THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG
I'm sure all of us remember Aesops Fable "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg."
A brief synopsis of the Story goes like this:
A man and his wife had the good furtune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once; however, upon cutting the goose open, they found its innards to be like that of any goose.
Morals
I want you to remember the story as you read through the following article.
On Monday October 5, 2009 the NAACP again made a presentation to the Board of Supervisors. In this presentation we ask for the community center in Robinsonville again, and that funds be added back to the budget for housing, that there were no lay-offs in the county (since our unemployment rate is already 19.5) and that money which has been allocated for the airport be used for the community instead of giving it back to the casinos.
As we continue to fight in this county for the good of all people it amazes me how our board members can sit there and say the things they do. Well I guess when you have been doing it for many years, and getting away with it and not having to pay the consequences, it just comes natural. No matter what you say, no matter who you hurt, no matter who you walk on to get your way, you just don't care, as long as you are getting that almighty dollar to stick in your pocket or pad the pockets of others. And I have to say that a lot that goes on in this county is our own fault. We are our own worst enemy. We as a community allow all of this ridiculous behavior to continue.
Let's take the housing that has been taken out of the county budget all together for this year. Now at the last board meeting they said it would start back up in January. There was $1 million dollars allocated for the housing and only $350,000 (three hundred fifty thousand) was spent. Well will someone tell me where the other $650,000 has gone? Even though there are a few people in this county that put Hudini to shame by making money disappear, that is not an acceptable answer to me. If you can't pull the money out of your hat now...then how are you going to pull it out in January? This money was put there to help the elderly and disable to renovate homes. To tell you the truth no one in this county should be living in housing that needs major repairs with all the money we have coming in from the casinos. It really bothers me when I hear the elderly talking about their floor has fallen in. This is ridiculous. Why and HOW could we sit here and let our people continue to live like this. Didn't Sugar Ditch teach us anything?
Do you guys know how many people in this county do not have food to put on the table for their children? According to the Catholic Church in the area they serve approximately 120 families a month. Well people that is a lot according to the size of this county. We don't have any type of food bank to where the elderly or underprivileged can go to get help. But our Board of Supervisors can put in the budget to give the animal shelter $600.00 a month to feed dogs. Now don't get me wrong. I like pets. I'm not a dog hater, but when times are tough we have to prioritize. If these people want to run all over the county picking up stray dogs then let them, but don't take the food off of our childrens table to feed your dogs. How many of you would take from your child to feed your dog? Not me..Poor dog would have to get the scraps from the table when my kids were finished. If there were any.
The issue was also brought up about the large amount of money that was being spent on the airport. Can you believe that the airport officials had the nerve to come into the meeting and say that they saved the county $190,000. They didn't go over budget. Well HELL if I had millions to BLOW I guess I could save you a little chump change also. The NAACP asked the county to use some of the $10 million allocated to the airport to do things in the county that should have been done a long time ago. And what really blew my mind was when Paul Battle sat there and said "WELL YOU HAVE TO FEED THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGG." So other words Battle, SCREW everyone else..The casinos are padding your pockets and other officials in this county so we have to give them what they want. Well you know what...WRONG...We will fight you to the end..regardless of what it takes..and if it takes bringing in our power guns from all over the country we are willing to do that also. We have had enough of your MESS. Everyone in this county that is working pays taxes and those taxes are going right back to the casino through that airport. Now we should be asking ourselves "What have they done for us?" Well my answer is nothing. I don't see one building in Robinsonville that represents the casinos. All I see when I drive around is the same old cotton fields that were here 15 years ago when the casinos came to town. And don't forget PAUL BATTLE that election time is coming up...we'll see if the Golden Goose keeps getting fed after the election, especially your golden goose.
The casinos promised us the world and have yet to give us a dime here in Robinsonville. They refuse to help the community with the Christmas Parade because they say they don't deal with children. WELL HELL..every time I turn on the TV I see where they are giving to St. Jude, and Lebonheur Childrens Hospital in Memphis. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to know that these facilities are for children. That duck don't fly with us.
Our question to the community is how long are you going to sit back and let them do us this way? If you care then step up to the plate and be heard. The more voices the louder we become. This has become a show and tell situation and we must regain the control of our community. We know that there are some of us out there that are tokens to the white man here in the county, and I don't have to call names. Well your tokens are running out, and it won't be long until the truth will hit you right in the face.
Another situation, Monday we had gotten word that there was going to be a meeting at the convention center at Harrah's Casino. We contacted Valerie Morris and she told us that it wasn't their event that we had to call Lyn Arnold or Webster Franklin. Well we contacted Lyn Arnold and was told the following:
"There is an announcement tomorrow that the Tunica Mega site has been selected to potentially be the site for a hybrid plant. At the company’s request, the event tomorrow is private and has a limited guest list. The Company is hosting potential investors and wanted a small, intimate event. The Board of Supervisors are invited, along with Clifton Johnson and Andy Dulaney. The company has not completed their plans, nor have they raised the necessary funds to build a plant. They have quite a bit of work to do and several things must happen before there is any kind of construction, etc.
This event is simply part of their strategy to attract investors to the project."
