Bullies and bullying from the Saturday summit on the bully pulpit.

Scott Knight's sell by date is quickly approaching and  has come and gone and for many to paraphrase Groucho Marx, there's  been  joy unconfined. dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor but while were waiting for the all the nattering nabobs of the world , who much like a dog licking it's own balls write contradictory press releases like this one, https://thevitalsapp.com/vitals/chaska-police-department-launches-vitals-aware-services in an effort  reassure themselves that they're not as grossly incompetent as the rest of the world says they are, to proffer up their long overdue resignations, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the topic of bullying

     So what is a bully, anyways?

bully

[boo l-ee]

noun, plural bullies

1. a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.
2. Archaic. a man hired to do violence.
3. Obsolete. a pimp; procurer.
4. Obsolete. good friend; good fellow.
5. Obsolete. sweetheart; darling.

Definitions vary  Commissioner Maluchnik uses it one way, as does this anonymous correspondence  (above) another and although I'm sure they couldn't spell the word, Mayors Mike Webb of Carver and Jim Sanborn of Waconia probably have their own special way of defining it (perhaps by looking in the mirror in the morning)

The applicability of these many definitions to examples in real-life also is variable. Individuals such as Martin Luther, William Lloyd Garrison, Ayn Rand have spent decades a. Speaking truth to power (a) and/ or (b) spewing  uninhibited  vitriol at what during their time were deemed as orthodox  pillars of our society.
Was Martin Luther a buffoon or a bully?  Is Ayn Rand to be considered as an individual  in love with their vocabulary or a muckraking ray of sunshine? Would William Lloyd Garrison be accused of "cyber-bullying" today, if his columns on behalf of the anti-slavery movement appeared on-line and not on newsprint
We all cross lines some times all cross the lines. However At the same time, this notion of me being a bully is odd, and perhaps is reminiscent of a larger issue that those with power don't like being told the truth about themselves. The powers that be don't know what to do with me, I can't be categorized or shoved into a box  and I like it that way but their lack of ability to frame me a subhuman degenerate, unworthy of life time or attention bothers them.  Defying their pre-set labels bothers them.  They can't tell me what to do  they can't typecast me Furthermore, in the absence of any willingness to conform and shove their faux  pas under the rug  the usual policing lever of tackling of dragging me out  back in the woods and beating me has proven to be less then effective
So what exactly am I ?  Politician? advocate? Drunkard? Vocabulary deviant ? provocateur? Polemicist?
How about Citizen? Because some of us believe it or not still have principles. I show up to these public meetings  even though it's a gigantic waste of time and completely  pointless for me to be there and I reprimand so called newspaper editors who'd rather talk about flora, fauna and  Robin hood and his merry men in Sherwood forest   then point out the lunacy of all these stone carved antebellum fogies who stand in the way of any level of productivity or progress.
I don't hate kittens, I don't eat children for breakfast  but rather I find it mildly therapeutic to offer an alternative viewpoint that differs from many of our public officials who have more money and power then brains and really did learn everything they needed to know about life way back in kindergarten. Quite frankly the kittens and kids would be more worthwhile company.
We can't be perfect. Were always learning. I just try to tell the truth as often and consistently as possible, and let the proverbial chips fall where they may. I hope you like it, and I'm not sorry at all if it bothers you.