Metaphorically - Who’s Apathetic?
by 7654 – the author
It’s been a while since I contributed to Inside Buffalo. I’ve been traveling a bit and enjoying a mild winter.
I have been sent a ton of e-materials by the editor and an excessive number of requests to throw in and have a say.
It’s not that I was avoiding the requests, it’s such that I have been moderately industrious in other avenues of my life and have put Inside Buffalo “on the back burner” – I love that metaphor.
I’ve been leaving things to simmer away without immediate attention.
I am now, back into the swing of things. There’s another metaphor. “swing of things” relating to dance - during the “swing” phase of American dance evolution.
Checking out the Buffalo Blog…
After visiting the Buffalo Blog this afternoon, and getting my fill of amusement for the day, I pondered what I had just read. I examined the comments, the posts, the apologies, the defenses. One comment, posted Anonymously, from an alleged business person, stood out from the others:
“the more I see the internal workings of the city government, listen to the inane bickering of the citizens and see what little actually gets accomplished--I'm not so sure that investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in this city is the wisest thing to do after all. And if I feel this way, I wonder how many others have felt the same and chosen to start their businesses in a city that has something going for it besides run-down abandonded properties, asbestos laden water pipes and apathetic citizens?”
There are certainly 2 differing sides on the issues in Buffalo and the two sides are the minority, even if combined into one they are still the minority.
There’s one side, consisting of the Buffalo Blog website, Inside Buffalo Magazine and website, leaders and followers. It’s a side rife with business persons who can’t be named or come forward for fear of retaliation and vengeance having an effect on their business, their living and their bottom line. This is the CHANGE crowd. This union is meeting regularly discussing ideas on how to make things better. This is the group attempting to clean up the Town of Buffalo. This is the sorority made up of persons who will NOT accept NORMAL or Status-Quo. This group consists of some of the sales tax revenue generators in the Town and those who are willing to stand out from the rest of the citizens and “take the heat.” [another metaphor]
Then there’s the other side, with persons commenting on the blog “tooting their horn” [OK I’ll stop with the metaphorical content as of now] for the Town Manager and accepting things for the way they are – the status-quo crowd, cheering and clapping at the Town Board meetings because they want Inside Buffalo and the Blog to move out of town. This side is responsible for boycotting the Pizza Pub and threatening other businesses in Town with boycott if they continued to advertise in the Inside Buffalo Magazine. ARTICLE HERE This side, it appears, is not concerned about a major waste water problem. This side emerges as uninterested in the fact that raw sewage was running into a field NEXT TO BUFFALO CREEK. This side, obvious to me, believes that asbestos in their drinking water is just OK Fine. This side thinks the Buffalo Town Manager is doing a wonderful job in spite of the Doby Springs Nature Trails mess.
Then there is the majority. The apathetic, as the commenter wrote about:
Apathetic: Unconcerned; Uninterested; Indifferent
This is, by far, the largest group. This association is filled with people who don’t have a computer or don’t care to visit the websites named herein. This is the group who is happy not getting involved. This is also a selection of people who think the other two groups are crazy! Perchance they are!
They say: “You can’t fight City Hall!”
That’s eternally obvious as a recent poll showed that over 80% of the US Population is AGAINST a BAILOUT. Over 80% are against a 2 trillion dollar budget.
If you spent 1 million dollars a day - every day since Jesus was born, it would just about total what the Federal Government is spending on the 2nd TARP – the second BAILOUT! And nobody seems to care. If 80% of the Nation stood up and said NO! to our representatives it most likely would not have passed.
Parallel that with Buffalo, Oklahoma – 2009
There is a large fraternity of apathetic residents of Buffalo, a group that is larger than the ones wanting change and larger than the ones wanting things to remain as they are. Maybe 80% of the residents of Buffalo fall into this association of apathy. There’s nothing wrong with apathy. We’re all apathetic at times for one reason or another. There is absolutely nothing incorrect about watching from the sidelines and not participating in the debate.
BUT – if you were against the bailout were you one of the few who contacted your representatives to tell them so? No? Then sit back and enjoy the debt which will be left to the remainder of our generation and that of our offspring. Enjoy the double-digit inflation about to beset the Nation. Bask in the fact that as of this day, over 5 MILLION people are receiving unemployment checks and over 6 MILLION additional Americans are unemployed, without jobs, and without an income of any form.
Being a member of the largest group automatically links one to the status quo group, meaning that the status quo people are more like 85-90% of the residents of Buffalo. Whereby, the group wanting CHANGE, are but a teeny-tiny minority of maybe 10% of Buffalo citizenry. With a population at the latest census of 1200 – that means that maybe 120 people are for change.
Inside Buffalo wants to see CHANGE.
We all know they’re in the minority!
For you 120 or so people – you minority taxpaying Buffalonians – cheer up! As a biased outsider, I’m seeing change occur before my very eyes. You are making inroads!
Editor's note:
in•road
n.
1. A hostile invasion; a raid.
2. An advance, especially at another's expense; an encroachment. Often used in the plural:
Foreign products have made inroads into the American economy.
Editor's Note #2:
We'll be addressing the quote on the Buffalo Blog by the commenter noted above.
Quote: "I wonder how many others have felt the same and chosen to start their businesses in a city that has something going for it besides run-down abandonded properties..."
We'll take a further look at "run-down abandoned properties" and Buffalo's Code Enforcement Officer's take on the issue.
Next week!
