unpopular

*Warning: I'm going to run my mouth a bit. Feel free to ignore this post if you find it offensive. I'll be back to my normal, boring ways tomorrow.*

I'm working from home this afternoon. Why is this noteworthy, you ask? Well, here's why:

This past week a police officer in town was shot and killed while on duty. This is horrible and something that I clearly do not wish on anyone. I can't imagine the sadness that his family and friends are experiencing right now.

However, for reasons passing understanding, the city has felt it appropriate to make a spectacle out of the whole thing. (Actually, I think it has something to do with trying to get funding for more police officers, but whatever.) The funeral was held this morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and the funeral procession was supposed to start at 1:00.

Said funeral procession is supposed to wind through downtown and the west side, eventually ending up at Crown Hill Cemetery, which is on my way home from work. Streets are going to be closed and traffic will be backed up for hours for the estimated ONE THOUSAND CAR processional. One of the school districts in town even cancelled school today due to the estimated disruptions from this processional. So I left work and came home in hopes that I would miss the madness. I did, but there were police officers stationed at the intersection by the cemetery already. (Ridiculous)

Like I said, I feel terribly sorry for this man's family and friends. I can't imagine me or someone I love having a job where I put my life in danger on a daily basis. But when did it become acceptable to go to the funerals of people who you didn't know? To plan a funeral in a sports venue? To politicize the death of someone who was just doing his job? To shut down a major portion of one of the largest cities in the country because one person died?

And because I relate everything in my life to The West Wing, this whole thing reminds me of this scene in Season 5's "Disaster Relief" (from 3:43 to 4:55) :