‘Bee’ aware of this potentially dangerous City Hall stunt

Try to make sense of the wisdom behind a Seattle City Hall announcement today:

In conjunction with the exhibition “Flight Path” at City Hall Gallery, a forthcoming City Resolution will designate Seattle as an official Bee City. As part of the exhibition, two beehives, on loan from Marra Farm and Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands, will be placed on City Hall’s green roof.

Yes, the City of Seattle will house two beehives on the roof a building where thousands of people work and visit every year. What could possibly go wrong?

The City of Seattle says there is no reason to be “afraid of bees – they really, really don’t want to sting you.” Yet they advise media members who will check out the beehive not to “wear bright flowery colors especially yellow or orange.” They tell them to “[w]ear long sleeves and pants” and to keep your hair tied back. (These recommendations have not been extended to members of the public).

And what happens if an employee or visitor is allergic to bees? Bringing these beehives to a busy workplace seems like you’re increasing the risk of a bee sting and that can obviously bee dangerous. Progressive city leaders want us to talk about the contrived concept of microaggressions (something so subtle the victim doesn’t even know they’re victimized until you tell them they were), yet they don’t seem to bee all that worried about the consequences of this bee stunt.

I asked Calandra Childers with the Office of Arts and Culture if the City was concerned that employees or visitors might be allergic to bees.

“No, the bees have really no interest in interacting with people,” she explained. “They’re very much more interested in finding the flowers and plants that they need to pollinate.”

That may be the case, but I wonder if showing some basic concern for the workers and visitors might have been prudent. Someone burns himself with hot coffee, and suddenly there’s a big lawsuit; certainly one can imagine the unintended consequences of this otherwise well-intentioned stunt, right? Or this could just bee my irrational fear of bees (as I’ve explained on the Jason Rantz Show, I pretend to be allergic to bees so when I run away like a big wuss, I can fall back on the lie to save face).

Bee safe around City Hall, everyone.