In an attempt to address the question of an Anonymous Commentator, The Carmel-by-the-Sea WATCHDOG! posits the following:
There are at least four “types” of Carmelites:
I. Apathetic Carmelites
Carmelites not directly affected by the actions of city government and not interested in the day-to-day affairs of their government.
II. Uninformed and Misinformed Carmelites
Carmelites who read and believe the city’s, specifically Mayor McCloud’s, propaganda as regurgitated and unverified in news articles and editorial commentaries in The Monterey County Herald and The Carmel Pine Cone without subsequent corrections.
III. Supporters of the Mayor & City Council Members who have directly and personally been unfairly and unjustly treated, but still support the Mayor and City Council Members
Carmelites who have personally experienced the unsupportable, unfair, capricious and unreasonable decisions of the City Council, yet still support the Mayor and City Council Members because they do not expect politicians to strive to honor the ideals of public service.
IV. Informed and knowledgeable Carmelites who place political correctness and misguided niceties ahead of confronting that which makes them uncomfortable e.g. abuse of governmental power; failure to understand principles of “open government;” subjective and personal motivations instead of objective, rational and reasoned thought and actions, et cetera
Carmelites who succumb to an aspect of human nature; and that is, they rather deny or condone actions which would make them extremely uncomfortable if directly confronted.
The Carmel-by-the-Sea WATCHDOG!’s aim, through postings and other individuals’ comments, is to empower Carmelites with facts, documentation, context and diverse thoughts, ideas and opinions on the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
As the founders of this country believed, our form of government will only be protected by a well-informed electorate. To that end, the totality of the Blog can rectify the misinformation and disinformation purveyed by the media and persuade “Uninformed and Misinformed Carmelites.” However, the challenge for the Blog is to reach and persuade “Apathetic,” “unfairly and unjustly treated” and “Politically Correct” Carmelites.
Lastly, the Blog envisions a day when “Apathetic” Carmelites care enough about our city government to become well-informed, “Uninformed and Misinformed” Carmelites understand that the local media are merely purveyors of city government propaganda, “unfairly and unjustly treated” Carmelites expect and demand that their local representatives treat all citizens fairly and justly and “Politically Correct” Carmelites refrain from acting as enablers for those city government representatives whose conduct is unbecoming public servants. Only then will citizens get the city government all Carmelites deserve!
5 comments:
Until "apathetic" Carmelites become aware just how badly their ox is being gored and just how badly they are being misled, they will never act to help rectify the damage that is being done to them personally and to Carmel as a whole. Until that time they will continue to ignore the local political misfeasance and even malfeasance or simply vote for incumbents because their names are most familiar. Sue McCloud is a past master at getting her name before the voters. Candidates who want to clean up Carmel government have not been. This blog is serving a public need by countering the misinformation that is put out by the mayor, some city council members and the City of Carmel at the direction of the mayor. The problem is that, so far, too few people read this blog. Many Carmelites are uneasy using their computers for more than email (if they even have a computer). Others have heard that this blog takes extreme positions or is confrontational and they don't want to read it because they don't see themselves as "extremists" and they are uncomfortable with confrontation. This blog used to be more extreme in its views and its old reputation continues. Of course no one could call it centerist or middle of the road now either. The mayor on the other hand is able to give many the impression she is a moderate person while she skillfully puts out inaccurate information and half truths. She has also been very successful in getting people who set editorial policy for the Herald and Pine Cone to accept her handouts with a non-critical eye. There will always be people who support candidates from whatever party no matter what their record as at worst the lesser of two evils. As more and more people move into Carmel who are able to afford homes here, more and more people who always vote Republican/conservative without paying attention to what's really going on are voting for the incumbents. Three segments of the population that vote in high percentages are conservatives, the retired and the well educated. Most new residents fit all three catagories. Most people are non-confrontational, including many "activists". McCloud of course is not. None the less those people who are paying attention will vote for what they see as in their best interests, sometimes in spite of political affiliation,if they have the necessary information and consider it credible. Unfortunately, to date McCloud and company have been all too successful in feeding people misinformation but convincing the voters of its credibility. Various candidates seeking to clean up Carmel government have not been able to reach the same level of credibility with the public. This blog is performing a service by countering the undeserved credibility level of McCloud and her associates but so far it doesn't appear to have been enough of a counterweight to make a difference.
There is an alternative explanation. Carmel residents don't mind being lied to. They don't care about sunset center. They don't care about much of anything.
Rumors this blog is controversial and confrontational speak more to the people making those charges than this blog itself. After all, many entries are fellow residents in their own words complaining about unfair treatment, lack of consideration, due process and worse. Most residents should be curious and have more sense. On the other hand, the truth can be scary to some people.
Hey. A casual surf of the blogosphere will turn up EXTREME, CONFRONTATIONAL blogs. They are partisan, vicious, vitriolic and some are obscene. This blog is certainly not one of them. For people to think it is is preposterous.
Dear Blogger,
People are out there trying to discredit this blog with false accusations. Believe the truth will eventually win out despite false allegations and stubborn opposition to it. Who knows, you might just start a revolution if Carmelites are up to it.
Sincerely,
One Admirer
Post a Comment