Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What we need is a vote. It's just that simple.

Submitted to Shelton Blog by John Cox

This is comment I made at today's County Commissioners' meeting:

My name is John Cox. My wife and I live in Mason County. I work 40 hours a week or more here. I work on weekends and spend a lot of my limited free time going to meetings like this. We drive a 3 year old economy car and pay on a mortgage for a two bedroom house. We are a middle class family. We vote in elections. We donate to charities. If you had to come up with a couple of average citizens, we are likely candidates.

We may be a bit outside the norm in one area though. We have a strong desire for things to be fair. We believe in justice. We believe in the concepts of democracy, and that sometimes you have to fight for what is right and struggle against the odds so that concepts like justice, fairness and equality stay alive.

So, I am here today. I risk being labeled a narcissistic megalomaniac, or a kook, or worse, because I dare to care about the welfare of my family, friends, and fellow citizens—all of us.

And I am not alone in this. Clearly...

Actually, I take it as a sign that we are on the right track when those that we disagree with start calling us names as it means there is no real substance to their arguments.

So, again, I ask that the people---you know, those pesky little people who want to be happy and healthy—all the people:

Not just the people with political influence
Not just the politicians, wheeling and dealing in power
Not just those who have long ago lost their souls to the power of greed…..

In the name of my family; in the name of average everyday citizens, just like me; in the name of all those who are without power, position, wealth or prestige; I make the demand that we the people be provided the opportunity to decide if we want the Adage incinerator to come to this community.

The easiest way to do that is a vote. It’s just that simple.

Afterwards, Steve Bloomfield, the author of the "narcissistic megalomaniac" epithet, told me that he had not intended the comment to be applied to Mason County residents, just the outsiders.

So I asked him if he considered Adage an outsider as well.

The author of the Kook label, Tim Sheldon, had no comments.

So it goes......

4 comments:

  1. I'm concerned about Mr. Bloomfield. The Olympian recently reported that he had a little problem between his business and the State of Washington. It seems he and his employees didn't know where they were, and they ended up "harvesting" shellfish that belonged to the State, to the people. And when the state found out they fined him $75,000. http://www.theolympian.com/2010/06/30/1289668/shellfish-companies-need-to-take.html

    I have lived in Mason County for about 35 years now. I want to make a good living and I want profitable businesses and good healthy, well-paying jobs, but I know what "narcissistic megalomaniac" means, and it concerns me that Mr. Bloomfield may be self diagnosing his own ailment, rather than serving his fellow citizens. I also understand he labelled concerned citizens of Mason County "outsiders" when he himself doesn't reside in the county.
    Am I missing something here?
    By attempting to represent an invisible, non-existent self described "majority", it would seem that he may suffer from megalomania (1. A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence. 2. An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.) and in turn, narcissism (2. A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem).

    I'm concerned that someone that doesn't seem to know where he is and that is alleged to take enough other people's property to be fined $75,000 (and pays the fine) is attempting to judge others and their motivations. This seems to me to be a little out of whack. It also concerns me that the power hungry self absorbed Port Commissioners listen so intently to an "outsider" like Mr. Bloomfield while ignoring their own voters. My parents always taught me that I was going to be judged by the company I keep.
    Once again, Mom and Dad were right.

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  2. Well said John and you too anonymous...

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  3. Anonymous, this would make a great blog post.
    Please contact sheltonblog@gmail.com to contribute.
    You can post as anonymous if you wish.

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  4. yes this is Awesome, maybe we should post it to KMAS as well?

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