Taking the highroad - Let's make friends with Larry

sarahlee

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Sun Aug-14-05 06:16 PM
Original message

Taking the highroad - Let's make friends with Larry

Edited on Sun Aug-14-05 06:47 PM by sarahlee

I posted this http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4347367&mesg_id=4349678">here and tjdee and funkybutt suggested I make it a thread of its own so here goes.

Been doing some reading about this guy and part of what is going on is, at least some part, a culture clash (urban vs rural).

If we can step back from immediate reaction and concern, I think there could be a way to make lemonade out of this lemon.

First, Larry Mattlage is NOT a (rabid) Bush supporter. He is just an average country loving guy living on 98 acres of land (I think that is correct) - 98 acres ain't much in TX. He was NOT happy with Bush moving in next door.

If you live in the city, you are used to being around a lot of people, horns honking, sirens in the night, the constant whine of traffic blends in and you don’t really notice it. If you live in an apartment, you are probably even used to hearing at least part of neighbors’ conversations. If you live out in the country, you do so because you feel that you would rather drive several miles to the store than to live with all the noise that the convenience of a store around the corner brings. Trust me – I live in the country and after 3 days in the city, I am sick of it and can’t wait to get out. I lived in it for 20 of my adult years and I would never, ever do so again by choice. Now, back to Mr. Mattlage.

From the Texas Monthly: Man About Town - 2002
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:XbRaumqs4IQJ:www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/2002-11-01/webextra3.php%3Fclick_code%3Dba8cce8970cee30fe16a73e2bb499d47+Larry+Mattlage&hl=en">Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Larry wanted to give me a tour of his ranch, so we talked in his pickup, lurching down rutted dirt roads. "No one used to talk about politics around here," he said, steering past Black Angus cattle that lay napping in the shade. "Family feuds have started over all this. You used to be just a neighbor. Now you're a Republican neighbor or a Democratic neighbor. It's taken away the closeness of the community." He pondered this for a moment as he drove, and sighed. "I'll make some people mad for saying this, but I'll tell you what really ticks me off. Bush portrays this as his hometown, and it ain't. He just barreled in here."

http://www.politicalposts.com/news/index.asp?id=148650|Crawford coverage: Bucolic or bogus?>

But Larry Mattlage, who permits NBC to use his 90-acre spread, is somewhat resentful of Mr. Bush's presence.

"It sort of messed up a nice quiet neighborhood," he said. "When he's here, you get a lot of traffic and a lot of people and a lot of airplanes and a lot of security and a lot of things we didn't have here in the beginning."

Neither Mr. Mattlage nor Mr. Bradford would say how much he is paid for the use of his property, though Mr. Mattlage called it small recompense for the hassle of living next to a president.

"I figured, 'Well, if you've got to put up with this stuff, you might as well make a little money off of it,' " he said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3305570|Houston Chronicle>

But Larry Mattlage, who owns the farm across the road from where Sheehan and her supporters are encamped, was not pleased by the new visitors, who hung protest signs in the trees. Sitting on his parked tractor across the road, Mattlage said he supported the right to protest but that the demonstrators should not be allowed to stay for prolonged periods.

"In the morning I usually wake up and see the morning sun," he said. "Now I wake up to stuff hanging in trees."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/7/3192/29840|TXsharon at Kos> - Aug 7th, 2005

While Cindy talked to the media, I visited with a member of the White House press corp. and a local rancher. The rancher was quite sympathetic and completely agreed with us but he was not comfortable providing any support for Cindy. He said that homeland security could determine that he was a threat, declare eminent domain, and seize his land.

My impression is he is just pissed off about all the traffic and commotion brought by both Bush and the protestors. I've had the privilege of growing up in both the city and country and enjoy rural living again. I can tell you that city folks don't always appreciate country concerns in the same way, and that if I were not involved in an issue, I would probably be really pissed at having my country quiet disturbed by what I would perceive as a bunch of interlopers. And now he not only has the occasional black helicopter disturbing his peace, but more cars, more traffic, more voices floating across the field, more “stuff” cluttering his view. From our perspective, concerned so about the issue of the illegitimacy of the war, it is an incredibly important event and worth everything. Larry is less sure. He just knows he wants his peace and quiet back.

As a former Texan, I also ask you to remember that Texas was not always a republican stronghold and that Bush is NOT a Texan. The state has problems and a mix of good and bad people just like most places - and it is BIG, so there are just more of them. But I don't think that Mr. Mattlage is a bad guy - just a frustrated country guy who is feeling a little loss of control. Naturally, he is kind of powerless against his neighbor, so the frustrated is getting directed towards the most recent annoyance and one he thinks he *might* be able to excerpt some control over.

After 11 years of not having any neighbors within eyesight, I found myself really irritable when someone I kind of liked moved within view of my little patch of land. After 2 years, it still irks me to walk out and see their residence where I used to only see hills and trees. Their dogs are nice enough (and hey, I have a dog!), but keep me from enjoying wild turkeys flocking to some huge old cottonwoods to roost now. I still get mad about that.

I've got some empathy for this man, though I think the cause is worth his displeasure. Stop for just a minute and put yourself in his shoes. Imagine it was Clinton who moved next door and it was Freepers camped out across the road.

Solution:
If what I have read about him is true and he is typical of the folks I knew when I lived in the Texas Hill Country, then someone like Cindy or a key spokesperson with mediation training, going over with a gift of some baked goods, (pecan pies are usually hits) or some thing like that, and just having a nice chat, listening to his frustration, explaining that they are not leaving until Bush does - gently, and promising to try and leave the land as they found it, could possibly make a friend. Ask him what he thinks they could do to try and make the time less unpleasant for him and listen carefully to what he says and do as much as possible and within reason to fulfill his requests. Then make sure trees are not damaged and that the place really is clean when everyone does leave.

On a selfish note, there is the possibility that it could be turned into GREAT PR if managed carefully and properly. And if we want to learn to make peace in the world, why not try and start with this little conflict.

I regret that Cindy is taking a position that is being shown on TV now. I think that if she had simply expressed sympathy for him, apologized for the disturbance to his quiet and that of other neighbors it would have been better, but that isn’t a criticism as it is sometimes hard to step back and look at a bigger picture when you are in the middle of it and someone is shoving a microphone in your face.

There is also the possibility that it could turn ugly if some care is not taken now.

My two cents....