The term carpetbagger recently has been used here in Plainfield by an appointed councilwoman to denigrate the hiring of individuals who reside outside the city boundaries of Plainfield and yet who work here, as if they are not entitled to have a job in our city if they are qualified. The other day, this code word was used yet again by someone who, herself, carpetbagged an education career in another city and county and who was paid from the tax base of that city. Are the county workers who commute to Elizabeth carpetbaggers? Are the young Plainfielders who work at the Watchung Square Mall carpetbaggers? The Plainfielders who used to work at Muhlenberg but who were forced to find jobs at other hospitals in the state because of the closure of our local hospital--are they carpetbaggers? All the other residents who live in Plainfield but commute to jobs in neighboring towns, in New York City, and elsewhere--are they, too, carpetbaggers in those communities? You see what I am getting at.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:04:58 +0000