Published March 22, 2008
This Generation: No where to run!
By Deon D. Price
What kind of community would you like your family to live in? Is your community becoming so undesirable that you are considering relocating? Many folks have begun the mass exodus of leaving Fairfield-Suisun, the Bay Area and even California completely. I understand why people choose to move out of the neighborhood when the environment becomes too violent, drug infested, or just unlivable.
My mother left the turbulent, racist and troubled environment of the South in 1961. She left Shreveport, Louisiana to raise her family in what she thought would be a more peaceful liberal, west coast environment of Southern California. Ironically, a few years later in 1965 the city of Los Angeles would irrupt in one of deadliest race riots in U.S. history.
As a youth I would deal with any potential problem or conflicts one way only. I would run. Running was my number one defense. Inspired by fear, I would just take to the wind at the slightest hint of trouble. I was such a small and quick little guy it was rare that anyone would ever catch me once I took off. I was so confident in my ability to escape that I would often tease a group of kids knowing that I wouldn’t be caught. Eventually, I did. When running was no longer working for me, I took to the Martial arts to defend myself from bullies and street gangs. Once I become confident and well trained in self defense, a very sad and dangerous change of event took place in he 80’s; the handgun became the weapon of choice for most people, making L.A. one of the most violent cities in the nation.
Like many others, I left the ills of southern California for a more relaxed environment of the Bay Area. Eventually, those same issues would find its way north. Similarly, many folks left the Bay Area to find homes and a more remote environment of Solano County or like comedian Bill Bellemey put in during his appearance at Pepperbellys recently, “get the hell out of the city and Lay low in Fairfield”. Unfortunately, we are learning that the problems of the Bay Area have expanded to the North Bay.
Now where are you going go? Dixon? Winters? Eureka? Enough is enough. Running away or relocating every time there’s trouble in a community is not the answer. However, if the environment reaches the point where it is out of control then maybe it is time to separate yourself. I don’t believe we are at that point as of yet.
Nature teaches us that when your environment changes, what you should do is make adjustments to endure those changes such as wearing a thick coat and hat in the winter.
Consider this illustration: if you have a pot of boiling water there are three items that will have three different effects when they are place in the water for three minutes; an egg would be become hard inside. A carrot would become weak and eventually break down; a coffee bean would do neither; it would not change its form but it will change the water. It will change the color, the aroma and the texture of the water.
Like that coffee bean, we can withstand the heat and have a positive effect in the environment. There are ways we can make a difference in the community in support of the local leadership. Fairfield-Suisun is not quite Sodom and Gomorra but we do need to take steps to improve the quality of life here and building a Wal-Mart is not enough.