the way, GOP mindless, the same realtors hit all the muck could throw at him, mercilessly! In spite or perhaps rawly due his trenchant opposition to Ameren power company of Illinois HQ’s regional monopoly’s price and pipeline ravage over questionably all of us — you students as much as we regular livables.
Especially, as they are personally know-alls and voters about all this folly, one would have 2016, not 1816!, hoped TSU administrators and faculty, staff, or residence hall runners would go out of their way. To get you to vote and inform you about such life-destructive energy-pollutant real issues in one of Missouri’s poorest counties, Adair. Herein where you, too, habituate! But, no, try and leaflet or “canvass” inside these TSU halls in what is supposed to be a TSU open public campus, and you, deterringly, face two evils, both wholly illiberally, for acting “without permission!”
One, it will be denied on dubious grounds of “canvassing,” “harassment” peddling! Two, if you over-browely STILL thus illegally go ahead! You will face real arrest and prosecution, discourtesesouly of TSU’s needless mainly-male and non-college degreed firecesomely entitled “DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY!”
Until, in short, a new TSU President does something to hence forward stop this institutional deterrence to the practice of “little” local, but big issue, democracy know-how dissemination, I, 2017, sadly foresee solely continued TSU local council and even real accountable KPD estrangement, and Adams good candidate types therefore unwonted crushing by a tiny majority. And if anyone thinks, readers, this is all acceptable, under codes of apathy being healthy “liberty” or the so-called right NOT to vote, not opinionate, safety-first, and bourgeois so on crap, think a little more!
If you are gay or het or any other consenting sexually a lover, would you permit, or your lover, hall of residence exclusion 1950’s and before bad style? Of course most definite civil libertarian young ADULT style, “NO WAY!” Would, too, the late Tom Hayden, whose just passed into Jane Fonda awaiting Nirvanna arrival heaven, have in his gruff protestor and awkward state local California democracy senator elected manner have indeed even begun — too, to wonder? Why this town and campus are so dead, so inertly inhibited, passionless and rural off-puttingly, when TSU in a novel century denied, malpractice denial, permits such apathy to be ignorantly persistent?!?
— Larry Iles