Recently, our extremely talented and educational blogger Gladys Kravitz answered her own question to us as to why we fight. She wanted to know what motivates us to fight a casino in our community. Here was my response:
What keeps me fighting is the wrongness of this entire situation. The more I learn, the more I want to fight. I got into this because I am worried about the future of our community and the irrepairable damage to our quality of life a casino would bring.
I do it for my family...
I do it for my friends...
I do it for my neighbors....
I do it for my community....
and I do it for me because I know in my heart, not fighting, not standing up for my own rights, for all of our rights, and not demanding a fair and honest process is even more wrong than the casino itself.
NO CASINO!
here is another answer to that question:
Why do I keep fighting? Because it's wrong. It's wrong to be blindsided by a land sale whether or not you've been involved in the politics of the town or not. Our elected officials should have had the forethought to warn us all, knowing the potential impact a sale like this could have to a town and community(...and I'm not talking about some small advertisement in the Middleboro gazette)I fight because will live in a country where things like this should not happen. The process is done so coyly that unless you've lived through it, noone would believe you.I fight because it's important to have a voice and speak out....this is America after all, although that past year has made me wonder how this could happen here.
and another....
I continually remain in the fight for the quality of life for my children. My family has lived here longer than the Mashpee were a real "tribe". A polyglot of "praying indians" gathered in one place does not automatically make any one group a "tribe". I'm not in it for power, popularity or political agenda. I'm in it because it is the right thing to do, win or lose.
and another...
What keeps me fighting? I believe good will overcome evil, but "the good" have to group together & fight long & hard. All of you anti-casino people,cfo.org,all you bloggers, are the good & you all have been fighting this evil, long & hard, so I thank all of you & may the god of your choice BLESS YOU for all you've done in the past yr.
WE WILL WIN, THERE WILL BE NO CASINO IN MIDDLEBORO!!!!!!!!!!
and another...
I fight the casino knowing that it is the symptom of a bigger problem, and that communities all over the country are faced with the very same "done deal" scenario, complete with local elected leaders who have failed to successfully manage a budget and need an easy answer to thier fiscal problems.I fight the casino because the M'boro BOS didn't.I fight the casino because through research I have learned that an apathetic public has saddled me with an inept government, and maybe our battle will help change some of that. I fight this casino because I was one of those people who wasn't paying attention, and I was forced to fight if I wanted to have a say in what I wanted for my community.And I continue to fight because I am paying attention now, and after the casino issue is done, my job as a citizen isn't.As a greatful citizen, I would like to tip my hat to everyone in this fight:-CFO (past and present officers/members); good people who dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to what they believed in.-Bloggers like Bellicose Bumpkin, Gladys Kravits and Carver Chick. Keeping the public informed would have been impossible without you.-And last but not least, I wish to thank everyone who said we had no choice. It forced me to do my own research, and through it, I learned how to effectively oppose you.Keep well & keep fighting, Gladys!
and another....
I fight to educate and share the research with those who; don't have the motivation, the need, the compassion for their neighbors, feel that geography will keep them safe, are hoodwinked by their leaders, mis-informed by the media and feel-good politics. Expanded gambling is not the answer. We should look to build our future on our strengths, and not our weaknesses.
and another...
I was lied to.My property was vandalized.My town and my way of life is threatened.I will never forget.We cannot let this happen.
Now if you consider how this all came about...then I would hope you can begin to understand why we fight. My point here is that people who are against a casino in Middleboro are against it for real and valid reasons. Whether it is because we don't like how this was shoved down our throats and told it is inevitable
resistance is futile...
or how it will destroy our quality of life in our hometowns, or because the process is flawed and the Tribe has no right to call that land an initial reservation, we fight because we know that everything about this nightmare had been wrong from day one. Yet we are constantly told that a casino in Middleboro will bring jobs and money, and how a casino on sovereign land will jumpstart our economy because it is a super special and magical economic engine.... and let's face it, the Mashpee Tribe deserves the land regardless of how the surrounding communities feel or what the law says because the pilgrims were nothing but a bunch of murdering thieves....and if we don't bend over and take it, well....
resistance is futile...
then we are nothing but a bunch of racist, indian hating, evil, lying, ignorant people. We are nazis and dictators...we are scum...and you know what.....it doesn't matter what they say because we know who we are, we know the law and we know our rights.
