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Post by suchasadgcmom on Aug 12, 2009 19:46:17 GMT -5
please tell me...am I wrong to have ill feelings at every older person I see walking on the street or see in a store? I know it is childish, for I know nothing about how they voted, but I still have ill feelings toward them.....I feel so guilty for feeling this way...I wish I could just make this feeling go away...but I am having SUCH a difficult time .....
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Post by gobucks719 on Aug 12, 2009 20:15:02 GMT -5
I know that my Grandmother voted yes for the levy if that helps and of several other elderly folks that also voted yes, from walking and talking. Looking at the data it is clear that in the cities the levy passed however in the townships it was defeated. Not, that we should judge people that live in the townships, they have tough circumstances as much as anyone else.
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Post by gcbandmom on Aug 12, 2009 20:57:34 GMT -5
I too did walk and talk for the levy. I talked with many retired folks in GC that were supporting the levy.
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Post by suchasadgcmom on Aug 13, 2009 8:16:22 GMT -5
please forgive me if I insulted anyone...I am not judging anyone, nor would I treat badly anyone I do not know...this is not what I have taught my children to do either...I just have some resentment to a majority of elderly people, even in my own family that voted no...circumstances or not...it is just something I have to work with
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Post by austin on Aug 13, 2009 11:46:30 GMT -5
suchasad, you did not insult me at all. I think you were just being honest. My own 82-year-old mother-in-law does not support any levy - ever - I am very happy that she is not able to vote in SWCS. She says her kids are long through school, so why should she pay? No matter how many times it is explained to her that many people who were seniors when her children were schoolchildren were paying for her kids. She just refuses to listen and be reasonable. BTW, although she is not wealthy, the issue is NOT money.
So I understand how you might have that visceral reaction. However, I also know from being involved in the levy and encountering many seniors both on the phone and on walks and talks, many are very pro-education and understand that is their civic responsibility to pay it forward for the current generation of schoolchildren, just as someone paid for them and their children. Many seniors care deeply about this community's students. Have you ever heard Lou Huston (sp?) speak at school board meetings? She is very inspiring and I believe she represents a large contingent of seniors.
One observation I will make is that it seemed that seniors were somewhat more likely to be misinformed about important facts than younger people, which may just be a function of sometimes being a little more isolated. Not all seniors, by any stretch, but some. I would just encourage those who have seniors in their family to make sure they understand the actual facts, as they may tend to be less likely to make a phone call to the district to find out.
Of course, the level of younger people being so misinformed was rather appalling, so seniors are certainly not the culprits.
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Post by cougar82 on Aug 14, 2009 5:34:21 GMT -5
While working on the levy to attend meetings in the area, I did try to arrange a meeting with the Westland Senior Citizens group. I called the number and the former president of the group was very nice, talked for me for a while but said I had to call the new president to arrange to speak to the group at their next meeting. When I called the new president she immediately said no after I asked her what I wanted and she said"No, no thank you" and hung up. Though I know several seniors citizens knew the issues what the levy involved but some were not interested in finding the truth about the levy, you saw the SWAT protest on tv. These people would not listen. Like to know how much the ball and chain cost? $20.00 that was one month of the levy cost. Spend money on a prop but not on education. Who figure?
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Post by austin on Aug 14, 2009 8:39:03 GMT -5
cougar82, that is a little like the township trustees who refused to let anyone pro-levy come to speak at their meetings. IMHO, they shortchanged their residents by preventing them from hearing both sides of the story. Then they let their residents think, by the act of not correcting the record, that pro-levy groups did not wish to speak to them and did not care about them or their opinion.
This president of the seniors group did the same thing. It is not her place to decide what information everyone in the group should have. It sounds like she was putting her own views above representing the group.
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