Today as I was finishing up this edition of the Courier, I was startled to see a press release from the Winchendon Police Department talking about a high school student, threats on social media, and a gun. In Winchendon.

It turned out to be a BB gun, not that BB guns are harmless. A cat in Gardner can testify to that--he's missing an eye, and his family are offering a reward for information, thanks to someone who thought it was funny to shoot at animals with a BB gun.

No one is going to kill a lot of people with a BB gun. Still, there are reasons that people brandish guns and make threats, even if they don't really mean it. It has to do with what makes us feel powerful. It has to do with the way so many of us feel invisible, and unheard, and unable to control huge parts of our own lives. If you can rivet someone's attention on a weapon you're holding...if you can make people run away in fear...if you can bring everyday business to a standstill with all eyes on you...that's power, of a very dark and negative kind. We see this kind of power modeled in movies and TV shows constantly. No one will give you trouble if you're a tough customer, a scary maverick, a "badass."

The vast majority of us aren't going to shoot anyone. But many people have ways of acting out that make them feel powerful at others' expense. They drive aggressively, and give the finger to other drivers. They heap abuse and insults on people who disagree with them on Facebook. They slam doors and go into obscenity-laced rages. They intimidate their partners and families.

When we feel disempowered, it makes us fearful. When we're fearful, we often feel angry. And when we give in to anger, when we allow it to control us, we can do things we regret.

There are much better ways to feel and be empowered. No single person is ever as strong as many people working together in cooperation and harmony. The fantasy of being a super-hero, or a super-villain, is pernicious because it denies the fact that anyone who acts entirely alone is essentially weak.

In Winchendon, we've learned--or some of us have--that we can change things when we work together. The Working Wonders in Winchendon folks have a saying, or maybe it's a rallying cry: "Toy Town Strong!" And we are strong, or we can be, when we work toward our common goals and join forces to solve our problems.

So come to Town Meeting on Monday. Get involved with volunteer events. Think about what you can do to make Winchendon better. After all, it's your home, your property values, your tax dollars! If we do enough cool things--revitalize business, beautify our town, bring our schools back to vibrant health--we'll be noticed. We'll be looked up to. People in other towns will say, "oh, yeah, Winchendon...I wish I lived there."

You don't get more powerful than that.

Inanna Arthen