Stop the Madness!

Stop the Madness!

Every time I turn the news on recently, it is sad, sickening, and depressing and it’s hitting too close to home. My pregnant niece lives three blocks from
where 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino were gunned down by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Tonight just a little while ago, I was
returning home from a fun night out with friends and was not able to exit on Flamingo Blvd because the road was closed off…it turns out a female driver had
intentionally mowed down 30+ pedestrians on the Strip.

It is too early to determine her motive, but too late to unwind the damage she did that included one death and many critical injuries. I want to shout,
“What the hell is going on?” I’m outraged that there is so much violence in our country.

I just returned home from a two-week cruise to Asia. I remember on the last night of the cruise, the cruise director announced, “There were approximately
2,700 passengers on this ship representing 108 countries. Our crew of 900 hails from more than 38 countries. We didn’t have one incidence of violence and
everyone got along; something to think about for sure!”

When I was a child growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s, there didn’t seem to be the number of incidents of senseless mass murders like there are today. There
are lots of reasons for the spread of violence these days including more media attention given to the offenders, bigger and better weapons, and more video
games, rap songs, toys, etc. that promote violence. In my opinion, there is also a lot more mental illness that is not being treated. Also, I don’t think
that parents spend as much time teaching their children to respect authority and to respect other people as they used to do. I’m so thankful that my Mom
taught me right from wrong; she taught me to work hard for what I want and to treat other people the way I want to be treated.

So, what does all this have to do with a poker-related website? For the past 40+ years, I have played poker with people from all ethnic backgrounds. It is
extremely rare to ever hear voices raised and even rarer to have actual acts of violence committed in a public cardroom. Somehow, we all manage to get
along. Let’s try to pass that respect on to the people we meet outside of the poker room.

Happy holidays!

Linda Johnson
Card Player Cruises