So we fight.
How anti-casino people fight
Casinofacts.org
Casino Free Mass
How "evil" anti-casino bloggers fight
The Blogfathers
How (some) pro-casino people fight
XXX (cfo member) and XXX (CFO Director) scum sucking toads.
Mommy, why do all the kids at school call you a liar?
Mommy, why is daddy never here when uncle Adam is?
Mommy, why do we have chicken every night?
Mommy. why are you always on the computer?Mommy, when is the man with the marshmellows going to visit you again?
being descended from those dregs of society england sent over on those first boats to plymouth ain't exactly something to brag about. have you read their bios and histories? omg, what a bunch of losers. no wonder the Brits jumped at a chance to dump them here. wicked losas! lmao!
and the pure-i-tans were exactly pure. francis eaton, 1st plymouth carpenter, had a mistress to keep him warm. haha! too funny! lice infested, disease ridden bunch of fornicators...why is everybody so proud to trace their roots back to the mayflower?
This entire area was founded by theives and murderers.
which part of the CFO chicken tastes best? Wing, legs or breast? Time for a pig roast? Anyone know where I can get three little piggies?
Are CFO dumb or just stupid?You people keep saying that this is about a casino. You are nothing but indian haters. You would hate it if they decided to build a dry cleaners or a mall or anything on the land they will own through a legal purchase. It isn't about a casino it is about your hate of them. Well you know what. Why doesn't everyone just go back to where their ancestors are from and who ever remains gets the land.
Call the police. Call DSS. She has kids too.
Casino Factless has done one piece of research and nothing else. Over and over and over again they have been proven wrong.Casino Factless are bigots and racists. They say it will bring crime. Middleboro's got it. They say it will bring prositution. Middleboro's got it. They say it will bring bad elements to town. Mary Tufts won't leave Middleboro alone. Call someone other than the guy from North Stonington who fights against the recognition of Native Americans. If you do call him, ask him what happened to housing prices in his community since Foxwoods opened up as compared to the region. Ask him why he is against Native Americans providing for themselves. Ask him if he blongs or supports CERA (look them up and see what you find).
Well, if they are going to let CFO use the lawn, why not host the KKK's next fund raiser? These secretive harassment groups seem to have quite a bit in common.
and my personal favorite...
If RY is really serious his oranization will get rid of MT's Mini-me CC and the pathetic "1623." Then they may be able to sit at the table with a shread of dignity.
Hey...if I am going to be called a mini version of Gladys Kravitz, then my work has been done. My goodness...I can't think of a better compliment than that. I mean, here we have an extremely talented blogger who has personally witnessed the atrocities of a defunct BoS for the past year, found the courage to actually talk about it and have the "spit in your eye" attitude to call out bad town government and stand up for what is right .... and yet somehow continues to stand up for what she believes in lieu of luid photo contests, threats, harrassment and downright nastiness from a group of people who call themselves "kind and caring citizens" -- and I am being called her mini-me. I am being compared to a woman who has more integrity in her little finger than an entire flock of flying monkeys combined and all I have to say to that is...
THANK YOU!
I am honored. I cannot think of another woman who I know (besides my most excellent mom) that I would like to be considered the same calibur as.....Gladys, you are an inspiration to us all and we love you for it. You ROCK!
And for all the flying monkeys posting on topix, please do us all a favor and just zip it. The gossip, harrassment, paranoid insinuations, cyberbullying and juvenile posts are not helping to heal the damage that has already been done to this community by a casino that isn't even here.
