I really don't like going back to Pittsburg. I really don't. I always dread going and when I am there I like to just stay at my parent's house and not venture into town. I'm rarely there at the same times as my old friends, and I can keep up with them on Facebook anyway, and the few things I liked about the town when I lived there are now gone. It has nothing to do with my family - I just don't like Pittsburg. I'm writing this blog because of a few different things I experienced yesterday....and I wasn't even in Pittsburg - I was in Tyler. For all of eight hours.
There is a certain small mindedness that is present in smaller towns. I know that there are small minded people in big cities, too, but it is way easier to avoid them when you live in the 4th largest metro area in the nation. Not so easy to avoid in the second smallest county in Texas. Life is just different over there. I never felt like I fit in. Not at the high school, but in the town. I actually really liked my classmates and never felt like the sterotypical band nerd that I was. I think we had a great class all through school, and looking back I feel like everyone got along for the most. It was always the adults that made me feel uncomfortable. I felt like there were certain teachers at school and people around the community that were never going to give a crap about me because my parents didn't have money and status in the community, or because I wasn't an athlete. I just felt like kids were automatically written off by a lot of people if they were from a certain part of town. It's a lot harder to teach a kid that doesn't get to eat breakfast, or that doesn't have a father at home because they are in jail, or that has to take care of younger siblings because mom has to work late, or that sees things on a daily basis that some of us only see on TV crime shows. I truly felt that a lot of kids were not given the same opportunities and were given up on quickly and at an early age simply because of their demographic. Not by everyone, but I would be comfortable saying a majority of the community. And this was just accepted. And this doesn't happen just in Pittsburg, it happens all over the state and the country and the world. (This is one reason why I love the intermediate school I work at. Our administration is TRULY dedicated to leaving no child behind. It's hard work and emotional work, but we share the philosophy that despite a student's demographic they are all able to learn and deserve the same chance as more fortunate students to better their lives and end the cyle of poverty.) I really think I recognized this divide at a young age and didn't like it. It just felt like if you weren't somebody, then you were nobody. There was no in between. Again, this is simply my personal perspective and opinion.
What prompted all of this reflection and thought? While I was in Tyler this weekend my mom had a copy of the March 26, 2009 addition of the Pittsburg Gazette. I browsed through it and came across a section called "One Man's Opinion", written every week by Roy Knox. The title of this week's article was "
The Truth is Well Hidden". He discussed how people at all levels of government, local and national, have pulled the wool over our eyes to hide the truth. He cited examples from past school borad elections to the more recent AIG bonus scandals and made sure to tie that to the Obama administration. He called Barney Frank "
that fat mouth from Boston". He ended this section with, and I quote, "
Lies and poor judgement, is that what this administration meant by "change."" Then, next to the article about lies is a section titled "
What were you thinking?" with seven different opinions or points that I am guessing he wants to make. I supose I would need to be a more frequent reader of the Gazette to understand what this section is really about, but I'll do my best to sort it out for you. Here are a few of the bullet points:
1. Question: The new ball fields were paid for with taxpayer money, so why are the gates locked so we can't use them over the weekend? Answer: Are you really that dumb? Your family tree must look like a telephone pole. Police and fire dpartment vehicles, and city buildings are all paid with taxpayer money, but you can't drive the cars or live in the buildings.
2. Pope Benedict, after arriving in Africa, told reporters that condoms "increase the problems" of AIDS. He was quickly criticized by doctors and politicans as unrealisitc, unscientific, and dangerous. The Catholic Church would be better served if they clean up their own house before dispensing advice to the world. He needs to get rid of that goofy hat and get him a Notre Dame cap; it would help his image.
4. I didn't expect Texas to play that well against Duke. If they had shot free throws better, they would be advancing to the next round.
5. One out of three adults are obese is what I read the other day, while at the hospital. The other day 90 percent of the poeple we saw were obese and they weren't even patients.
So number one and number two were pretty condescending if you ask me. I know there are a lot of stupid people in the world that ask stupid questions and get their panties in a wad over things that they are ignorant of. However, you sound much more intelligent when you simply educate them of the facts rather than issue a condesceding statement. And seriously? He really went there about the pope??? I happen to agree that the comments made by the pope are unrealistc and unscientific. However, you can make the point without pigeon-holing the entire Catholic Church and calling his traditional mitre goofy. I'm anxious to find out if any of the few Catholics is Pittsburg will write a letter to the editor about taking offense to the comments. So he basically saying that people in glass houses shouldn't through stones. But he's in a glass house.........throwing stones.......What's next? Telling the ALL Muslims to take of their goofy head scarves and stop flying planes into buildings? I wonder what the Baptists in town would think if I told them to put down that goofy book they always read and open their eyes about how unrealistic and unscientific anti-abortion laws are. I know what would happen - and that's exactly why I don't live in Pittsburg anymore. So anyway, he goes to make an observation about a basketball game and obesity, which for the life of me I can't figure out what his point actually is. My Dad, along with many other men in Pittsburg, have a lot of small minded opinions about many of the same topics. They don't have a weekly column in the paper. Perhaps he has this column because he shares the same opinion with so many other people in the town and they enjoy reading what he has to say. (Except for maybe the Catholics that don't molest their children and live completed normal lives.) If this is case, then go ahead and mark that down as yet another reason why I don't live in Pittsburg anymore. So what qualifies this guy to give opinions on anything from sports to medical issues to politics and beyond? He's married to publisher of the paper.
I leave you with this thought: Opinions, like excuses, are like ass holes - everyone has one. Any idiot can have an opinion, but an intelligent and persuasive person will use discretion and facts when expressing one.
