at 3:00 am in a constructive manner so you can get some sleep? Anybody have any ideas?

I was forced to listen to several ignorant people talk about the benefits of crystal-meth, and make racist and homophobic jokes to raucous laughter tonight. Woke me up out of the most beautiful dream where everyone on earth had respect for one another and their environment.

OK, it was probably a dream about taking a bath in Rice Crispies on top of the Space Needle while talking cats warbled a continuous operatic Edda about the virtues of peanut butter on rye toast, but still...

I can cut people some slack for being ignorant when they're drunk or very young and don't know better. But if you rent a hotel room on the top floor in a downtown neighborhood with residential apartments all around you and start flinging racist bigoted homophobic epithets out the balcony door while smoking because it's just so funny, you should realize there may be members of the groups you're deriding with unfounded generalizations nearby. Or folks with a strong sense of empathy who are embarrassed to be in the same species as said drunk or young individuals.

Why do people think it's OK to do this stuff when they don't think anybody's listening? When the door is closed and the blinds are drawn does common sense and compassion get left behind? Just because you can't see someone doesn't mean they can't hear you.

I don't care what people do when they're alone. I'm told that's what freedom is about, you only have yourself to judge. But how can you let people know that their current behavior is unacceptable in public?

Is it the attraction of doing something taboo that makes people want to let these ugly things out into the open? Is it a kind of societal peer-pressure to one-up the last sick joke? I'm at a loss as to why this happens.

I'd like to think that folks are inherently good, but tonight makes me reconsider that theory. Maybe our baser instincts are evil and we only behave in a socially acceptable manner when we think we might get caught if we don't.

I'm so tired of feeling like I want to apologize for the behavior of my fellow human beings.

Please pardon my insomniacal ramblings... I'm thoroughly disgusted and can't get back to sleep.