GFPB misguided
Editor, The Commercial:
I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I don’t think anyone is doing anything that they are not choosing to participate in. Mayor Shirley Washington is not a puppet on a string. She’s just a mayor without a plan and Go Forward has been her crutch.
Ryan Watley was not put here to infiltrate Black people. You would fight like hell too if you were being paid the amount he is.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
It’s not an elaborate scheme. I think the people who are staunch supporters believe in it. I also think that they are out of touch with the reality of being an everyday citizen in Pine Bluff and the Black people that they’re around aren’t honest with them.
I don’t like the current condition of Pine Bluff. The city is raggedy, lacks enforcement, is crime-ridden, and most of our children can’t read.
Anyone going around only mentioning the good is either too satisfied with Pine Bluff’s reality or benefiting from its current state to come up with any viable solutions. Our city is being run like a non-profit, marketed as the new Black Wall Street without any Black wealth in sight.
When did Pine Bluff citizens become so soft and so desperate for acceptance that we now believe the bullets falling out of the sky are shooting stars? Making a wish that whoever is shot doesn’t die so that we don’t have to talk about it.
My truth comes from a place of love and respect. I respect y’all too much to treat you as if you’re unintelligent. True leaders accept problems and find solutions.
The ones you have to watch are those who tell you what you want to hear. If you are satisfied with the quality of life, education, economic development, government and infrastructure, keep doing the same thing but quit expecting different results.
If you are not satisfied, empower yourself, get educated and get involved. Give your leaders support versus demands.
In the book of Revelations, the Bible speaks about how those who will be judged the harshest are not those for or against, but those who straddle the fence and play both ends against the middle.
Pick a side.
This is not about young versus old. Some young adults are crooks and manipulators, too. This is about character. Get your discernment in check because it breaks my heart to see my community perish when the solution is so simple.
You should not bypass your government and strip their authority, because the people who YOU elected aren’t doing it how you want them to. That is not democracy!
Ask yourself: What does a better quality of life, education, economic development and infrastructure look like to you?
Share your ideas with your elected officials. Help them come up with a plan. Don’t just expect them to do it for you.
Joni Alexander-Robinson,
Former Pine Bluff City Council Member