This small website has been publishing for less than a month, but in that time it’s seen steady readership growth, and a fair amount of reader e-mail. I thought that I would take a moment to answer some of the questions that I’ve been asked. (As I publish pseudonymously, I ‘ll not publish the names of any readers.) Here are the paraphrases of questions that I’ve been asked, and my replies.
Q: Do you really live in Whitewater?
A: Yes, I am a long-time resident. I have been here long enough that, by any conventional reckoning, I have been here forever.
Q: Why do you want to embarrass/criticize the town?
A: Reform and growth begin with honesty, not whitewash and Potemkin villages. We have some great possibilities before us, but some of our fellow residents have been treated with outrageous cruelty and official indifference, lies, and excuses. All the birdhouses hanging from lampposts will not undo the damage that, for example, our police force has recently inflicted on hardworking people.
Q: You seem to ‘have it good,’ so why would you complain?
A: It’s no way to live, silent while others are injured. Thanks for noticing — I am citizen, resident, property owner, white, and educated. By the distorted view of some in this town, I should be contented, and quiet.
Q: What do you mean ‘toward a free and honest city?’ We’re free now.
A: We’re not the municipality and society that we should, could, and one day will, be. The lack of honesty takes a few forms: (1) officials disguise their real motivations, (2) use their offices to enforce ordinary regulations selectively, for friends and against enemies, (3) refuse to accept accountability for unconscionable or revolting actions, and (4) spread the message that this town belongs to a select, mostly town-bred group, not all residents.
Q: We’re growing, and you’re just ignoring our new construction.
A: The coming week’s posts will focus on an overview of development in Whitewater — some of it is positive, some not.
Q: What do you mean by ‘town elite?’
A: That’s a good question, because even in our small town, there’s more than one person who’s part of the town elite, or town faction. Many of them, in fact, would hardly be considered elite at all, but they do have a significant influence here. Some are established, white-collar long-term residents. They’ve either been here a longtime, or forever, except for time away at UW Madison or Marquette, perhaps. They’re established, if bit stodgy. Many consider themselves a true elite, but actually know little about the world outside, and are suspicious of change, and newcomers.
The second principal group is blue collar, with high school or tech school educations, and works in supporting jobs, either for the city or in town businesses. They gain their influence through occasional favoritism in their municipal jobs, through selection as pushovers on municipal committees, or through any number of predominantly blue-collar social organizations. Among these groups are most police officers, municipal workers, clerks in many town businesses, and the volunteers of the Whitewater Fire Department. (The police and fire departments are blue collar organizations, and they think and behave like working class organizations. The fire department includes many working class residents who would otherwise have little status or authority except through membership in its fraternity.)
These two groups are not alike, except in the broad particulars that ultimately unite them: white, clannish, suspicious of others, ignorant of economics and business-standard practices, ill-disposed toward minorities, and determined that their views should prevail here perpetually.
Q: Do you work at the university?
A: No, I have no connection to UWW.
Q: Why don’t you leave?
A: This is my home as much as anyone’s home, and I will never leave. I have written truthfully about our city, and I have only begun to do so. I’ve had solid growth in readership (although some may not admit that they’re readers, which tells you how close-minded others in town are), and I will begin a significant publicity campaign beginning this fall. (At this rate, though, I may not need one.)
Q: It makes me feel better that someone understands how I feel. How can I thank you for what you’ve written?
A: You just did, although you owe me nothing. I’ll keep typing.