Community leaders fight misconceptions

I must share a conversation I had this week with a Sikeston woman concerning the lack of jobs in our community.

Now first let me tell you this is a woman whom I respect. She is an intelligent woman who has called Sikeston home for a number of years.

Within a casual conversation, she asserted (and firmly believes) that Sikeston has through the years shunned new business and industry in an attempt to "control the population."

She believes - and is convinced - that there has been a concerted effort in the past and present to run jobs out of Sikeston in order to "force" people to move and seek employment elsewhere.

OK, so after I picked my jaw off the floor, I tried my best to give a brief history lesson on the job base in our community going back 50 years. I gave very specific details on why job creators had come here, why some had left and the efforts currently under way to attract industry and business.

I do not think I was successful in making the case.

The frustrating part of this entire conversation was twofold. First, this is a woman who has worked for the city and been a part of this community for a number of years. And second, she said these efforts to keep jobs away was directed primarily at the African-American community in Sikeston.

How can you reason with the unreasonable.

And one other detail she believes.

She said that the effort to keep jobs away was to assure that ample labor was available on the farms in this region.

I suspect - no I fear - that her mindset is shared by many others.

And as the local newspaper, I will take part of the blame for not explaining in greater detail through the years just how hard we, as a community, work to attract good-paying jobs here.

But beyond that blame, I am at a loss.

So let's clear the air.

This community has worked tirelessly and with great sacrifice for years to woo jobs here. I know because, by damned, I was involved in many of those efforts for the past 30-plus years.

In a much larger context, this is part of the on going struggle here and elsewhere to bridge misunderstanding and false perceptions.

No effort is under way or has been under way to "control the population" by ignoring industries or businesses which seek to consider Sikeston as their home.

In fact, massive and costly efforts have been on going to accomplish just the opposite.

I don't blame this fine woman for her views. I simply know them to be patently wrong.

But sometimes perception is reality and in this case, I suspect that may be true.