Public Service Announcement: Be Human

Hi there folks. This is a departure from the usual post on this blog but something is bothering me. This last Friday night was the first concert in the park here in Paso Robles. We attended and had a great time. I don’t think there was any event Saturday or Sunday in the downtown park but I could be mistaken. This morning (Monday morning) I took my son to the downtown park to walk around and play.

Here’s what I found.

Trust me when I tell you there was so much more than what these few photos show. So why I am posting this? Because it pisses me off. Do you litter at your house? Do you litter at your mom’s house or a friend’s house? My initial reaction is to blame this on kids (12 to 22 years old) and rednecks. I realize that is a generalization and I understand littering is not confined to just those demographics. I also understand that most people do not behave this way.

I love this city. Many of you know that if you have followed along with this blog for any amount of time. Paso is the only place I have truly considered home in my 37 years on this planet. This does not just go for Paso Robles though. We have got to start acting like human beings that live in a community with other human beings.

You cannot treat other people’s property or community property such as our downtown park as your trash can. Feel free to treat your home this way…and your car, but nothing else. Grow up. Pick up your damn trash and stop tagging on the walls and sidewalks. It disgusts me that people can be so ignorant, stupid, and actually lack this much respect for others.

Oh no worries, the city employees will clean it up…right? No. It’s not their job. Have some respect for your community. Have respect for the other people that live in this community. Have some respect for yourself. There are tons of trash cans and recycling bins throughout the park…use them. They are there for your convenience.

I should be able to walk my son through the park without finding trash every 5 or 10 feet and without seeing words like ‘fucking, hoe, dick, or pussy’ written on the sidewalk by the playground. There are two ways this will be fixed in Paso Robles and anywhere else where they may be upset enough to stand up and do something about it.

1)      Call people out when they don’t pick up their trash or if you see them tagging. Call the authorities as well. If they don’t pick it up then let’s take one for the team and pick it up ourselves.

2)      This is to the lazy ass parents…raise your kids right. I’m telling you right now, if I ever saw Sammy somewhere littering, tagging or otherwise acting a fool I’d beat his ass in public (strong language yes, he would be punished in some fashion likely not resulting in ‘beating his ass’ but some other serious way of getting him to understand).

That’s all I’ve got on this one. We have got to stand up against the 5% or 15% (or whatever it is) of the population that is slowly destroying civilized society. If you love your city do something. I’m thinking about taking a garbage bag and a pair of gloves to the park when I go so I can pick up trash while I spend time with my kid. At least he’ll see that as an example rather than the dumbass that thinks he owns the world or think s it’s “badass” to treating things like crap.

A side note: The photo in the slideshow of the rules in the park…I go to the park at least twice a week and I see almost every rule on that list broke every single time I go there. No dogs in the park, not only do I see dogs in the park I see dogs off their leashes in the park. It also says no bikes, I see bikes every single time.

If the rules are unfair than go to the city and fight them. Until that point, obey the damn rules.