And because I just love this video.... (thank you Gladys - number one on youtube. ya!)
Never give in.. never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force.. never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
- Winston Churchill -
- be the change you want to see in the world -
12 comments:
CC
Thank you for devoting this blogpost to what has become a serious abuse of the power of the written word on the net. Topix has become a festering infection spreading beyond control. What started as a personal vendetta by a malcontent (who has since created a blog devoted to his bilious venom) against one of the Blogfathers has now developed into an organized effort to attack anyone associated with the anticasino movement. Ironically the posters there utilize the hit and run tactics they accuse others of. Their public effort to destroy people's reputations is cruel and reprehensible.
I don't know what the solution is.
But I am proud that CFO members have refused to knuckle under to the pressure to go underground. I fully appreciate the personal cost to you and all those who have been targetted. What I do know is that relenting to the harassment is not the answer. The posters on Topix don't deserve even the perception of victory.
I give you a great deal of credit for exposing this pestilence to the light of day. Your courage and admiration is admirable. God bless you.
What a striking tribute! And a beautiful job, CC.
What are they children of Middleboro learning from some of the "adults"? Certainly not civility and personal responsibility.
When someone says they're one thing and you ask for proof, and they have none, don't believe them. When a shread of proof cannot be delivered, some people say a large part of "our history is not documented, it's oral." That tells me it's made up as you go along. Money, not history gave the Mashpee recognition, money is attempting to change history again.If the Mashpee love Middleboro so much and care about OUR town, then why don't they move here and make it better with us, I know a large percentage of them can afford it. Wash your hands, stained of green and hold hand to feather and to eagle talon. Set yourself free of the hold and find the spirit of a large tree with strong roots.
I may have called people "clowns" and "losers" out of extreme frustation or anger with the idiocy that occurs with Middleboro FMs or with TOPIX poster's maturity level. But one thing I don't do as they do and that is call people POS. They think it is elitist for me to have pride in my heritage. Every individual should be proud of theirs, no matter how or when someone came to this great land. I believe there are members of the Mashpee tribe that are truly proud of theirs and with humility and dignity proclaim it. They are true Mashpee Indians. Not the ones who sold their native souls to South African casino investors and roast marshmallows on land that was never theirs and still don't out right own.
Thank you Carver Chick. Gladys is one of my heros. She does truly rock. You do too.
Bravo! The Blogfathers are all my heros. These TOPIX children all must have severe PMS 24/7. I don't experience it that bad. They act like bad little two year olds and they deserve a good spanking from a good mother once in a while. As difficult it can get even venturing into their forum to give that motherly spanking, it is sorely needed. Maybe someday they will grow up, but I tend to doubt it.
Don't these people understand that attacking our principles only causes us to unite more resolutely? I refuse to be intimidated, and I will not dignify the crap they disseminate with any response on their dubious forum. Perhaps I'm naive, but I have never witnessed such a childish display of behavior from supposed grown ups.
And what is the matter with the sponsors of Topix for not moderating their site more closely for abuse?
CC,
You aren't a mini-me anything. You truly rock this house all by yourself. I've often felt like I've given 200% effort to this fight, but if that's true, then you've given 300%.
Thank you so much, once again, for your outward show of support.
I honestly haven't been on Topix in quite awhile. (No Topix no cry ;~) So I hadn't realized they were dragging my kids into their cesspool.
Wasn't it just last summer that Adam Bond publicly chastised and officially sanctioned CasinoFacts.org when a poster on some obsure, now-defunct forum did this to HIS CHILD? I will axiously await Mr. Bond's outrage and his public demand that Topix be sanctioned.
Thank you, also, CC for using the words from my blog comments in this wonderful way - to demonstrate how truly different our way of fighting has been compared to a few pro-casino folks who act worse than little children. In fact...
