An Invitation to Sociologists, Anthropologists and Political Scientists to Study the City of St. Augustine, Florida and Social Control Mechanisms

St. Augustine, Florida has a reputation as a tacky tourist town, one we'd like to overcome with the proposed "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore" (SANHPS).

Another way to draw tour, tourist and sightseeing dollars to our flagging economy would be to advertise tours for sociologists and anthropologists and political scientists, to study the mechanisms of social control in use in the Nation's Oldest City, which empower elites to stay in power no matter what they do.

Two prime examples are discussed by Ed Bricker in today's St. Augustine Record:

1. "Talk of the Town," the St. Augustine Record website, whereby politicians and their City Hall machine posted "anonymously," obscenely stigmatizing dissenters, seeking to blacklist them and run them out of town (see below).

2. Delay in disclosing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) fine of over $47,248 for illegal dumping of the contents of the old city dump into the Old City Reservoir, without permits -- 30 million pounds worth.

EPA and FDEP investigators were on-scene on February 27. FDEP caught the city dumping on March 1. FDEP issued a Notice of Violation on March 15. FDEP waited until November 14 to notify the City of the proposed fine. Wonder why?

Electronic blacklisting? Delayed fines" Stolen elections?

It's so much easier to perceive the truth in governmentin a small town. St. Augustine wasted our money kicking the artists, entertainers and musicians off St. George Street. The ecology of the all-pedestrian street changed. Now homeless people are there, which is not good for the business of the city -- tours, tourist and sightseeing.

So, anthropologists and sociologists and political scientists, come to the City of St. Augustine, Florida. We need anthropology tourism, sociology tourism and political science tourism to tell our City of St. Augustine's story to the world!
People wanting to learn about the mechanisms of social control need look no further than St. Augustine for social control tours and sightseeing.