A take-off on the famous New Yorker cover: Urban Colonialism doesn’t see the rural community – only vacant land – somewhere between Deliverance and the Dukes of Hazard.
“The World According to Doctrine” — How Urban Colonialism sees the World
Tag: Urban Colonialism
“The World According to Doctrine” — “5K Run for Racism” T-Shirt
Which came first: the chicken or the egg? – Is that anything like “violence begets violence”? How about; “Fix the problem, not the blame.”
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Farm Harm” Gameboard
“Farm Harm” is a game where you are constantly moving forward, and moving backward; but never getting anywhere — like the mothers in “Ikiru”: passing from one section to another and ending up back where you started. That’s if you use the Bureaucrat’s Rules – if you change the rules; you can change the outcome.
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Rise of the Evil Ones” – Sanitizing Urban Colonialism
Urban Colonialism is the tentacle of our City-centric government: rural America is the patsy of urban policy making, and the cesspit of urban waste. Our country’s rural “Ag Ghettos” are decaying communities; lorded over by corporate agribusinesses wielding an absolute political power and entitlement. Communities that stood for centuries; through drought, depression and war – are being crushed by corrupt regulations and Agricultural Law: forced on them by a New Urbanism that sees rural America solely as a source of their food, and their recreation.
Urban Colonialism is the same authoritarian and arrogant model as every other colonialist paradigm: a policy of oppression, marginalization, and use – under the umbrella of “bringing civilization to the natives.”
If you want to see everything that’s wrong with our country; don’t look to the cities – look to the poverty, drug, crime, and ignorance that has eaten up rural America – the destruction of a people that are so unimportant — they’re not even worth thinking about.
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Rise of the Evil Ones” – “Form Based Urban Sprawl”
“Form Based Code” advocates always postulate the best of all worlds for their own plans; and the worst for everyone else’s. This follows the modern technique where one side of an argument also presents the case for the opposition – invariably to their detriment. [A real debate, like real public participation, is considered a dangerous throwback.]
These planners use the same arguments as dictators have always used: decision making by citizens is inefficient and contains too many varied and conflicting viewpoints for a properly directed society. And their vision of everybody rowing together under one authority does not preclude the use of galley slaves.
Like architectural drawings; where the buildings come first and the people are thrown in in later – Form Based Codes are all about power of codes; not the lives of people. Their vision is not about making people happy – it’s about making people conform.
In a time when the public has no meaningful say in policy making – it’s beyond foolish to increase the scope of government policy making power.
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Tompkins County: Proud to be ignorant” Bumper sticker
When there is only one belief; there is no need to look any further. Tompkins County’s doctrine pure don’t try to understand anything different; because it cannot be important – and it’s wrong. When there is only one belief; self-examination is unnecessary. When there is only one belief; there can only be believers. The Urban Colonialism of “New Urbanism” supporters sees only one form of living; spreading from one central seat of power – everyone and everything must conform – or be discarded. We’ve seen this kind of thinking before . . .
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “There are plenty of fish in the sea” Bumper sticker
The college experience in Tompkins County used to be characterized as “Centrally located; in the middle of nowhere” – now it’s “Centrally located; in themselves.” So many college students, staff, and alumni are wrapped up in being the “destination” of the future – they’re unable to wrap their heads around anything else.
Being in the middle of nowhere not only eliminates the competition; it throttles any opposition: there is only one source quoted for all information and explanation.
The metropolitan seas may offer a greater variety and number of opportunities; but the Tompkins County puddle offers the opportunity to be an absolute ruler — and for many people here – that’s the destination that attracts them most.
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “If rural people don’t fall through the cracks” Bumper sticker
“Tompkins County steps on their fingers.” There is nothing accidental about the fallout from the County’s policies – or the people who it falls on. The strength of the circumstantial case is in the unanimity of the evidence – like iron filings in a magnetic field; they fall into a pattern that reveals the force that works upon them – unmistakably.
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Yes, rural Tompkins County for the past twenty years.
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – Cornithaca Road Signs – “Rural Poor – Get the Axes”
Who says road signs are out of date? It’s always good to know what you’re heading into. These rhyming signs are placed at intervals along the road to convey a complete message, a la Burma Shave. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, Cornithaca County!
“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Protecting the Assets of the Rich” Bumper Sticker
When a car chase/gun fight on one of the local roads caused a higher number of complaints than usual; the County made an announcement:
One: There are only a “few bad characters.” Two: Their department was too small. And Three: It would be too expensive for the County to do anything about it.
Just the sort of response you would expect from a County Sheriff’s Dept. that will only show up in rural areas when it’s called, write a report, and leave.
Tompkins County’s “Ag Ghetto” policies, like other ghettos in other places, is one of containment. It’s a tool that Urban Colonialism uses to marginalize the rural natives.
Another tool? High rural property taxes — my neighbor just received a 10% increase in his County assessment: it takes an important amount of money to serve the important areas of Tompkins County.