Will The Laughter About Fresno Ever Stop?
Guess what Fresno… There will be nothing that stops the entire country from making fun of us and nothing that will stop the laughing until we give the country a real reason to stop.
The often embarrassing list’s with us at the bottom will continue, the national press will run stories about our shortcomings and yes, the likes of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will take cracks about us too. Not that any of these cracks are new. They are not. Some of us may even be immune to them. I just think it would be nice to collectively show them all that that there are some really amazing & unique things happening in our area and it would be nice to have the ability to share that with the nation with a straight face.
Last night, I had a short dialogue with Chris Shackelford (cshack_21) via twitter about the 11pm news on KSEE 24 where they ran a story about the Fresno image issue and the USA Today Story. Beyond the fact that anchor could hardly keep a straight face while saying “Be world class… Be Fresno,” Chris made a really good point. Chris essentially said that there is really no point in getting defensive, we as a community just need to get better.
It has been said plenty of times, but worth saying again… There is nobody coming to rescue us from our challenges. We have tremendous problems with unemployment, hunger, education, business vitality and of course image just to name a few. These are our challenges as a community. Our problems cannot be solved by our elected leaders alone and are not just their responsibility. If we are indeed going to “get better,” we all must embody our challenges and we all must commit to being part of the solution. Fresno will only be what we make of it. Plain and simple.
We can create a better story for our community. It is not to late to tackle the challenges our community faces. It is however, a fallacy to think that the problems of our community faces can be solved without the participation of its citizens.
I often think we feed the laughter of everyone else more than we know. In some ways I have felt our image problem is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I wonder if it is possible that when we speak negatively about our city, the worse our city gets? I wonder if we are adding more fuel to the fire than anyone else? Yes, I know that a lot of what we say as residents about Fresno is in jest because we live here and are more entitled to joke about ourselves but there is a part of me that wonders just how much we truly are joking? I know that it is healthy to laugh at ourselves from time to time as many times it is the best way to get past a negative story, or national joke, but where is the line is between healthy and damaging?
We all have a role to play in changing the narrative about Fresno. For some, it is on the front lines leading our city through the challenges we face. All of us though, can do something to make Fresno a better city and a better community. Whether your role is volunteering at a non-profit in need, contributing ideas to our leaders about the direction of our city, or even just choosing to speak well about the great things Fresno has to offer; I encourage all of us to do something. There is nobody coming to save us from our challenges. As a community we must learn from our mistakes, shake off the jokes and just get better. Its the only way I can imagine the headlines about Fresno changing and an end to the laughter.
