According to the Times, the senator is supposed to meet with and help the city workers with concerns and ideas that they have about Whyville. I feel that their meetings were more like government conspiracies than processes to help Whyville, simply because they were kept secret from the rest of the citizens.

Then to my surprise, the elections started all over again, and OrEoBaBy was elected as our second-ever senator. Everyone was very happy about this, and she quickly became popular all over Whyville. Next, in a bolt from the blue, I heard that by this summer, there was supposed to be five senators! So, another election took place, and Sonner was elected.

This went well for a while, but then I heard some bad things. Just the other day, I was sitting in the House of Illusions chatroom, just watching what was going on. The conversations I heard were totally shocking. Here is a portion of one:

[Anonymous]: Do you like OrEoBaBy?
[Anonymous2]: No. She doesn't know a thing about Whyville. Every time I talk to her, she doesn't reply. I sent a y-mail weeks ago and got no response.
[Anonymous]: What does she even expect to do for Whyville?
[Anonymous2]: Hah, I don't know. She told City Hall that she wanted to find a way to help people earn more Neopoints.
[Anonymous]: Neopoints? That isn't even Whyville! It's Neopets!
[Anonymous2]: Lmao, I know.

That is totally unacceptable! Plus, I know that a lot of that talk was merely preposterous rumors. The senators worked very hard to earn their positions within Whyville. Disrespecting them is uncouth! If you were a senator, would you reply to a y-mail you received if you knew the person talked about you like this behind your back?

OrEoBaBy and Sonner are both my friends. However, I think the senator elections have gone too far!!! It's tearing apart friendships! What's more important: fame and popularity, which it seems is the bottom line of senator elections, or a close friend that you know and can talk to about almost anything?

Many people I know have talked to me and said that OrEoBaBy or Sonner have completely forgotten about them, when they were once very close friends. Whyville has gone from an oligarchy of City Workers to a dictatorship and back to an oligarchy! What ever happened to the good old democracy that I knew and loved as I was growing up?

Take a look at the Holocaust. It was a terrible, terrible part of our world's history. How did it start out? As an oligarchy. Adolf Hitler and some other German leaders took control of Germany, until it turned into a dictatorship. Thousands and thousands of Jewish people were killed, all because of one man. I don't know about you, but I think the idea of running around with a swastika plastered to my forehead is repulsive.

Why can't the City Workers discuss new ideas or concerns about Whyville at something like a scheduled Media Hour? Or a political meet? Then they can poll us, the citizens, the very body of Whyville, and see what we think! Who's to say that someone out there isn't as wise, or even wiser, than our current senators? Sure, that person could just y-mail the senator and expect them to mention something to a City Worker, but wouldn't it be better if we could all express our fresh, new ideas straightforward?

So, now I ask you, where do we draw the line? The border between being prudent and irksome is very ambiguous. I'd take a friend over a gatecrasher any day.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I think I'm a cat person.
gold837

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Editor's Note: Howdy gold837! Just thought we'd let you know, City Hall says they've tried to announce the Senate meetings when they have time to do so, and they've promised they'll try to be more consistent with that in the future. In addition to these meetings, the City Workers have a monthly meet-up in Club Why -- I think they chose the 4th of every month. Keep your eyes on the announcements page when you log in!

Also, there are actually going to be six Senators at any one time -- each person will be a Senator for six months. This way, we can have a real Senate full of your fellow citizens to represent you!

And how do our senators turn into an oligarchy? In Whyville, the citizens choose their representatives. From what it seems, that's a more pure republic than anything you'll find in real life. In fact, you don't yet find the way that money controls elections in countries like America here in Whyville. Here, if you feel that there's a better person to represent Whyville, all you have to do is wait a month or two for the next election!

And if you can't get elected, you have at least two more outlets -- the poll booth and emailing City Management. Frankly, if you succeed in a Senate Race or at the polls, you'll do much better than simply emailing City Management, because you'll have shown that a lot of Whyvillians agree that your idea is valuable.

Finally, I'm afraid that relating Whyville to Nazi Germany is a bit of a stretch, and I'd like to encourage folks to give you the benefit of the doubt on that. I try not to express opinions like this; I usually allow our readers to reach their own conclusions, but I don't want folks pouncing on you and turning the BBS into a flame war. You feeling like some folks aren't getting their voices heard is a FAR, far cry from people being mass murdered by a vicious government. The struggle of the minority to get their ideas considered by the rest of the population is and will probably always be a challenge all across the world. It's very very important, but it's not genocide.

That said, how can we improve matters in Whyville? Let us know by setting up a petition in the polls; emailing City Management; running for Senator; chatting with or Y-mailing a City Worker, a Senator or a Y-mail Helper; posting in the Times BBS; or even... yes, writing to the Whyville Times.

Thanks for your opinion. We are listening.