Some of you may have heard that here in downtown Chicago that the CTA has once again proposed a DOOMSDAY Scenario in case the IL state legislature doesn't come through with $110 Million to fund the system. This includes doubling most fares and generally sticking it to the working man, bringing new meaning to the phrase "CTA: Take It!" that mysteriously disappeared a few years ago.
Anyway, in light of these proposed fare increases, the CTA braintrusts, including new chairman and owner of a rock solid handshake Ron Huberman, decided to have a series of town hall meetings around the city to listen to what the people have to say and to emphasize that they don't want to have to raise fares, but will if they have to. And.....what the hell? One of these meetings is within walking distance of my place! I don't even have to take the bus to get there!
So I went.
I am almost sorry I did.
AS you entered you signed in. They gave each person a color coded card that would determine what order you would speak in. I took mine and sat towards the back, expecting to leave and get dinner before the GREEN CARDS (heh) got to speak at 8:30. Ron Huberman gave a brief presentation then opened the floor to comments. Upon further refelction, he opened the gates of hell.
Have you ever listened to the Gettysburg Address and had a chill run down your spine as it concludes with the part of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" not perishing from the earth? Well, those people must have been a lot less crazy when Lincoln was alive, because I am pretty sure Lincoln didn't intend for the government to be left in the hands of the people who go to CTA meetings.
Most people just stood up and griped about the service or cleanliness, or the general body odor of Bus Drivers. But some people really took the cake, the plate, and the tablecloth. The second dude to speak started rambling about the military industrial complex. He was booed down by a hostile Chicago crowd. "Don't I get three minutes?!?" he asked. "No" yelled the man in front of me. "You're Gone!" I added.
One lady couldn't speak English very well. Her comments consisted of "Washington Deee-Ceee Transport. Boston Transport. San Francisco Transport. Thank You." And in fact most comments were like that...rambling or complaining and completely without a point whatsoever. It was infuriating. I had shown up miffed about the possibility of fares increasing, and as the meeting went on I just got mad at the people who had shown up. Including the guy who spoke before I did--who looked like a mountain man, wouldn't cede the microphone, then wondered why noone listened to him.
Now it was my turn. I was pretty nervous. I thanked the board for coming out to listen to the People. I got some applause. Then I turned on the crowd. I told them board wouldn't listen to their rambling unless they had a specific point and wouldn't clean up the pee in the Subway--deal with it. Finally, I said that asking for money every year wsa just putting a band aid on a massive $110 Million head wound. A Band Aid wouldn't cut it. We need to do something to fix the wound, then make sure it doensn't happen next year. Well, the blind people still applauded for me. Then I went to Burger King.
I truly commend your civic responsibility. It's too bad there are more people like you who are intelligent and interested in finding solutions.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the problem with social services and the government in general is that the public gets to be a part of it all.
This country has grown too large for a democracy to work, as too many people feel/have become disenfranchised and so they resort to complaining instead of trying to fix the problem because they don't think one person can make a difference.
It's all very frustrating and just a part of the reason why I will spend at least half the year in Australia once I win the lottery.
I understand your frustration. It's exactly the same with our association meetings in our neighborhood. I've probably walked out of each and every one. Why? Because of the people that show up. At one meeting, we had just switched management companies because the old management company was run by some lady who was arrested for fraud among other things. Anyways, they clearly stated on the announcement for the meeting that the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the new management company. They also REITERATED the point when the meeting started. So what do the people that showed up proceed to do? BRING UP PROBLEMS WITH THE PREVIOUS MANAGEMENT COMPANY. Again, the board members announce that this isn't a bitch session and that this is a new management company so if you have any questions/concerns voice them. More comments about the old management company ensue. On top of that you have the occasional kooks who bring up the most trivial items out of nowhere. The topic could be landscaping, and they'd raise there hand and complain that the lightbulb on their porch hasn't been replaced despite the fact they haven't reported that it needed replacing.
ReplyDeleteYep. If there's one good thing you can take away from these meetings, it's that you are an intelligent human being. And even if someone gave you a lobotomy, you'd still have a leg up on the competition.
Part of me just wanted to make a joke and apologize to everyone for the constant urine smell at the Jarvis station (which I haven't used since I first moved here) and be all like "Yup. That was me. Sorry."
ReplyDeleteAnd if you can't at least speak/read ENGLISH you should be forbidden from taking part in the Democratic process. That isn't to sound racist, it's just common sense that if I went to another country like Australia, (where I would spend the winter half of the year)I would do my best to fit in by ending all sentences in "mate" and all conversations in "Cheers" .