ramble...

This post was originally going to be about how I wish I had a waterproof journal because I seem to get flooded with awesome realizations while I'm in the shower...but can't write 'em down! It causes some anxiety...having all these awesome thoughts flying around with nowhere to go. I get scared that they'll disappear forever if I don't get them out.

But, then I saw this article pop up in my Twitter feed:

US Border Patrol union rep: It's okay to shoot Mexican kids who throw stones

Uh...what?!

So, I read the story...which is about the NPR piece, Border Agent Shoots, Kills Mexican Boy At Bridge. The story features Drew Carey's tweeted opinions on the piece. Ok...

Boing Boing, your headline is misleading: the NPR piece doesn't feature any quotes from a Border Patrol union rep saying that It's okay to shoot Mexican kids who throw stones. Here's some context from it:

"T.J. Bonner, president of the union representing Border Patrol agents, said rock-throwing incidents against Border Patrol agents are common and capable of causing serious injury.

"It is a deadly force encounter," Bonner said. "One that justifies the use of deadly force."

Boing Boing's headline makes it sound like Bonner said it was okay to shoot children. But his quote doesn't seem to refer to any specific group of people other than rock-throwers. This feels like a Daily Show moment, and if I weren't tired, I might have jumped into a diatribe about the state of journalism. Maybe another time.

Before I retire for the night, another thing struck me while I was reading the NPR quote....

Really? Rock-throwing is dangerous enough to warrant the use of gunshots as a return attack? Cowboys & Indians! Israel & Palestine?