Sunday, June 20, 2010

Look at This Crazy Old Coot in Rural Missouri.

Today’s Kansas City Star reports on the odd saga of one David Jungerman, who owns a farm along U.S. 71 in Bates County, Missouri (about an hour south of Kansas City). The 72-year-old seems very proficient in finding the headlines, and I’ll spare you all of his rather entertaining back story (link to the full story at bottom). The Latest: It seems Jungerman has seen fit to paint and display a tractor-trailer along the heavily traveled highway with the following message: “Are you a Producer or Parasite; Democrats - Party of Parasites.”

Vandals have twice tried to burn down the trailer (which sits on Jungerman’s property), as well as setting fire to an empty farmhouse on the property. Jungerman claims that he’s not even much of a staunch republican, occasionally voting for dems such as Claire McCaskill. He says his message is not aimed at the local “Harry Truman” (more conservative) democrats, but rather dems nationwide.

Now, do I agree with Jungerman’s over-the-top message that lumps together all dems everywhere in one huge swath? Not at all. Frankly, it’s the kind of superficial, sound-bitish, rather mindless type of rhetoric which dems and repubs use all the time and which serves very little constructive purpose. And for the record, I have little doubt that there are plenty of "parasitic" type people to go around in both of our illustrious national political parties.

But that said, Jungerman has every right to express his message and to plaster it on his property. If you don’t like it, then get your own damn trailer and stick your own message on it. Or, you can just be a slimeball like the people who have attacked Jungerman’s property with criminal acts of felony arson. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/19/2029960/missouri-mans-incendiary-sign.html