I remember this one time in fifth grade... One day at recess I saw a big group of kids gathered around a covered doorway. So I went to see what was going on. When I got there, up on the steps and pushed into a corner was a girl. All around her were other boys and girls screaming at her, at the top of their lungs, pointing and baring their fists at her. And around them, was a semi-circle of spectators just looking on doing nothing. Coming from the North Middleboro schools I hardly knew anybody at this new school, so I turned to a kid and asked, "What's going on? What'd she do?" To which he replied, in all seriousness, "She's wearing brown shoes. And I'm certain I must have muttered the fifth grade equivlient of WTF, as I pushed through the crowd, up the steps, past the fists, took the girl by the hand and pulled her out and away from the bullying crowd. Now, we didn't go on to be best friends or anything and she continued to be pretty much an object of derision and ridicule for the next 8 years, because kids will be kids, but she never got the mob treatment again. And then, on the last day of senior year, the whole graduating class was gathered in the auditorium for senior assembly when, at the very end, she came out on stage and belted out an incredible, moving, showstopper of a song in a moment that I have never forgotten. And everyone, including, I have no doubt, some of those same kids who once screamed at her in fifth grade doorway, rose to their feet and gave her a standing ovation. And I remember thinking, "Wow kid, you really showed 'em."
I'll show 'em, too, CC. We all will.
CC - There is no real content on Topix. Unfortunately, it is a forum for people to spout there dislike of the facts and of the people who dislike them. Thank you for always discussing this issue in a manner that is rational and factual. Great blog!
Gladys, I am so amazed that you spoke about KO's performance during our senior year. It is something that has stayed with me. This was the perfect story to tell! (Thank you for making me remember it.)
And you are right. They can rant and rave all they want. What does the pro side think, the one who shouts the most vile comment wins? Or the one who shouts loudest does? T
his is not a battle for the feint of heart. It requires strength of character, commitment to what we belive, and devotion to the efforts we must take to be victorious.
And thanks to CC, Gladys and Bellicose, we have the inspiration we need to endure. Thank you all for being there.
Signed,
Tracy
Thanks Tracy,
And I'm sure you and I aren't the only ones who remember the moment of triumph when KO "showed 'em".
She probably has no memory of that moment in 5th grade when I pulled her out of a threatening pre-adolescent mob scene. And I'm not sure it ever made a difference to her.
But I remembered it. And it made a difference to me. Because it was a moment when 'doing the right thing' suddenly wasn't just a message coming from a public service announcement. It wasn't something you might be thanked for or something that was acknowledged or something appreciated - it was simply understanding the fact that doing the right thing - is the right thing to do.
But for the record, I'll long remember the folks who've done the same for me.
Mary
CC,
You, Gladys and BB are all amazing. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't tune in to this website daily and get my fix on the latest casino developments.
You have all put up with so much criticism and I applaud you all for continuing the fight. I have never gotten on Topix, but the personal vendettas sound very disturbing and one does have to wonder how mentally stable those making the comments are....kind of gives us all a prelude to the types of people we would be dealing with if a casino were to ever erupt in Middleboro (which it won't).
Hopefully, come Nov when Carcieri vs. Kempthorne is heard, there will be an end to all of this and we can celebrate a well deserved victory party.
Without you brave ladies, we would be lost. You are smart, articulate and have endured personal attacks that are unjustified and mindless.
Stepping back from the casino fiasco, if it is at all possible, the conduct of the proponents has been revealing of undemocratic tactics that are reprehensible and defines them as little more than thugs. I never believed I would see a time when it was acceptable to behave like brutes and be sanctioned and encouraged by elected leaders. And there is more conduct I wont list that I never thought I would witness. I have faith that the casino will never arrive in the 'boro, but what will happen to the venom and the anger the mindless mob has created? This was never about the enemy. It was about the truth the facts and quality of life. It was about what was morally right and not about rewarding investors at the expense of the rest of us.
Many have revealed the smallness of their beings.
How sad.
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