About The Monroe County reporter. (Forsyth, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2008)
February 27, 2008 PAGE 5A From the outside looking in Let’s put it on the table B ACK HOME: It has become a fact of daily life that issues of race and often real and implied discrimination underlie many of the prob lems we face in our country, in our state and yes, right in our communities and Monroe County as a whole. Most peo ple, including public and elected offi cials, prefer not to talk about race in the open and often deny that racism exists. But if we need evidence, the most recent Forsyth elections and the comments by a sitting commissioner confirm that racial feelings are always just under the surface of our civic and daily life. This issue has been on my mind because of the recent discovery of a let ter I wrote to my parents while a stu dent at the University of Georgia in January of 1961. UGA and the State of Georgia were in the throes of a major crisis over admitting two young African- American stu dents, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes. Here’s the letter: *A Good salesmen help us and the economy O ne of my favorite sayings is: “Nothing happens until some- b ° dySelIS— ' Salesmen have been getting a bum rap ever since that snake sold Eve on the merits of apple turnover. The truth is, though, that a good sales man - or woman - does an immeasurable amount of good. They make sure con sumer and product are a good match, that we are well versed in the benefits of a product. A good sales man saves us time, and money, by helping us find what we want, or need, quicker and easier. That’s a good sales man. Trouble is, there’s far too few of them. I got a reminder of that recently. There are lots of ways to kill a sale but two of the easi est are (1) a lack of interest in the cus tomer and (2) a lack of knowledge of the product. I followed my wife around recently as she shopped for a set of steak knives. Selling to my wife is like convincing a tiger to eat meat. If you’re not careful, she’ll take your arm off in her rush to get to the cash register. Even with this kind of no-brainer sale, I was astonished as I saw store clerks blow what should have been an easy lay-up. The first one never got off the stool he was perched on behind the counter. This, despite the fact, absolutely no one else was in the store. He just waved my wife over toward the far corner of the store. He didn’t go get the knives and put them in her hand. Not one word as to the mer its of this particular brand of steak knife. In fact, when asked, he admitted that he knew nothing about the knives. When asked about other choices, the clerk reached up on a shelf and pulled down another set. These weren’t marked with a price. How much are they, she asked? He didn’t know and the owner of the store wasn’t there. He didn’t offer to phone the owner, or try to look up the price himself ... nothing. A lady eager to buy some steak knives left that store with a definite urge to cut someone, but no knife to carry it out. This employee took what was pretty much a sure sale and killed it. How much does that cost a store each year? Story number two: This same eager buyer asks to see a pair of shoes. She’d rather buy shoes than eat! Size eight-medium, please. The clerk wandered back to the hidden hind-parts of the store and returned almost instant ly, empty-handed. “Sorry, we don’t have that style in your size,” he said noncha lantly. “Well,” she said, “Do you have that one?” (Pointing to another, similar style.) Again, he disappeared, and, again, just as quickly re-appeared, again empty-hand ed. “We have your size in that style, but not in that color, only in black. But he didn’t bother to bring the black pair with him. My wife offered a curt “thank you”, did an about-face, and was out of there in a flash. I could see the steam. She wanted a pair of shoes. Wanted them. But this clerk was too lazy, or ignorant, to even let her look at any! Another lost sale. How many dollars gone? Now compare that to this experience I had helping my mother buy a dishwash er. In this store, the owner greeted us at the door with a big smile. Did he have dishwashers? Not only was the answer a quick “yes”, he actually took my mother by the arm and led her over to the “Cadillac Escalade” of dishwashers. I think this one would actually take them off the table for you. As we stood by, this young man showed the easy-open door, the large slide-out basket that would hold even large pots and pans. He pointed out all the buttons on a console that might rival the space shuttle. While he was detailing the full warranty, I swear he was caressing the top of the washer like it was his girlfriend! My mother only generates about two dishes and a couple of dirty glasses a day, but boy she can keep those babies clean! This guy knew how to sell. What kind of shape might our economy be in if more of us were that good? Robert M. Williams, Jr. is vice president of The Monroe County Reporter, Inc. and publishes weekly newspapers in several Georgia communities. His comments are occasionally heard on Georgia Public Radio where this column was featured. He can be reached at rwilliams@atc.cc. Under the Gold Dome January 7, 1961 Dear Mother and Dad: Well, it has happened. It doesn’t look as if myself or anyone else will be able to continue their education at the University of Georgia. The students here have mixed opinions about the integration crisis here. The majority of the students want the uni versity to stay in operation regardless. Last night there was a demonstration on front campus at the Arch. They hung the Negro boy in effigy. The crowd dis persed and went to the track field where they burned a cross and shouted “2,4,6,8, we don’t want to integrate”. Mother and Dad, you have no need to worry. I did not and will not participate in any demonstration. I feel that any kind of demonstration is senseless and useless. Integration is inevitable regardless of the demonstra tions and rejections by the students of UGA. The word is going around on campus that UGA will be closed for a week starting next Wednesday so the Legislature will have time to act on the crisis. I’m sending you some clippings from the university paper, The Red and Black. I am writing this Saturday afternoon. Gotta get to studying. Love you all. Don In the almost 50 years that have elapsed since I wrote that letter, things have changed radically. We no longer see the raw prejudice that was exhibit ed in public by many students and offi cials of that time. If you didn’t live through that period, it is hard to believe that people were beaten up for expressing views such as mine during that period of history. Today, things are much more subtle, but the basic issue is still there. And, in 1961, racist attitudes existed....they did not have to be created! But it’s discouraging to see that today, I find there are those on both sides who wittingly or unwittingly create racist feelings in an attempt to advance their own pseudo egos, attitudes and causes, ignoring the common good. Many are afraid to put in on the table to get it out in the open and talk about it for a very simple reason: the fear of being labeled a racist and the stigma of being looked at as such. Our community is already under a stigma as was recently written in a let ter to the editor, as well as being report ed. Until we come to the realization that we as Monroe Countians together can overcome, then our little corner of the world will continue to be tarnished. Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former publisher of The Reporter. He can be contacted at tullaybear@bell- south.net. Senate spending lots of money W e are well into the 2008 leg islative ses sion now, and we have fin ished 22 of the required 40 legislative days of business. The pace is increasing daily as senators and representatives go about their work. This week, I’d like to discuss some of the big pieces of legislation that are making their way through the senate. The senate voted Thursday to approve the midyear adjust ment to the state budget for the remain der of fiscal year 2008, which ends June 30. The bill adds $300 million overall to the existing $20.2 million bud geted for fiscal year 2008. Funds included in the amend ed budget focus strictly on critical and emergency needs in the state. The senate’s version includes many of the funds agreed on by the governor and House of Representatives, including $40 million to build new reservoirs and $500,000 for repairs. The amended budget also includes new funds for improving the state’s mental hospitals, child welfare services and PeachCare. $6.3 million has been included for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund, which will be used to clean up sites around the state. Finally, $53 million will be allocated for trauma funding. Earlier this week, the senate passed legislation that I authored to ensure the integri ty of voting by absentee ballot in Georgia. Senate Bill 387 seeks to streamline the absentee balloting process, first by requiring all ballot clerks to compare absentee ballots with the voter information on file in the county registrar’s office at the time the ballot is sub mitted. The legislation fur ther protects the absentee bal loting process by requiring clerks to compare the signa ture on the submitted ballot with the signature on the voter registration card on file. In addition, ballot clerks would be required to store completed ballots in a manner that prevents tampering and unauthorized access. In an effort to make request ing an absentee ballot easier for those living overseas, the bill allows for electronic sub mission of an applicant’s infor mation. By allowing overseas Georgia residents to request a ballot online, the bill provides those serving in the military the opportunity to still be involved in their local and national elections. Other interesting bills that passed the Senate this week include: • SR 845: This resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution so as to authorize county governments to propose by the voters of their county a 1 percent sales and use tax to fund the con struction of transportation projects; Adopted on Feb. 20 by substitute 51 to 4; Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) • SR 822: This resolution creates Georgia-North Carolina and Georgia- Tennessee Boundary Line Commission; Adopted on Feb. 20 by 52 to 0; Sponsored by Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) • SR 722: This resolution creates the Grady Oversight Committee; Adopted on Feb. 21 by 46 to 6; Sponsored by Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) • SR 748: This bill urges the Grady Health System to adopt changes to its employee health benefits plan to require its employees to utilize the Grady Health System for primary health care, in addition to urg ing Fulton and DeKalb coun ties to consider similar changes to their employee health benefits plan. The bill also urges the Grady Health System to end its closed staff model and open credentialing to community doctors to encourage other insured patients to utilize the Grady Health System for primary health care; Adopted on Feb. 21 by 51 to 2; Sponsored by Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) • SB 395: This bill estab lishes the Safety Net Clinic grant program for the care and protection of indigent and elderly patients; Passed on Feb. 21 by 49 to 0; Sponsored by Sen. Greg Goggans (R- Douglas) Call or come visit when you need me . . . Sen. Cecil Staton serves as Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee. He rep resents the 18th Senate District which includes por tions of Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.5039 or via e-mail at cecil.staton@sen- ate.state.gov. By Cecil Sta ton LETTER TO THE EDITOR Save A Pet thanks middle school students To the editor: O n behalf of Save A Pet I would like to thank Jessica Price, the students at Banks Stephens Middle School and especially the Y-Club for their generous donation of over 300 lbs. of dog treats, puppy food and canned food. All through the month of December the stu dents collected the food every morning during homeroom. We at Save A Pet would like to applaud them!! For those of you who do not know about Save A Pet we are a non-profit organization that rescues dogs from the Monroe County animal control. We are a no kill shelter, which has room for approximately 70 dogs. We provide medical care and support to these homeless animals. While animals are in our care vaccines, spay or neuter, heartworm and flea prevention, heartworm treat ment, if needed, microchips, exercise and continual interac tion with humans are provid ed. Just to give you an idea it can cost around $1500 a month just for heartworm pills and flea preventative alone. All this is done with one full time and two part time employees and the many volunteers who work tirelessly to help the animals find their forever homes. We also feel that education is one of the best things we can do to help the community so in 2007 we launched COP or Canine Outreach Program. This service is provided free of charge to Schools, nursing homes and Childrens’ homes and the topics are tailored to the organization needs and age group. So please get involved like the students at Banks Stephens Middle School did. Give us a call at 994-3882 or check out our dogs on Petfinder.com. Remember us when you want to adopt a four legged family member or have an afternoon free to just give some love. Donations are always welcome. Carrie Russell Forsyth
