I have "rethunk" a recent action of mine. Being a Leo with Aries rising, I am supposedly prone to being very bossy -----which I agree is usually true---- as when I had my little grocery store in the '80's, my own children called me the Master Sergeant! Apparently, I wasn't all that bad, as every kid in the neighborhood wanted to live at my house!
The best part, however, was that, due mostly to my "bossy" insistence, high expectations, and perseverance ---(that old-fashioned thing called, "Staying on their butt!")--- all three of my children became fine adults and citizens who learned right and wrong, responsiblity, how to deal with the public, and to do the right thing. Many people through the years have asked what was my secret for raising such great young people. I am glad I was able to have a hand in raising Jon Marie, Jimmy, and Bobby, my children of whom I am so very proud to be their mother.
I also agree that I am supposedly prone to being an action person who is somewhat impulsive, and perhaps--you note, I said, "perhaps"---do something I later think might have been okay to leave as is. It is hard to admit it though, like my first husband-- actually a wonderful and always confident man in many ways--- who thought he was wrong ONCE, but later found out he was mistaken!
Seriously, I have decided---remember, I am "The Decider" on this blog, as it is MY journal---that the comment that Crazyolnorwegian left Saturday night on the blog entry, "Archives and Apology", is acceptable and appropriate as he or she wrote it, and if they would please leave it again, I will not delete it this time. It is really difficult without being face-to-face to know what is meant by a comment, so I always delete any comment I am in doubt of or contains anything inappropriate.
However, on second thought, I'm not sure Crazyolnorwegian meant the comment the way I took it, and I am sorry I deleted it. No comment left by anyone really matters, however, as I will never be able to say enough about the despicable actions and lies of former Cranfills Gap School Superintendent Carla Sigler and Cranfills Gap school board members Kenny Wiese, Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrels, when they purposely harmed a child and knowingly broke the law to cause that harm.
Forever is a long time, and I have been compared to that elephant who never forgets. I can forgive, but some things are so egregious they should never be forgotten. And there may actually be a few brave folks in the town of Cranfills Gap, Texas, and the surrounding area who agree with me on the sad saga of Carla Sigler, but, like some of the Germans in Nazi Germany--and there were some Germans who were appalled by Hitler's actions and considered him a maniac----- are afraid to say so, and that's okay. I don't need anyone's approval or disapproval to express my own disgust and dismay that anyone would be allowed to treat other human beings so badly, especially in this spiritual nation and this supposedly enlightened time in our history.
Perhaps it is just my turn to stand up and shout to the world, "Look at what these people did! What an injustice! They need to be held accountable for their despicable actions!" And if my little blog helps hold them accountable in any way, so be it.
Throughout the years, many attorneys and even a few judges have told me I would make an excellent lawyer or judge, as I have a keen sense of justice and fairness and believe that wrongs should be righted, restitution made, if possible, and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Just before he died in 1989, my daddy, Ralston Cecil Head, ( "Uncle Goober" to all my cousins), urged me to become an attorney or a judge. However, I was a single mother (with children and financial concerns--meaning very little money on hand) who had a business background, a great job with a wonderful company, and wanted my life to go in that direction. I have often wondered what my and my children's lives would be like today, if I had followed Daddy's advice and pursued that legal career path. For sure, I'd be making a lot more money!
Many folks have e-mailed me to tell me about their own less-than-perfect dealings with school boards, teachers, and school officials through the years. What came through on all the communications was that if someone doesn't take a stand, make an outcry, or take some type of action, then offenders-- like Hitler in Nazi Germany-- will become almost unstoppable because their behavior has been tolerated from the very beginning. I think the old line is something like, "When good men do nothing", etcetera. We all would rather let someone else take the risk of rocking the boat, all the while hoping that things will work out on their own, and we won't have to move out of our comfort zone to try to set things right.
However, many times what happens is that the person in authority becomes so powerful and accustomed to getting their own way-----no matter whether their way is right or wrong, or in the best interests of others as well as themself----this person becomes a tyrant, a despot. A tyrant or despot is defined as an authority figure who abuses their authority and becomes cruel, oppressive, unjust, harsh, and harmful. This authority figure can be a teacher, a spouse, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, even a parent----- anyone who has authority can be a tyrant if they choose to be.
Throughout history, tyrants and despots have been the rulers----kings, queens, princes, lords, barons, and czars---the monarchs who have been given or have taken power and authority for themselves and then abused the trust of those they ruled. Even with horrific World Wars fought, rulers still try to usurp power in our modern world. Some people think our own President George W. Bush and his administration, based on the ideas of Watergate-era Vice President Dick Cheney, is close to being tyrannical. (NOTE: This is just an observation--I will not discuss politics on my blog!)
There are many other countries in the world today that, without question, have despotical tyrants as rulers who mistreat their people for their own selfish interests. Tyrants consider themselves dominators, masters and overlords who think they know better than you what is best for you. To justify their actions, their thinking is along the line of "I'm doing this for your own good--I know better than you what is good for you!" And, all along, they are really doing what is in their own best interests. If their best interests and yours happen by chance to coincide, that's great--but if they don't coincide, well, that's just too bad!
