Is it time to purchase a shotgun and refill on Spam?

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Is it time to purchase a shotgun and refill on Spam?


I obtained a message on my Nextdoor app inquiring about the opportunity of post-election violence in Baton Rouge. “Does anybody know if there are security precautions in place in case of a riot after the election?” the author requested. “I do not anticipate a riot, however I preserve listening to issues that ‘could’ occur.”

The author’s put up indicated she (or he) lived within the Riverbend neighborhood, an prosperous suburb situated close to LSU within the Mississippi River floodplain. I can not picture election-triggered violence in Riverbend’s quiet, leafy streets, and I initially thought the messenger meant to be humorous.

I used to be tempted to reply that the author ought to drive to Academy Sporting Items at once and buy a home-defense shotgun and 200 rounds of buckshot. Then, I’d proceed, she ought to make her technique to Costco and purchase a case of Spam, a hearth extinguisher, and a minimum of 4 bottles of Makers Mark whisky—sufficient alcohol to make it via a few weeks of arson and rioting.

On reflection, nevertheless, I concluded that the messager was critical; she actually wished to know if municipal authorities had been taking precautions in case Baton Rouge is engulfed by post-election rage.

So, right here is my critical response. Baton Rouge has skilled some tense instances lately with exceptional calm and civic dignity. The George Floyd killing sparked large-scale riots in a number of American cities, however not in Baton Rouge. The town’s mayor and police chief responded calmly and sympathetically to race-charged occasions, and nobody rioted.

Baton Rouge residents have authentic issues to fret about. The skyrocketing value of property insurance coverage could quickly drive individuals on mounted incomes out of their houses—significantly in flood-prone neighborhoods. Coastal erosion and environmental hazards are ongoing issues that Louisianians can not seem to remedy, and our instructional system has flaws everybody acknowledges.

Nevertheless, Baton Rouge residents is not going to riot as a result of consequence of the presidential election. In spite of everything, it is a metropolis of respectable individuals with correct regard for legislation and order, for which we must always all be grateful.

Not in Baton Rouge