I have recently observed all the hoopla about a possible location of a meat packing plant on the west side of Port Arthur. While I have no opinion as of yet as to whether or not allowing a multi-million dollar investment in a meat packing plant in Port Arthur, along with 400 to 500 jobs is a good idea or not. It seems several people have strong opinions of something they have neither seen or smelled. I am reminded of an old parable about the four blind men who journeyed afar to see an elephant.

The four men traveled far from their home with the mission to examine and describe an elephant. None had ever viewed an elephant, although they approached the matter in all seriousness. One grabbed the elephant’s trunk and declared the elephant to be like a large snake. One grabbed a leg and determined an elephant was surely like a tree trunk. Another, the tail, who said that an elephant was like a rope. The fourth felt the side of the elephant and declared an elephant surely was like a wall. The four became embroiled in a dispute over their separate experiences and almost came to blows about what an elephant looked like, although none had ever seen one.

It seems the way the matter is being handled is not conducive to giving Port Arthur a good reputation as a friendly environment for investment. It appears to me the matter is being approached emotionally, not logically or based on fact. I am told by a member of the EDC board five persons traveled to Navasota to view a similar plant. They visited with the City Manager and owner of the plant who told them the plant had been located in Navasota for 24 years and during that period of time there had been one complaint. One of the neighbors to the plant is a bakery, which has been there for several years and apparently has had no problem with the location. Certainly these types of investigations should take place before a decision is made for the City of Port Arthur to turn its back on a multi-million dollar investment and the creation of several hundred jobs.

While I have no opinion concerning the pluses and minuses of a meat packing plant, I do have a very strong opinion about those who would condemn an investment in this City based on the religion of those who seek to invest. The people who would object to an investment or a creation of a business in our city based on someone’s religion are the same kind of people who a few years ago advocated and supported school segregation and separate water fountains. I had hoped the people of Port Arthur had matured beyond such thinking. If we could choose to discriminate against fellow Americans because of their religion we are probably only one step from going backward to the days when fellow Americans were discriminated against because of the color of their skin.

Carl Parker

Port Arthur