Opinion: An Alabama man popped the Baby Trump balloon and that sums up this state
More than just Alabama, this is true for the majority of deep red states
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There is a reason we don’t have nice things in Alabama.
Hoyt Hutchinson.
Well, it would probably be more accurate to say that they people like Hoyt Hutchinson and the group of rednecks who are sending him money are why we don’t have nice things.
In case you’re unfamiliar, Hoyt is the name of the guy who slashed the Baby Trump balloon on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. I’m certain if you did not know the name of the man who was so overcome by “hickness” and ignorance that he would accept jail time to pop a balloon, it probably would not take you long to guess “Hoyt.”
But I digress.
In the immediate aftermath of Hoyt’s felony vandalism, a number of GoFundMe accounts were established, including at least one by Hoyt. As of Sunday evening, they had taken in more than $20,000 in donations.
Now, Hoyt will never see a dime of that money, a representative of GoFundMe assured me, because all of it is a massive violation of the website’s terms. And let’s be real, take away the particulars and just say that people were donating to a felon because they liked his felony, and we all know that no decent business in the world would be a party to that.
But this whole pathetic ordeal — the vandalism, the cheering of vandalism, the financial support of vandalism all because that vandalism is in support of your political “side” — is the sort of nonsense that has left Alabama in its current shape.
And for the record, that shape is: 50th in education, bottom 10 in health care, infant mortality, financial stability, upward mobility, poverty and food security.
Because our people cheer for the team, instead of the individual.
Unfortunately, life in this country is an individual sport. That’s how our government was set up — so that a bunch of people voting for their self interests would win the fight. Our founders simply didn’t anticipate a situation in which a bunch of poor people would vote to make sure the rich guy got a better deal.
Go figure. n case you’re unfamiliar, Hoyt is the name of the guy who slashed the Baby Trump balloon on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. I’m certain if you did not know the name of the man who was so overcome by “hickness” and ignorance that he would accept jail time to pop a balloon, it probably would not take you long to guess “Hoyt.”
But I digress.
In the immediate aftermath of Hoyt’s felony vandalism, a number of GoFundMe accounts were established, including at least one by Hoyt. As of Sunday evening, they had taken in more than $20,000 in donations.
Now, Hoyt will never see a dime of that money, a representative of GoFundMe assured me, because all of it is a massive violation of the website’s terms. And let’s be real, take away the particulars and just say that people were donating to a felon because they liked his felony, and we all know that no decent business in the world would be a party to that.
But this whole pathetic ordeal — the vandalism, the cheering of vandalism, the financial support of vandalism all because that vandalism is in support of your political “side” — is the sort of nonsense that has left Alabama in its current shape.
And for the record, that shape is: 50th in education, bottom 10 in health care, infant mortality, financial stability, upward mobility, poverty and food security.
Because our people cheer for the team, instead of the individual.
Unfortunately, life in this country is an individual sport. That’s how our government was set up — so that a bunch of people voting for their self interests would win the fight. Our founders simply didn’t anticipate a situation in which a bunch of poor people would vote to make sure the rich guy got a better deal.
Go figure.
Read the rest at https://www.alreporter.com/2019/11/11/opinion-an-alabama-man-popped-the-baby-trump-balloon-and-that-sums-up-this-state/
