CONSIDER THIS: Building a Better San Benito

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Michael Rodriguez

Michael Rodriguez

In case you haven’t noticed, the San Benito News packs quite the journalistic punch.

Take this statement not as an exercise in arrogance on our part but of confidence in the paper’s ability to report community news and, at times, publish hard-hitting exposés that inspire positive change in the city. This weekend’s edition is no exception as we once again got the scoop on all that would have otherwise remained mere rumor, such as: a San Benito CISD police officer facing charges of official oppression and injury to a child – allegations which stem from an incident involving a student; and the unearthing of alleged monetary discrepancies linked to a San Benito High School band trip to Hawaii last year.

No one else has these stories because no one else knows about these stories. No one else knows about these stories because no one else is as invested in reporting San Benito news as the San Benito News. Our readership is through the roof, thanks to our increasing web and social media presence, and the buzz on the street about “what was in the paper this week” remains ever-present. And to think… we’re practically giving it all away with subscription rates that offer single copies at less than the cost of a stamp. You basically spend more money mailing your car payment than subscribing to your local newspaper.

Still, unlike the manner which metropolitan dailies have encountered difficulty remaining relevant during the rise of online media, our challenges as a semi-weekly community newspaper are rooted not in advances in technology but in the paralyzing effects of a spiteful mentality. Such spite is usually exhibited by a small but loud San Benito contingent identifiable for its dismissive behavior of anything local – degenerates, in other words.

These lowlifes (yeah, I said it) are characterized by their unmistakable ridiculing of famous San Benito natives, including Tex-Mex music legend and Grammy award-winner Freddy Fender and three-time Olympic gold medalist Bobby Morrow; a cynical attitude toward any local endeavor regardless of how promising it may appear and the defacing of property that would otherwise serve as a source of pride.

While you and I are working 50 to 60 hours a week to provide an exclusive service for our hometown, these delinquents are spending their time turning it into a giant eyesore. When we propose ideas designed to better ourselves and the community, they scoff and hope we incur failure. And when we succeed in all that we set out to accomplish, they mock and dismiss our achievements as though they were trivial efforts. But what is a community to do when this wretched mindset begins to influence nearly every aspect of small town life?

As the city’s only newspaper, we’re also beginning to experience these unpleasantries. Take the stupidity (for lack of a better word) of this comment into consideration: “I didn’t even know San Benito had a newspaper.” I’ve heard these words uttered recently when speaking with people about subscribing or advertising in the paper. They’re clearly aware of our existence – unless, of course, they haven’t visited any restaurant, convenience store, grocery chain or the downtown district in San Benito in the last… oh, I’d say 84 years – yet feign ignorance in a pathetic attempt to hurt our pride. Some in San Benito have even taken their advertising and subscription dollars to Harlingen and Brownsville publications, which print less than five percent of the community news we have within our pages, purely out of spite and contempt. What happened to Shop San Benito?

There’s nothing more counterproductive than a bad attitude; we see it every day in the graffiti we shake our heads at, in the cynicism that plagues the hope we so desperately cling to and in the dismissive behavior of all that makes us a proud people. So what is a community to do? Concede not to those whose useless criticisms are greater in number than their accomplishments. Invest in San Benito; invest in the San Benito News and help us build a better community.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/04/04/consider-this-building-a-better-san-benito/

4 comments

Skip to comment form

    • ReformSanBenito2 on April 11, 2014 at 6:14 pm
    • Reply

    Mr. Editor,

    First and foremost, you do an exceptional job writing your editorials. You don’t “beat around the bush.” Secondly, would you know what city department addresses the graffiti around town? I was dismayed at the graffiti that is written on the walls of Family Dollar at 950 S. Sam Houston Blvd.; furthermore, I live next door to a city commissioner and I often ponder what he thinks of the graffiti on a building that is on our block. It’s evident he thinks nothing of it or else, he’d be doing something about it.

    • WeThePeople on April 11, 2014 at 11:57 am
    • Reply

    Here is a good question for your poll, Mr. Editor. Is the San Benito Trash Bash a politically motivated event??
    Before anyone answers this question, think about it.

  1. It will be a better community when all the so called CITY LEADERS are voted out.

    • WeThePeople on April 5, 2014 at 12:19 pm
    • Reply

    Keep telling it like it is Mr. Editor!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.