Born and raised as I was in "the land of red beans and slot machines" (New Orleans) I was a genuine cynic. Down there minor corruption was routine and major corruption not unusual. The "system" was broke and nobody bothered to care anymore. You didn't expect anyone in "government" to pay a price for doing wrong. Cynicism was a tonic to prevent anger, frustration, and bitterness.
I was SO happy to come here. Not only is it a beautiful place, but the people were friendly and welcoming. Good food, good folks, affordable living - a great combination. It is a wonderful place to live. A VERY nice added attraction was that the legal system here worked so MUCH better than where I came from (I thought).
So when all this stuff about the bluff - etal - arose I said "no problem the legal system will address it and take care of it". Many of you out there must have laughed out loud at my naivete. Well, shame on me. I'm in the land of catfish and slot machines. The system here is as broken down as elsewhere. Good grief, the fine is low enough - why didn't the AG just proceed and throw us a bone???
Well I'm a cynic again. I don't know if or when this bunch (now the State is in the bunch) will pay a price, but if one more negative karma transmitter makes a difference there's one more (well experienced one) out there.
It's still a place with good food, good folks, and good times (the cost of living has taken off).
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9 comments:
I too moved to Natchez with the naive expectation that local government here would be different. Sadly it is not. Whenever a politician here breaks the law, there never seems to be any consequences, so it sets a precedence and it happens again and again, still with no consequences. It is disheartening.
What will it take for someone in power to do something about it? Who will enforce the laws that protect all of us and our properties? What does it take? Why can people like Worley and Brown wind up with such an important tract of property on the bluff for such a low price and with questionable real estate transactions for the city? Why are we allowing gambling to overtake the tourism of our city? Don't think that the gaming industry won't wind up calling the shots in this small town. I'm sickened to see what is happening to Natchez. And yes, we've thought about moving on....
I was born here and was never comfortable with the 'chosen' citizens having the power they have. Ten yrs ago, I moved to the county to get away from the 'politics'. The city leaders, again, are licking their chops, seeing county property that would be additional taxes for their pockets, I mean coffers, actually pockets. The greed and corruption in Natchez has reached new levels. I too am thinking of moving on. Even if this goes on elsewhere, I would not have the attachment and love I have for Natchez.
Anonymous 11:54 has asked a legitimate question. Just who is it we can turn to to enforce our laws? Whose job is it to bring charges when there is such a blatant disregard? Seriously - - is it the Atty. General's office, the local police? Does the offended entity (Archives and History, local citizens whatever) have to bring a suit? For our officials to get by Scot free with breaking the laws regarding sites and buildings with historic status endangers all such sites and totally undermines and diminishes the ability of the Dept. of Archives and History to rescue them. What's wrong with people!!
What can we do?
MDAH turned to the Atty. General's office in the matter of the illegal demolition. Has the AG's office taken their task of imposing penalties seriously? We don't yet know. Private citizens were left holding the bill in taking the City to task on illegal sale of public property. There are political implications which have far reaching consequences when a public agency attempts to enforce the rules. Right or wrong, that's the way it is. So what do we do? We form a united front and make a statement that we the taxpayers demand honesty and integrity from our municipal and county leaders. We demand to know what's going on, we attend the boa/supervisor meetings and demand to be heard. So when you're invited to be a part of that "united front" sign up, attend the meetings and encourage others to do the same. We want clean government, we want a voice in what happens in our city. Look at these websites and you'll see what others are doing: http://www.ourbeautifulriver.org/
http://www.friendsforourriverfront.org/news/magarticles.html
Apparently you were fooled. Natchez has always been a "Banana Republic".
Yes. But that doesn't mean we have to stay that way. And, there's a good many out there who want to see a change around here.
Nope. Not fooled. Lots of folks 'been knowing about all this crooked stuff for many long years. And know the players, too.
Banana Republic: ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy and corrupt clique. In most cases they have sustained the corruption with a small, largely leisure class on the top and a large, poorly educated and poorly paid working class on the bottom. Sound familiar?
The Middle Ages are considered by historians to be a sad pronounced decline in the history of Civilization--after the fall of the Democratic Roman Empire.
In this time, fuedal Lords/Gentry (slave-owners)ruled ruthlessly over their serfs (slaves) who usually actually were enslaved as they could not pay off debt to the Aristocracy.
As a child, I remember my Grandma would be outraged if I referred to a lower-class woman as a Lady. Her grandparents were raised on slave-plantations. The mentality carried over to the 21st Century.
The continued disparity between the haves and have-nots in Natchez will always allow some to justify back-room deals as a way of leveling the playing field for their people.
My question to Phillip West is why couldn't the Million $ market value of the pecan factory site gone to fund our largely black lower echelon public schools. Why aren't our underserved black population outraged at this?
As a parent, I would be.
noncheezian@aol
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