Compare and Contrast

For John, BLUF:  There seems to be a division in America between the educated elites and the average Jane and Joe trying to make a Middle Class life.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Middlebury students tear down local bar's American flag, 'vandalize' campus amid national crisis

Here is the sub-headline:

• Middlebury is one of many colleges across the country closing because of coronavirus.
• Students have responded by vandalizing campus on their way out and at least one local business on the way out.

From Campus Reform, by Digital Reporter Eduardo Neret, 16 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus two:

Following a decision to vacate campus for coronavirus, students at Middlebury College in Vermont responded by vandalizing campus and other areas, including ripping down an American flag from a local bar's storefront, according to a report from TheMiddlebury Campus student newspaper.

The campus paper reported that students partied, drank, and vandalized the campus and town.  Damage, the paper reported, ranged from shattered windows to stolen signs to ruined furniture.  Middlebury College Landscape Horticulturist and Staff Council President Tim Parsons told the campus paper that it has taken his staff days to clean up the mess left by students.

“There are seniors seeing people maybe for the last time ever, I get it,” Parsons told Middlebury Campus.  “But why take it out on other people here?  You’re part of a community.”  One worker assigned to secure buildings that are set to be closed on campus said he saw items like fans, microwaves, and soap dispensers from residence halls that were destroyed and tossed.

Maybe this is a good reason to not allow college students to vote in the community in which they are sleeping.  They are not seriously part of the place.

In contrast, there is:

Coronavirus has this small Ohio city longing for a return to normal

From The Washington Examiner, by Reporter Salena Zito, 17 March 2020.

The bells at The First United Methodist Church ring out the noon hour Monday.  For the longest stretch of time, it is the only sign of life along Washington Street.

Everywhere you look, the storefronts in this town are shuttered.  This time, it has nothing to do with an economic downturn; it is the day after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine closed all of the schools and ordered bars and restaurants to shut down, all an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Outside city hall, a rental truck with voting machines is loading them into the municipal offices.

The new mayor, Greg Bricker, is considering closing the city offices to protect his firemen, police, paramedics as well as clerks -- officials who keep the city functioning -- and the health department workers.

He keeps his distance from the building that will be used for voting as he calmly paces back and forth, taking several calls and dialing into a conference call with the governor’s office.

Here is Reporter Zito's Tweet on the situation and her Column:

SalenaZito @SalenaZito · 6h

As I am heading to different places covering this crisis a couple of things stand out
1) people are pulling together not coming apart
2) there is very little if any talk of politics or blame
3) lot more “in this together” in person than online

And here is how the column ends, with hope and dignity:

On East Fifth Avenue just before you dip down to the Lincoln Highway, you find the old Potters Bank and Trust Company.  The stately 19th Century building has been unoccupied for nearly two decades.  It was within just weeks of finally reopening as Renovatio’s Tap Room and Restaurant.

It was the kind of development that Bricker ran on last year to bring to his hometown; a town that has been plagued with the ravages of serial economic dips for decades.

The “Coming Soon!” sign on the doors points to anticipation, promise and hope -- three things most people in this country are holding onto right now.

This seems to capture my prejudice for average Americans from the middle of the Country as compared to the credentialed elites from our elite institutions of higher learning.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff