The Development of The Grove and the Plight of Independent owned business in St. Louis
I'll start off by declaring I am not a business owner in St. Louis but am speaking as a frequent patron of independent business and as a community organizer that has observed this city for the last 6 years as a resident and activist.
This paylot situation annoys me and amplifies the politics that has long existed in the city. When you drive down long stretches of city blocks with ample meter parking, largely unused during the day- it makes you wonder, why would the city create more paylots or more parking lots period. But then you'd have to wonder why St. Louis is still in recovery from a recession that happened over 50 years ago and was further worsened by the flight of the white middle class to the county which left in its wake, abandoned buildings, unemployment and poverty. When you factor in that this city's politicians come from political dynasties that are either themselves from Old Money, in bed with Old Money or in the pockets of corrupt corporations owned by Old Money steeped in Confederate doctrine and run the legal system here in the ol' Show Me State Missouri- then you should clearly see why that beyond what has popped off in Ferguson, these paylots are a continuance of a long crippling hold for power in the St. Louis metro area.
When I went back home to New York to visit, people would ask me with concerned looks- "How is St. Louis?" It took me a moment at first to realize, from their view St. Louis looked like a city on the verge of burning down and overcome by racist cops and disgruntled, angry poor black people; that Americans around the country who only watch CNN or FoxNews are only shown those facimiles and don't bother to travel, have a more open mind or verify their facts. Most of my friends understand, that the situation that Ferguson highlights between it's citizens and it's police department is nothing new to the American people. However one would hope that with the Black Lives Matters movement alive and strong across many cities and states in the U.S. the real issues should be clear to folks not involved in community organizing or grassroots activism. However, that level of understanding still largely remains a hope before we see much action from many everyday citizens.
In some way, I am glad that the city decided to turn the empty lot next to The Gramophone and across from some new businesses opening on the strip that so many of us have enjoyed for free in order to patron the businesses in the Grove into a paylot complete with clear paved lines and numbers to punch into the system. Perhaps the nice white business owners will begin to wakeup to the disenfranchisement that other small business owners with less privilege have had to contend with. Perhaps then, the people and institutions they are part of who believe they can control us with money and run our government may soon see that this chokehold they've had on the city has and only continues to fuel the uprising of dissatisfied residents and business owners who want to see their city grow beyond the confines of what the establishment deems appropriate. It is an uprising that has already begun but they've yet to see the full extent of its rage as we continue to fight for these freedoms framed within the pursuit of happiness that our executive, judicial and legal system have still yet to make good on the U.S. constitution's promises of. Because in the end, these bought politicians and overdue incumbents need to be unseated in order to topple the authority that's been wielded by these old conservative families of wealth whose reach over this city and counties' government, I find insidious and cruel in it's disregard for the people who live here. In the meantime St. Louisans can witness this Old Money parade their power in annual pageants and festivals sponsored by names like Peabody, Monsanto and Purina and where the keynote address is given by Mayor Slay or a Hubbard or a Bosley countless times.
Be careful during this election race. There are some politicians whose rhetoric may sound like what you like to hear, touting how a real State representative goes to where the people live and learns about what their needs are instead of telling them what we're going to do for you- because that same candidate also reasons that guns are necessary because they grew up in the countryside with guns and everyone in their family has guns so gun-owner rights should be top priority in oppose to reforming how we train law enforcement and not allow racist vigilantes to police our streets with their own lethal weapons (see St. Louis Public Radio NPR 7/29/16 interview with Missouri candidates). Listen carefully, and you may find those few opposing candidates that have refused to take any funding from donors that seek insurance for their profit interests and whose independent campaign are threatened by the hired thugs of these mobsters who call themselves politicians but have remained in office through much deceit and intimidation because they know they can't get maintain through honest votes.
These independent candidates are going to need all the support and protection they can get. They don't have wealthy companies backing them and ins with the police department to call off their hounds. So please do your homework and turn out at the polls. Make the change that you and I want to see for this city and for cities all across our nation. If you don't believe in voting, then get involved with community organizing, with PTAs, police accountability boards and business associations. We don't get to see change unless we put the work in- as you can see, no one is just going to do it for us and we can't rely on others to simply be on the side of what is just and for the greater good. But you don't have to listen to anything I have to offer, these are just my opinions- what do you think? It's totally up to you.
