Tonight I stood up in a cafeteria full of parents attending a "community" meeting and spoke the only dissenting opinion.
I'll write more about the issue and the actual meeting later when I've stopped shaking.
But in a nut shell I sat through a three hour meeting full of reactionary fear based on poor information. A meeting where the vast majority of the people there had made a decision on the issue before they even got there. And once they were there didn't want to really listen to the answers to their questions.
I attended the meeting because I wanted to see how my community acted with each other. I never planned on speaking up. Mostly I wanted to make sure I understood the issue and then be able to go "hyper local" for a blog post on the Philladelphia Moms Blog.
But I just couldn't take it by the end when not a single person there spoke up expressing concern for anyone but their own families.
Fear. A room full of fear. Reactionary fear.
And I spoke up and said I was saddened by the lack of compassion in my own community.
And while I was doing it I knew it wasn't making me popular.
I told Rich I'm pretty sure I never said my name, so we may be OK.
Except for giving my name to the reporter that was there. Oh crap.
I think it is lame communities so easily share a common thought. Although you may think your opinion made you unpopular, there are probably some silent observers who appreciated it more than you will know. I congratulate you.
ReplyDeletenow i'm intrigued! give us the rest of the story!!
ReplyDeleteI just read your post. Wow. I am sad that we live in a community where people are unwilling to think reasonably about a subject such as this. It is very scary and I can see how people would feel worried and concerned, but I am deeply saddened that they could not discuss with respect and dignity. What a great post.
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