Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 09:39:44 -0400
From: Dan Cahoon
Subject: The Wicked Web We Weave
First to Gene, Thank you for making this thought and discussion venue possible. You do a pretty good job of monitoring the comments, especially considering your real job. We need this method of communication. It fits our lifestyles and communication styles. Some people have a hard time expressing themselves without sounding offensive to some listeners. Being kind can be tricky when one is passionate.
Now about voting in PBO, loitering (hanging out), local taxes, and (not so) petty politics.
Residents of the town of Pittsboro are allowed to vote for Pittsboro elected officials and town specific referendums and proposals. One becomes a Pittsboro resident by living within the official town limits.
There is a small residency requirement and residents must register to vote in that district (here, my vocabulary begins to fail)? How is that district determined? By the Board of Elections? By another elected committee?
Have you ever seen a map of the voting district? The town of Pittsboro does not have a very symmetrical shape. That is, the voting district looks more like an amoeba stretching its pseudopods out in strange directions, without any apparent purpose. If you look at the demographics of the voting district or official town limits you will see some anomalies. One corridor of town stretches north to encompass the high school and new developments north of town. Another part of town stretches east, jumps over a few minority middle class neighborhoods and lands in a curious bubble around a retirement home.
My favorite little blip is the part where one small section of a street is included in town but not the rest of that side.
Fire tower road is not included in the official town limits. The residents of fire tower road have been an integral part of Pittsboro for a very long time. Many of those residents frequent the retail establisments in town and rely upon the town for conveniences and social services. Why was Fire Tower Road skipped over by the people who laid out the town limits? Why one side of a street and not the other?
Why jump over primarily minority neighborhoods to include a retirement home? What is the reasoning behind this kind of districting.
In politics it is called Gerrymandering (a term coined in 1812 to describe the salamander like shape of Essex County, done so to control elections). Some group of elected officials managed to negotiate the current shape of Pittsboro. There may be factors other than race and political leanings that determine those limits. It is very clear to those who see the voting lines of PBO that something is up. It looks gerrymandered to me. Not like a salamander but more like a selective amoeba, letting in only those it must to maintain a conservative, white majority on town counsels, mayorships and planning boards. Maybe we should change that. You, know, to be free and fair?
I think the current discussion of loitering in town is interesting in light of the apparent control of elections in PBO. Who is a part of town? Who gets to “hang out”. Does the color of your skin determine your rights in PBO? Does your political inclination determine your rights?
I am not part of the conservative right wing of our culture. I identify myself as a liberal democrat interested in social justice. I believe in the power of community and peace and that our future is determined to an extent by the amount of cooperation that occurs between disparate factions. I also have strong view about taxes local and federal and how funds are distributed. I have a huge investment in local community and expect someday to be a resident of Pittsboro, as the inevitable amoeba reaches for my neighborhhood. I certainly spend a large part of my income in PBO and surrounding areas. I consider PBO to be my home town now even though my address is Moncure. I tell folks where I live these days and it goes like this, “you live where?” “in Moncure” “?” “Just south of Pittsboro”. If I am in another part of the country they say “Pittsburgh?”. I just nod now and play along, even trying to use a Pittsburgh accent for kicks.
I do feel an oppressive presence on the local political scene. The political gossip line tells me it has been this way for a long time. I suspect from my limited knowledge of american history, that much of the political oppression has occurred in the fight to keep politics white.
This area has been ruled by a conservative white elite for a good part of it’s history and I don’t think it has changed much. Racism may not be very fashionable these days but it only takes one trip to the barber shop in PBO to get a feel for the bigotry and biases that still run rampant in our local culture. One terrible downside of my political leanings is that I accept the rights and opinions of others while having my rights and opinions trampled, judged and gerrymandered out of relevance. My side of the political fence has been controlled, beaten down, good old boy rail ridden out of town for as long as I have been a resident of North Carolina (30 plus years, I have tried to escape several times now). I have endured countless racist comments and derogatory statements over the years and still find them unsettling in such a free and supposedly democratic society. I have seen small groups of conservatives maneuver and sling mud, religion, morality, and racism whenever it suited their political goals. I have seen my fellow liberal democrats hide behind peace while their political rivals use every dirty trick in the book to remain in power. The problem is, my belief system doesn’t support using such tactics myself. My passion for freedom won’t let me gerrymander, or suppress votes, or use scary pumpkins on expensive globe eating flyers to trick the public into voting “my way”. My appeals are to the people, ALL the people, even those who trash me in public for my lifestyle, my hairstyle, my bumper stickers and choice of fuel.
Listen to the words of those who don’t support the LTT. Most of them are talking about losing money. Few of those who don’t support the LTT even mention possible alternative solutions to our looming infrastructure crisis. They are just concerned about the cost to them.
I guess being a teacher puts me in another bracket. The branch of humanity that has so little but gives so much. You can’t trust the wealthy to voluntarily fund their community. They didn’t get wealthy by giving it back. They get wealthy by holding it back, like the robber barons of the past. They lived in Chatham county too. They are still here and own large tracts of land and are now hoping to cash in without giving back.
As voters and citizens we can change that.
I can’t change those people who still discriminate against others for race, religion, and sexual orientation. I listen to them spew invective against people who probably help them live happy and free. I listen to the petty name calling and small town gossip from both sides of the political arena and wonder ” When are we going to grow up”.
For the record, even Second Graders don’t behave this way. They still have kindness in their hearts and hope for the future. They may not spell very well or handle large amounts of sugar but they know how to get along (most of the time).
Remember when folks used to sit out on the porch of the local general store and chew the fat? (origin: people used to sit around the fire and for desert chew the fatty parts of the days kill). Remember going into a hardware store and seeing the men hanging around the potbellied stove? Listening to their jokes? The thrill of hearing the dirty stories when the women weren’t in the room? Getting a sweet treat from the store owners just for being there?
Those days aren’t gone yet in Pittsboro. We still have a few places where people can get together and talk, without buying anything or being white or conservative. We need those places. This chatlist is one of those places (virtual nonetheless). The Chatham Market Place is one of those places (with great food to boot). You can go there and just hang out, talk to people from many different backgrounds, races, religions, political leanings, philosophies etc. You can also hang out at Family Dollar (get there early, there is only one bench). Stay there long enough and you may hear a few good stories. Go sit at the General Store (Vance likes it when you buy lots, but he won’t let money stop you from hanging out there). The S&T Soda shoppe is always packed so be prepared to invest some time and money (you can’t resist) to hang out there. Whatever, just come be a part of the discussion. You may hear something you don’t agree with or something that downright offends, but know that you can say your piece.
Say, what if we all got together after the election and just hung out and socialized? We might just solve some problems and have a good time together. No fat required.