Today, we Americans are fortunate to live in a democratic republic--- without a monarch, king, or queen--- where a power grab or attempted overthrow of democratic rule would be not be allowed. It is sad that, for whatever reason, many Americans believe our great country is on the wrong track. Oops, there's that dang politics trying to sneak in again! Time to end this entry. I leave you with part of the comment left by Crazyolnorwegian: "Enough said!"
5 comments:
An injustice was done! You are correct! However, I will quote two quotes and then ask you a question to ponder upon.
First, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."
Confucius==
Second, "Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself."
Shakespeare====
I saw Carla at Septemberfest and couldn't help but think, why is she here. She is just trying to keep this community fued fueled. Unfortunately, she has drawn you into this unyielding web of her's as well. We have a new WONDERFUL superintendent who has done great things to reunite this community. Nothing, but HARM to MORE children can come of continuing this hate. The students need us to support them now. I do not share your hatered for our boardmembers. Instead, I believe that they followed a shameful leader who they believed was steering them straight. At any rate, there are a lot of good people in this town and for the good of the school, we must bury the hatchet. Afterall, there is nothing that can be done AT ALL, to recreate graduation night and right that wrong. It is over, and Kaitlan will go on to do great things and will one day graduate from college and all of this will seem unimportant then. Most likely Carla will be back again for Lutefisk. Lets not let her lust for trouble continue to divide this community. We need to embrace the new Sup and let Carla know that at his helm, the community is reuniting. She can go back to Alaska and stay there!
Gaplionlover: You make good points, but you ignore the Facts. Accountabilty is not revenge. It is not about revenge with me, though many have said it ought to be. I don't have to do a thing, as I have FAITH that the LORD will take care of it. "VENGEANCE IS MINE", SAITH THE LORD.--I just hope He lets me know the where and the when of it. The Gap board members --all but one---KNOWINGLY BROKE THE LAW quite a few times, not just with Kaitlan but other things as well. You don't know the half of it! THOSE BOARD MEMBERS KNEW and are NOT BLAMELESS!!!--A few might have been led, but they were willing to be led to break the law....that was a choice they made. I believe they also should be held accountable for their choice to enrich themselves, fulfill their personal agenda,--whatever Carla was doing to them or for them to have them follow her like mindless sheep. Though Carla was the catalyst for most of these actions, she did not force Kathie Witte to intentionally withhold a teacher's statement of support for Kaitlan, or force Laura Rose to teach many years illegally, just to name a few things. Again, let me say the school board members are not blameless. Supt. Scott's admirable turnaround efforts may be too late, as the damage done by Carla and her friends may last forever. The damage done to Kaitlan, the school, and the town may be irreparable--- Only time will tell. Gaplionlover, you miss the whole point: Someone must put a stop to ---or at least slow hre down---Carla and those like her to protect to whatever degree possible the next unsuspecting victims, who could even be you! And I don't see anyone but me standing up to do that!
No alittleranchgal- I haven't missed the point. Everyone, including myself, who has read your blogs for months has heard your point and in most cases agrees with you. I don't care if you continue to hunt down and harass Carla until the end of time. I do however care about my community and its healing. Some of the members of the board who I know and care about are not the tyrants you describe. I am an outside party who has listened and heard both sides of this argument. My experience through out the years has led me to discover that the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. I do not want to rehash the incident here. It is done and many people suffered the damages of decisions that were made. Several of the board members you condem are wonderful people who have done an enormous amount of good for our community. Shelly doesn't even have children in the school, yet she devotes herself to the board and the chamber of commerce. Ken Wiese is one of the most upstanding people that I know. He loves the Gap and only wants to see it succeed. But, all of this is irrelevant because you are blinded to only see and hear one side of the issue. Many of the things you have said in your blogs, that I am sure you believe as fact, are in fact incorrect. But, once again, this is irrelevant because I will never convince you of this no matter what I say. However, try if it is possible to realize that you might not have all the facts about everything that occured here last year and that even if you did, it is in the past. We can only shape the future now. I will continue my thoughts in another post as I have run out of words.
What I will leave saying is that there are almost 100 students now at this school, including 2 of my own. I see wonderful things happening at the school this year and I want to see this continue. Nothing=====I repeat, Nothing, can change the past. However, what we do and say now can shape the future. Kaitlan will recover from not participating in the ceremony. She will go on to live a long and fruitful life and will have numerous events that will make this all seem insignificant. I now have to focus on my own children't future and the future of this town I love and call home. You said that it may be too late. I think what is happening in our community is proof that it is not too late. The Gap has survived through two world wars, a depression, droughts, and many other horrible events. Those things that tear us down only end up succeeding to make us stronger. As a Christian, I am asking you to let God have his vengeance and let the people of the Gap heal. After all, only he knows if malice was at work in all involved. Pray on Carla if you must, but let the board and those that are still here move on and continue to heal. Our new superintendent deserves to have everyones support and not have people undoing everything he is accomplishing.
Gaplionlover: Thanks for your thoughts. I feel for you and the town, just like I felt and still feel for Kaitlan and all the others harmed by Carla Sigler and her firends. I will answer your comment in the entry titled "Don't See Much Healing" of November 14th, 2007.
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