BULLSHIT LYN. How many companies have you seen that have shovels breaking ground if they don't have the funds together to go ahead. One thing I have to say is that the Chinese are alot smarter than you think they are. Why do you think they are coming to Tunica County?
Penn Owens III was also contacted. He also told us that we needed to contact Lyn Arnold or Webster Franklin. What a joke. No one ever wants to tell the truth. Pass it on to the next person. Let them take the blame and fall flat on their face.
When is it going to get through to us that the same people that are screwing us are the same ones that sit on these boards. The Chamber of Commerce, The Economic Development Board....How many of us do you see sitting on these boards, that are not tokens for the white man. (And again we don't have to call names) We have to get some representation on these boards or we are going to get screwed every time, like we are now.
We hope most of you know that the census is coming up soon and Tunica County will be re-districted. This meaning that the lines they draw on this piece of paper is going to affect all of you...In the past they have drawn these lines to benefit the whites in the county. Why in the world do you think that with a county that is 80% black has only 2 of us on the Board of Supervisors? And one of us should be white anyway, can't get a second vote out of him so that tells me that he is going along with the white man and his pockets are probably being padded also. They plan it this way. When election time comes the whites already have 200 votes before the polls open. Come on everyone...OPEN YOUR EYES...and for GOD'S SAKE OPEN YOUR MOUTH...We can't let this continue. What is it going to take to get us to stand up and be heard? It's time out for excuses..Please think about what I am saying and take action...never say you can't when you don't even try. You have to become active in this community, you have to speak in order to be heard.
Remember the old saying "A CLOSED MOUTH NEVER GETS FED."
With the new car plant talking about building in the Robinsonville area we have concerns about our people getting these jobs. With our unemployment rate at 19.5 that should tell us something. Alot of us are not working..not even at the casinos. An idle mind is the devils workshop. If we don't get up off our lazy butts and do something about this then we will be left out in the cold again. These car plants will bring in people from all over the country and put them to work. They will work here but not live here just like the casino employees. The NAACP wants to make sure that you have a fair chance just like anyone else to obtain these jobs. You should have first priority because you are a resident here. But this will not happen until we sit down at the table with these investors and make sure that they do something for this community. If we are going to allow them to come here and benefit off of our low taxes, low pay scales etc. then they need to promise to put back into our community and not sell us out like the casinos have done. We don't need them supporting Desoto County and Memphis and not doing anything here.
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION YET?????????????
If not we don't know what else can be done. We try to keep you informed and let you know what you need to do but if you don't listen then when all goes to HELL in a hand basket you will have contributed to it. You won't be able to blame anyone but yourself for not standing up for what is right. All you will have to do is look in the mirror and you will see an image that is partially responsible for the failures in this county.
Now do you remember the moral of the story "THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG?"
Morals
- Greed destroys the source of good.
- Think before you act.
- Those who want too much lose everything.
Greed is a selfish desire for more than one needs or deserves. Greed can make honest men murderers. It has made countries with rich valuable resources into the poorest countries in the world. Well GREED has almost destroyed this county. Some of us have money and some of us don't. The ones that do have it want more, and more, and they don't give a damn who they hurt or destroy to get it. They forget where they come from and who helped them get there. They lose all source of good that they ever had in their heart. Instead of loving God and one another they love the almight dollar.
Most people never think before they act. They never think of the consequences of their actions until it's to late. Sometimes when a knife goes into your back to deep you never forget the pain that it causes. Therefore never forgiving the person that causes the pain.
We all know that God Don't Like Ugly. Well those that want to much usually lose everything. This county has been floating on cloud nine for years since the casinos came here. They had a PLAN A and that was to spend money, money, money from the casinos. They never thought once that the economy would take a downfall and we would end up in a DEPRESSION not a recession. When the money from the casinos stop coming in like it use to, everyone started looking stupidly at each other and started wondering what do we do now? They never had a PLAN B. No back up plan. Now they are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find answers. Well DUH..there is no answers. Your foolish and lavish spending has come to a halt. You want to much and are on the verge of losing everything. I hate to say it but you deserve the punishment you are getting right now. When you do wrong it always comes back on you. What you do in the dark always comes to the light. It's time to stop all this nonsense. Step up to the plate and bat. With everyone on the same page we can hit a GRAND SLAM.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven;
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Life is a series of hellos and good-byes, of gains and losses. They come as a matched set.They are universal. Expecting to experience life without loss would be like trying to create a tapestry without thread.
A mom cannot say hello to a new baby until she says good-bye to pregnancy. A person cannot say hello to marriage without saying good-bye to single life. Young adults say good-bye to the world of school and hello to the world of employment. Every change or choice in our life includes some form of hello and good-bye-- some form of loss along with a gain.
Often, we ignore those little losses. We neglect to recognize how, as a result of this continual succession of hellos and good-byes, our coping strategies are being built over time. It's as if life is providing us with training wheels to prepare us for the major losses that we are destined to experience.
The people of Tunica County have experienced those losses to often and now we ask you to please stand up for your community and be heard. If you are not a member of the NAACP, then join. If you are a member then participate. This county and it's people deserve more.