Your Turn: Another Response to Jeremiah Dumas

Robert J. Allen

To the Editor

This is in response to Alderman Jeremiah Dumas’ Starkville Daily News, Letter to the Editor, “It’s about the big picture” of 8/21/10. He explained in that letter that he was responding to many letters from people, in or around Starkville, who expressed concern and indignation that the ordinances he has supported impinge upon their property rights.
I wrote one of the letters (starkville-now.com, 8/10/10, “A Response to Alderman Dumas”) to which he is referring..

In his 8/21 letter he wrote (in quotations):

“It has been very interesting to read the writings of many in response to a single letter declaring a need for regulation in this community. As I stated, the regulation idea is not a matter of trees, but community health and quality of life.”
Here he minimizes, and misrepresents, our opposition to his policies. Our responses were not about trees. Our responses were about city ordinances that do, or would, restrict our property rights. Mr. Dumas is only USING bicycles, trees, “community health and quality of life.” to impose those restrictions.

“Much thought went into whether I needed to respond, but I am responding for the primary purpose of saying that I will not step down and that I feel even more compelled to ensure a higher quality of life…”
Mr. Dumas informs us that he gave our disagreements with him, “Much thought”. That detail is insightful, for we see that, after all that thought, he still wrote the threatening things to us that he wrote in his 8/21 letter. That he would ponder it all that “much,” and still write what he wrote, tells us that he meant exactly what he wrote. And that persuasion leads us to say back to him, “We feel even more compelled to ensure” that his socialist goals (against us and) this community do not succeed.

“…for the majority of this community who enjoy living in an (sic) properly planned community.”
And Mr. Dumas presumes to tell us what constitutes a “properly prepared community.” We have told him repeatedly that we like our community like it is…that we don’t want what he wants to “give” us. But, like the elitist that he is, he arrogantly tells us back that he is committed to “giving” it to us anyway – because HE knows better than WE do, what kind of community Starkville should be.

I am sorry, but I am afraid that those of you who value the freedom to do anything and everything that you wish on your property, you are in the wrong city, as well as in the wrong era.
Once again, Mr. Dumas distorts and exaggerates the truth to make it appear that he has a point. “The freedom to do anything and everything that you wish on your property” has NEVER existed, in the sense that one has never been free to commit murder, conspire to violently overthrow the government, harbor criminals, manufacture illegal drugs, and many other things on their own property. Nor are residents of Starkville seeking expansion of our home-based activities to include those things. We are only calling for a cessation of intervention, and the threat of intervention, on the part of city officials to those activities that have always been understood to be rights “in (this) city” (today) as well as in (any previous) era.”
And to see that he actually told us, “…you are in the wrong city…” HOW ARROGANT!

I am not in this fight alone.
Since Mr. Dumas gave his last letter “Much thought,” I think he really means to use that word… I think he just admitted that he has picked a “fight” with the people of Starkville. Mr. Dumas’ goals, actions, and his own words in this and previous letters, and in Board of Alderman meeting public statements I have heard him make (and which are archived on videotape) all combine to indicate to me that by “fight” he is not referring to a mere “political squabble,” but to a “personal” combative “duel” in which he has pitted his will against ours. We do not take kindly to the people we elected – people who work for US, not WE for THEM – saying they are in such a “fight” with us. As much as we regret this kind of talk, we will not allow the socialism he intends to force upon us to happen, and we say back to Mr. Dumas, “We oppose the socialism you are trying to impose upon Starkville, and we ‘are not in this fight alone’ either.”

This City hired a planner five years ago to conduct a comprehensive plan that was not only approved by the city administration of the time, but was vested in the community through a public process of data and information sharing and gathering and brainstorming.
In his letter, Mr. Dumas gave 12 “findings” listed in a “comprehensive plan” that a city “planner,” “a mayor and seven aldermen”, and 12 people of the “Planning and Zoning commission… produced and adopted.” The list sounds good – in their current vague and undefined form. The people of Starkville may actually want work done toward these items – once we know the details. But so far, as demonstrated by the freedom-restrictive bike and tree “details” the Board drew up, we are skeptical of the “details” they may come up with on the other items.

What does all this stuff mean? Well a group of 20 elected or appointed citizens, a planning staff, a group of hired professionals, and a public process found a lack of regulations, that we needed to be better at enforcing our regulations, that we had unattractive places, we don’t have enough revenue, we need to embrace bikes and pedestrians, and we need to be better stewards of the environment.
Mr. Dumas apparently thinks that the “stuff” that his committee of “20 elected or appointed citizens”, (and whatever other people they gathered around them) decides, “means” that the judgement and the wishes of the far greater number of “citizens” of Starkville do not matter. We disagree.

Are all these people Communist/Socialist/dictators?
No, “ALL of these people probably (are not) Communist/Socialist/dictators” But the issue is not “the political persuasion” of these people (important as that is, in its own right). The issue is “do the people of Starkville want to invest their tax dollars in, and yield their freedoms to, the ordinances city officials and their special-interest allies are trying to impose upon them?”
But, since he brought the side-track up, if even one of these people (Mr. Dumas perhaps?) IS a “Communist/Socialist/dictators,” is that acceptable in Mr. Dumas’s judgement? Do they “ALL” have to be “Communist/Socialist/dictators” before he thinks that warrants concern? The people of Starkville are a little more proactive than that. Most of us think that even ONE such person is too much.

