For shame

My first thought was relief. On a good day I barely have time for a cup of coffee let alone having time to feel shame. Good for him and, frankly, good for me. I should be so lucky to have somebody make the effort to be ashamed of myself. The newsroom as a whole could even benefit if he, or any other generous soul, is willing to take on the shame of us all.

My second thought that was that if the folks of Half Moon Bay aren’t able to be ashamed of their own supposed actions — whether those be the tactics of elected officials past and present leading to the multi-million dollar settlement or a number of other alleged missteps by regular folks — who am I to step up and assume the emotion? Like any person past the age of consent, I have plenty of other things for which I might feel a twinge of regret, if not shame, so chances are good I’m not going to start my list with my recent thoughts about the coastside city.

On the other hand, if I am no longer responsible for the shame of my own words, or of Half Moon Bay’s financial and legal mistakes, maybe I should be the bigger person and accept shame for those who don’t otherwise appear to care about what they have done in this world.

For instance, I am ashamed a British schoolteacher was jailed in Sudan for allowing her 7-year-old pupils to name a class teddy bear Muhammad after a boy in the school. The shaming is not so much for the outreach of Islamic extremist who felt the moniker a religious insult but the idea a little boy must now live with the idea that the popularity of his name led to such dire consequences. For shame, also, on the way the gaffe was caught up in the political quagmire of Western countries worried about relations in the Middle East and afraid to step on any toes by immediately denouncing the situation.

In smaller doses, in any given week, I am shamed (or, at the very least, amazed and disappointed) by the city councils of the county — denying acceptance of a peace pole, squirrel elimination plans, Tom the Tree, artificial turf, various bans on smoking and Styrofoam. The Half Moon Bay officials are only the worse manifestation of a council that deserves some collective head shaking.

How about our leaders on the federal or state level? The war in Iraq? The looming $10 billion state deficit? Are these things that should stir up any sense of civic pride?

I am also ashamed by people who flaunt graphic photos of aborted fetuses in front of children too young to even grasp the concept of sex let alone its consequences. I don’t care what side of the abortion issue a person accepts but there is no good reason to assume a kindergartner needs to pick a position.

Shame is also reserved for those who don’t take the time to vote and then feel justified in complaining, those who can’t bother to acknowledge someone who asks for money even if you don’t offer a handout and anybody who drives a Hummer without 16 people crammed inside.

There’s also probably a small smidgen of shame reserved in the world for local columnists who have the soapbox to carp at everybody else in the world without publicly acknowledging their own faults. For some, like the gentlemen in Half Moon Bay, that might be the most shameful thing of all.

Michelle Durand’s column "Off the Beat” runs every Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.