“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.” - Kofi Annan To whom it may concern, In my last letter to the editor the point I was trying to make was not about Topeka Street or any other street. We need to put our resources into things that matter most, like our city employees and the people of our community. Many streets in Trinidad need attention and have seniors living on them. As deeply as I feel for these people, issues with our streets can be worked around. Not having enough money to pay our employees, cutting from the bottom, and threatening furloughs are solutions that must be avoided and cannot be worked around. If improvements to the streets are necessities then the city should apply for grants or funding specifically marked for it. We should also start with the most traveled streets in the greatest amount of disrepair. At the recent city council meeting Mrs. Bolton and her supporters that were pushing the issue of cutting from the bottom and putting employees on furlough have backed away from the idea now claiming they will do whatever they can to avoid cutbacks. I believe my last letter served its purpose. Mr. Bolton stated Jesse Manzanares wrote my previous letter to the editor. I have 4 college degrees and have owned a business for the last 12 years. I have prepared and implemented large scale marketing campaigns in several countries. I am very capable of writing my own letter. Mr. Manzanares has his own opinions and has no problem stating them with his name below them. I have stated before that Mr. Bolton and the other tyrants in town are not going to intimidate me or keep me from standing up for what is right. The narcissism that these tyrants suffer from does not entitle them to decide what Trinidad needs. No person, or small group, has that right. What community member would believe widening a street is more important than making sure families in our community earn a living wage? We have to have our priorities in order. Since Mr. Bolton is an outspoken person and financially independent maybe he should find a way to provide the funding for Topeka Street if he believes it is that important of an issue? It would be a much better use of time then trying to engage myself or others in time wasting debates. In fact, much of Mr. Bolton’s community involvement, such as the recalls, has cost Trinidad over $100,000. I’m not sure what a “fake internet paper” is but my company does run a website that gets tens of thousands of visitors and a magazine that had over 187,000 viewers last month. Information is valuable, regardless if it is printed on paper or delivered via the internet. In fact, many newspapers and magazines are going completely digital. It is more cost effective, ecofriendly and timely. I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Bolton for finally taking an interest in repairing and improving their properties and I hope they continue to do so. I also hope we find the funding to improve the many areas of disrepair in Trinidad. However, our first concern should be taking care of the people. I also want to thank Mrs. Bolton and her supporters for deciding to make sure our city employees are not cut from the bottom. It shows she is capable of reevaluation. On February of 2012 Mr. Bolton sent out a letter that ended with, “One people, one race, one vision. Help us!” Later the Times Independent printed the letter but edited it significantly so it was not so racially offensive or filled with misspellings and bad grammar. What race was Mr. Bolton talking about? Obviously it is not the Hispanic or Italian ethnicities which represent the largest number of Trinidad’s population and have been here for generations. Maybe it is not Jesse Manzanares or I that Mr. Bolton has issues with but the ethnicities we were born into. Mrs. Bolton can tell my family to leave Trinidad and we aren’t wanted here but we have been here for generations and we are not going anywhere. No matter how much the Boltons and other dictators harass us. This is our home and we will fight for what we believe in. However there is no need to continue this third person disagreement. I wanted the city to have its priorities in order and keep Mrs. Bolton and her supporters from cutting back hours from our lowest paid city employees. With that accomplished I will end with this, anyone who has an issue with me or wants to find out the truth about things can contact me personally at 719.433.9364. Please do not make ignorant comments or guess what is occurring in my life. I will tell you directly. I believe I have made a name for myself in town as someone who is not afraid to state his beliefs regardless of who is around or who is asking. “Jay” Jose Rafael Martinez (This letter has been submitted to Around SOCO Magazine, Trinidad and las animas county news, and The Trinidad Chronicle-News)
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 05:42:48 +0000
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