I think not. These are people that care about Starkville.
Does Mr. Dumas think that “care” alone is all that is needed? Does he think that having “care” for something, even large, sincere, and genuine “care,” bestows upon the “caring” person some sort of error-free predisposition?… That if people “care,” they cannot make mistakes or show poor judgement? Reasonable people know better.
But not so fast Mr. Dumas…, WE care about Starkville too. Why does Mr. Dumas treat our “care” as if it does not matter? Like the elitist that he is, Mr. Dumas seems to think that the “care” of 40-50 special-interest citizens should, and does, carry more weight than does the “care” of hundreds or thousands of the rest of us. We disagree.

Are these Republicans/Democrats/moderates?
I find it interesting that he did not include “conservatives” in this list. Could it be that there were NO conservatives on this planning committee?… That the committee was stacked against us from the start?

“Yes, there were many of each…”
This “Republican” list is the same irrelevant bait-and-switch trick that he tried to pull in the “communist” list above. By listing these 6 affiliations, he wanted a reader of his letter to think, “Oh, that committee member is a Republican (or Democrat) like me, so I can trust him to have done right in whatever capacity he served in while on that committee.” But reasonable people know such thinking is nonsense. There are too many RINOs (Republican In Name Only) in office doing non-Republican things to give us confidence in the judgement of a person who calls himself a “Republican.” The same is true of those who call themselves Democrats. So Mr. Dumas’ list of 6 political persuasions in this application was irrational and deceitful.

“…and all of them had the best interest for the City of Starkville in mind and so do I.
Like the “caring” thing above, these people may have “had the best interest for the City of Starkville.” in their minds, but that is no guarantee that they show good judgement in deciding what is “best” for Starkville. Once again, it is the IMPLEMENTATION of these findings that is at issue. And so far, we don’t think the Board is “implementing” well – good intentions or not..
Also, Mr. Dumas exaggerates the facts here too. He writes “all of them had the best interest for the City of Starkville in mind” as if they were all in favor of what Mr. Dumas wants. But this insinuation is incorrect. I have attended some to the “public process” meetings Mr. Dumas mentioned above, and I have witnessed citizens and city officials alike disagreeing with, and even protesting, the socialistic efforts He, and others, are promoting. By Mr. Dumas’ own admission above, these people “had … in mind”…”the best interest for the City of Starkville” too.

“I commend all of them for their hard work, foresight, and ability to produce a document that offers a good framework for our growth and development
It is time to amend our comprehensive plan and regulations will be a significant part of the process.”
Mr. Dumas is clearly pleased with this document, but judging by the ordinances the Board of Aldermen have already written to implement parts of it, we suspect that this “comprehensive plan” is very much like another “comprehensive plan” we saw rammed through at the Federal level. Like that one, we suspect that, rather than “amend” it, the better approach is to “repeal, replace, and restore” things back to the way they were in the “era” before Mr. Dumas was elected to the Board of Aldermen.

“As the chairman of the comprehensive planning committee, I am glad to lead a committee…”
Speaking of committees, many of us counsel the members of the Board of Aldermen to give “Much thought” to whether or not they want to be identified with the things Mr. Dumas is advocating. If the members of the Board follow him much further in his socialistic advocacy, they may find their political identity and careers too closely identified with his. Come re-election time, they may not be able to disconnect when his political future experiences the anti-incumbent voter reaction that many liberals all across the nation are right now rightfully experiencing.

“…that is diverse, energetic, and most importantly, a group that knows and understands what it takes to get Starkville to the next level.”
We appreciate hard working energetic people too. But we wish people put their energy into supporting worthy goals. We are convinced socialistic policies are not “worthy,” and that a group that supports them is not “a group that knows and understands (reality and) what it takes to get Starkville to the next level.”
And “the next level” of WHAT! The next level of socialism?

“This group is a proud group of Americans who enjoy freedom, love Starkville, and are volunteering their time for the effort.”
If they are all of this, they have a very strange and mistaken way of trying to show it.
But we too are “a proud group of Americans who enjoy freedom, love Starkville, and we too “are volunteering (our) time for the effort.” of stopping the high-sounding liberal policies Mr. Dumas and others are promoting.
And yes, Mr. Dumas, it IS “about the big picture”. But, like so much of what liberals say, he does not define his terms. Liberals talked a lot about “change,” but didn’t define (admit) what KIND of “change” they were out to produce. And they told us often, “Yes, we can” but didn’t admit to WHAT “we can” do. And Mr. Dumas writes about “the next level” and the “big picture”. He does not identify what “big picture” he is talking “about.” We suspect the “big picture” he means is a new socialist one. But we intend to see that the “big picture” that prevails in Starkville is the good-old, traditional, home-town American picture that are once again recognizes and secures our property rights and personal freedoms

“We look forward to seeing you as part of our comprehensive plan amendment public process.”
We can make Mr. Dumas very happy here. He wants to see us… He WILL see us. We assure Mr. Dumas that he will see us in the “public process”:… more of us all the time, as more and more residents in, and around, Starkville become aware of the un-American socialist things he is trying to do to us.

Thank you.

Robert J. Allen
2136 Craig Springs Rd.
Sturgis, MS
465-6190

Robert J. Allen, is a local activist with the Starkville Tea Party. He is also father of former Ward 5 Alderman candidate Mike Allen. His website is found at www.robertjallen.org.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of StarkvilleNow.com .