No, not those who participated in the Twin Cities Fringe Festival. Although I tip my hat and offer my congratulations; I hear it was a successful year!
I'm applying the term fringers to those people who choose to hold extreme views, in either direction, effectively arresting any use of rational thought. Initially I'm amused by these people. They appear 'crazy' and I laugh at their antics. But upon further examination of my reaction, I have to wonder if my laughter and quickness to pass them off as crazy isn't more out of fear than amusement.
Now, I feel on fairly safe ground implying the overall craziness of their thoughts and actions. However, there seems to be a growing number of these fringers. It seems the more uninformed people are the more likely they are to become fringers.
We can find one of the most recent examples of fringers in the healthcare reform debate. It's truly frightening to see these people screaming out ridiculous accusations and untruths about the proposals and intentions. One of my personal favorites is when people on Medicare scream, "I don't want the government running my healthcare!" Reader, I hope I don't have to explain this one.
Healthcare reform will, hopefully, bring a dramatic change to our country, which generally elicits fear in people. So I can empathize with their strong reaction, sort of. But I can't empathize with either making up "facts" to support your fear or choosing not to listen to the true intent of the proposals. If you truly are frightened about what is to come, why not get the facts and learn about what is happening?
The other most recent example of fringers is much more disturbing, much more shocking, and much more difficult to empathize with. The Birthers. Do you know what these people are about, reader? There really aren't words available to describe the fatuousness of their stance. These are the folks that do not believe, for whatever reason, that President Obama was born in the United States. Even though his birth certificate has been shared and his place of birth had been corroborated with countless sources - doctors, nurses, hospital staff, the announcement in the newspaper even! These people still refuse to believe it.
A recent poll conducted by Research 2000 found that a majority of Republicans either believe that the President was born outside of the United State (28%) or they just don't know (30%). Now, as I said earlier, there are fringers on both sides. In 2007, 60% of Democrats that were polled believed that George W. Bush may have been tipped off about 9/11 and did nothing to prevent it. Come one people, you may not agree with someone's policies, but...
The examples could go on and on, I'm sure, but it just gets too disturbing. I guess my intent, reader, is to ask that you be aware and informed of the events in your world. Use more than one source when collecting information. I'm not sure an unbiased media exists; I'm not saying that's bad, just that you need to be aware of it and use more than one source. You have to create your own balance. Please be aware that there is a difference between an anchor and a commentator, a contributor and an analyst, Sean Hannity and Tom Brokaw. Some of these people are bound to dispense the truth, some of these people wouldn't know the truth if it hit them square in the eyes - be aware.
The next time you witness a fringer, reader, I would ask that you point out the irrational nature of his or her thoughts and move along, quickly. Don't feed into their energy by meeting them with their level of heightened emotions by getting into a heated debate - even though you are mostly likely correct, they won't back down and you will only get frustrated. So, just state the facts and be on your way with a smile.
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