Okay, just something to get this blog started ... this has to be my number one pet peeve ... littering, either on personal, public or the private property of others, and shows a complete and utter disrespect for others, their property, the environment and for ones self. How someone can be that thoughtless is beyond my comprehension, perhaps of my respect for our environment, others and myself. And no I don't mean the humorous intent of the Alice's Restaurant cliche litterer ... I mean the compulsive and repeat offenders.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I see it happen all the time, most times being an off hand gesture or act .. often without even so much as a passing thought. I would not even begin to guess the quantity in tons, tens or even hundreds of tons of litter disposed of in this fashion. And what is truly amazing, these aren't the worst offenses !! No, I would call the planned and deliberate act far more offensive ... those who drive down a back country road and toss old tires across a barbed wire fence, or dump all old inedible foods they'd just cleaned out of the freezer over the bridge railing into the creek bed below, or just tossing empty beer cans and bottles out the window along the shoulder of the road, or dumping their dead goat carcass in the corner of a field ... just because they are too damn lazy to bother digging a hole in their own yard.
But, you ask, "who really cares?" or perhaps "what's the harm ? ... doesn't this give all those volunteer litter pickup crews their 2 mile stretch of road to adopt and something to do ... ?" Well, I have to say this is just as bad a mentality as the litterers. Not all the miles of roads, not all the bridges, creek beds and corners of fields are adopted, so some one who hasn't 'volunteered' has to pick up the trash. Now if you have animals, be they domesticated pets or livestock ... they will find this foul smelling refuse, eat it, roll in it and bring it home to show you ... and possibly contract some sickness or disease.
So how do we stop them ? Well, I'd say shoot 'em ... but ... for what ? littering ? Well, there is the debate. Fines aren't severe enough, education is ineffective... retaliation, while it may provide only momentary relief and, being they are thoughtless individuals, would be clueless as to why you just dumped a bag of smelly trash on their front yard. I won't wade any deeper into this right now, I have to go pickup discarded cans, bottles, papers and fast food bags along my country road ... I cleaned out the creek bed yesterday ... in the drizzle.
