Stepping in it on purpose?

One of my favorite movies, “Forrest Gump,” has scenes in which actor Tom Hanks, playing the title role, runs across America. People follow him, thinking he’s a guru because he crisscrosses the country continually, east to west and vice versa, for 3 1/2 years.One guy, chasing Forrest along a city street and waiting for words of wisdom, steps in doggie poop and says, “Whoa! Man, you just ran through a big pile of dog s…!”

Forrest says, “It happens.”

Guy: “What, s…?”

Forrest: “Sometimes.”

The incident implies this guy went on to create the infamous bumper sticker and T-shirt and became rich. I think the scene also comments about unintended consequences.

Now most people in private business understand unintended consequences and try to avoid them. In government circles, it’s apparently another deal, even for those who should know better.

Here’s a little story about the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s elected commissioners and how those 19 people can go out of their way to make a mess unless something stops them.

The commissioners, for the most part, are appointed because they’re friends with someone powerful in government or they kick in some cash or otherwise support political campaigns. Knowledge of wildlife management (or just wildlife experience) seems to be a less-than-prominent qualification, in many instances.

Also as captains of industry — the current chairman owns a fence-building company and the vice-chairman is owner of a beverage- distribution company — commissioners are used to responses to their wishes such as “Yes, sir” and “I’ll get right on it.” And when their fellow industrial captains ask a favor, they usually don’t think twice before granting it. Some of them don’t seem to know their first obligation should be helping preserve N.C.’s fish and game and trying to accommodate the state’s sportsmen.

Case in point: We’ve been told by the N.C. Bow Hunters Association that a wealthy surgeon in Southern Pines, who also owns lots of land, wanted Moore County bumped into the eastern deer-season zone. That would have given the county (and the surgeon) an extra month of gun season and shortened bow season. The bowhunters said this individual threatened them, at a public meeting, that he had the clout to get bow season closed forever in Moore County if the NCBA didn’t support his proposal.

Next thing we know, the WRC is pondering a “special” public hearing in Moore County in July — which would avoid the normal public hearings of January. But when the commissioners discovered media outlets, such as this magazine, had gotten wind of the “special” hearing proposal, they quickly scrapped the idea.

We think the commissioners acted wisely, in this case, in dropping the proposal. But it’s instructive the commission’s leadership seriously would consider holding such a hearing to accommodate a wealthy Pinehurst landowner and bypass N.C. deer hunters.

We also keep waiting (it’s been a year) for the commissioners to name a permanent executive director, but that still hasn’t happened.

It’s also strange such matters aren’t unintended consequences and some commissioners apparently step in it on purpose.