Guest: What’s in a name?

I received the following as a “Guest blogger” submission from Peter Pimkus:

There is all this curiosity about names: Who are the anonymous posters? What, however, does a name tell us? Do we know the ideas a person has from their name? Do we know their profession or their education? Do we know their expereices in life or what their interests are?

Brown, Patel, Pennington, Harrington, Castro, Emmanual, Santiago, Smith, Capone, Sosa, Clemente, McNeil, Schultz, Kowalski, Carr, Stoneham, Rosser, Prescott Bush, George Bush, etc. What pictures come into our heads as we read these names? And do we see who they are or just the images that the names create from our own experiences? Is the name male or female? Do they have white or dark skin? What is their hair color or are they bald, old, young, single, married or dead or alive?

Often, from a name we think we know their heritage, or their race, or even their religion. From a name, we may think we know if they are rich or poor. We may think we can tell their neighborhood or their intelligence. We may even think we KNOW them because we know their name. I hear many say, oh they must be German, or Italian or Irish, or Mexican, or Jewish or I know the family or I know the wife or brother or mother or sister…So, what does this tell us about THEM?

So, to those that are more interested in thinking they know me, I say, listen to what I say, to the thoughts, concerns, ideas, or questions I have, and then you MAY be more accurate in knowing me but even then, I doubt it…

Attacks on people are used to silence them and while that is wrong, we see it used even at the highest levels of our government. We see the “explanation” for the comments made by people as only being because of who they are and then no answer is given, just the inference that no answer is needed because of who they are. Or, because someone said something, they’re labeled as some kind of kook and that is how they are “perceived” or viewed for anything they ever say again.

If you like George Bush and he said something, would you accept it more willingly and universally than if you didn’t like him? Would either be correct? Should questions be asked or is the information all that you need to “know” the facts? I say that assumptions lead to misunderstanding and do a disservice to everyone. Yet, that is what is being asked here. To let us judge you because of who you are and not by what you say or the questions you ask is what is wrong with society. We need to listen to, question, and respect each other for who we really are.

Improvement Committee members up for vote

As I drive around Carpentersville’s East side, I see it’s slowly but surely being cleaned up. Most homes backing to Rt 25 are noticeably more pleasant to look at. But, there is still more work to be done. For that reason, the Carpentersville Improvement Committee was proposed; to help the four code enforcement officers with their jobs.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Village Board, a vote will be taken on the appointments of Mr. Adam Ruiz, Ms. Patricia Schultz, Ms. Karen Sutter, Trustee Linda Ramirez Sliwinski, and Trustee Kay Teeter to the Committee.

Members appointed to the Committee will first need to work on how the committee will best serve the Village. I believe the Committee should task itself primarily with education and notification of the Village Codes. One thing that the Committee does need to be mindful of is that they help alleviate some of the code enforcement officers’ work, as opposed to creating more. Residents have typically complained that numerous violations go unchecked, therefore the Committee would do well to establish neighborhood groups which could be called upon to distribute pertinent information to neighborhood residents, and even doing the work of translating such documents for those residents who may need it.

Though education is one part of the equation, neighborhood pride is also something that must be sought after. We have seen the ability of residents to come together to protest. Now is the time to come together to brighten the Village.

On a lesser, side note, Sunday’s Courier-News contained an article about the planned committee appointments, “Sarto’s foe not among new faces on committee”. It’s unfortunate that information on the upcoming Committee appointments had to be brought to this level because it does not seem that quotations from Sarto set one side against another.

Trustee Ramirez-Sliwinski certainly does seem to be an appropriate choice, particularly in light of the fact that she has regularly touted education over penalization as a primary governmental tool and would certainly benefit the Committee, the community and the Village’s image well in that respect. Given this, and the earlier expressed desire to appoint 2 Trustees and 3 residents to the Committee, it would then fall to whether the Board would recommend Trustee Sigwalt over Trustee Teeter. If so, why?

That will remain to be seen.