This paylot situation annoys me and amplifies the politics that has long existed in the city. When you drive down long stretches of city blocks with ample meter parking, largely unused during the day- it makes you wonder, why would the city create more paylots or more parking lots period. But then you'd have to wonder why St. Louis is still in recovery from a recession that happened over 50 years ago and was further worsened by the flight of the white middle class to the county which left in its wake, abandoned buildings, unemployment and poverty. When you factor in that this city's politicians come from political dynasties that are either themselves from Old Money, in bed with Old Money or in the pockets of corrupt corporations owned by Old Money steeped in Confederate doctrine and run the legal system here in the ol' Show Me State Missouri- then you should clearly see why that beyond what has popped off in Ferguson, these paylots are a continuance of a long crippling hold for power in the St. Louis metro area.
When I went back home to New York to visit, people would ask me with concerned looks- "How is St. Louis?" It took me a moment at first to realize, from their view St. Louis looked like a city on the verge of burning down and overcome by racist cops and disgruntled, angry poor black people; that Americans around the country who only watch CNN or FoxNews are only shown those facimiles and don't bother to travel, have a more open mind or verify their facts. Most of my friends understand, that the situation that Ferguson highlights between it's citizens and it's police department is nothing new to the American people. However one would hope that with the Black Lives Matters movement alive and strong across many cities and states in the U.S. the real issues should be clear to folks not involved in community organizing or grassroots activism. However, that level of understanding still largely remains a hope before we see much action from many everyday citizens.
In some way, I am glad that the city decided to turn the empty lot next to The Gramophone and across from some new businesses opening on the strip that so many of us have enjoyed for free in order to patron the businesses in the Grove into a paylot complete with clear paved lines and numbers to punch into the system. Perhaps the nice white business owners will begin to wakeup to the disenfranchisement that other small business owners with less privilege have had to contend with. Perhaps then, the people and institutions they are part of who believe they can control us with money and run our government may soon see that this chokehold they've had on the city has and only continues to fuel the uprising of dissatisfied residents and business owners who want to see their city grow beyond the confines of what the establishment deems appropriate. It is an uprising that has already begun but they've yet to see the full extent of its rage as we continue to fight for these freedoms framed within the pursuit of happiness that our executive, judicial and legal system have still yet to make good on the U.S. constitution's promises of. Because in the end, these bought politicians and overdue incumbents need to be unseated in order to topple the authority that's been wielded by these old conservative families of wealth whose reach over this city and counties' government, I find insidious and cruel in it's disregard for the people who live here. In the meantime St. Louisans can witness this Old Money parade their power in annual pageants and festivals sponsored by names like Peabody, Monsanto and Purina and where the keynote address is given by Mayor Slay or a Hubbard or a Bosley countless times.
Be careful during this election race. There are some politicians whose rhetoric may sound like what you like to hear, touting how a real State representative goes to where the people live and learns about what their needs are instead of telling them what we're going to do for you- because that same candidate also reasons that guns are necessary because they grew up in the countryside with guns and everyone in their family has guns so gun-owner rights should be top priority in oppose to reforming how we train law enforcement and not allow racist vigilantes to police our streets with their own lethal weapons (see St. Louis Public Radio NPR 7/29/16 interview with Missouri candidates). Listen carefully, and you may find those few opposing candidates that have refused to take any funding from donors that seek insurance for their profit interests and whose independent campaign are threatened by the hired thugs of these mobsters who call themselves politicians but have remained in office through much deceit and intimidation because they know they can't get maintain through honest votes.
These independent candidates are going to need all the support and protection they can get. They don't have wealthy companies backing them and ins with the police department to call off their hounds. So please do your homework and turn out at the polls. Make the change that you and I want to see for this city and for cities all across our nation. If you don't believe in voting, then get involved with community organizing, with PTAs, police accountability boards and business associations. We don't get to see change unless we put the work in- as you can see, no one is just going to do it for us and we can't rely on others to simply be on the side of what is just and for the greater good. But you don't have to listen to anything I have to offer, these are just my opinions- what do you think? It's totally up to you.
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