Coming right on the heels of my last post at TMV, a story from my own backyard seems appropriate… because I live in Katy, TX — a very fast-growing exurb west of Houston. It’s home to the Rice Harvest Festival, an excellent school system (by Texas standards), and soon, Friday Night Pig Races.
All snout and tail, the pink and brown pigs contentedly rooting in the wire pen behind Craig Baker’s stone shop seem piggishly comic. They’re racing pigs, after all, and that’s got to be funny. But few in the sprawling subdivisions along Baker Road are laughing.
These pigs are subtle weapons, here to show the new neighbors — the Katy Islamic Association — they aren’t entirely welcome. Tension has been growing in this west Harris County community since September when the Muslim group announced it had purchased 11 acres south of Interstate 10 to build a mosque, school, community center and athletic facilities.
Mr. Baker says he’s got nothing against Islam. Really. His pig races on Friday night (a Muslim holy day) are just his way of saying that he ain’t movin’; he’s got rights, dangit, and he also says the Katy Islamic Association (KIA) told him he should move. (They say they never said such a thing.)
Mr. Baker’s solution is a deliberate religious provocation, thus rendering any statements that he’s not upset about their religion laughable.
As in… haha look at us here in Katy. We’re such a bunch of hicks hahahehe.
For the record — Baker Road is a beautiful area, and if we could have afforded it, Polimom and family would have bought property there a few years ago. Unfortunately, it is also a narrow two-lane, and there are obvious problems with drainage; these are valid concerns.
If only that was all there is to this little brouhaha — but if it were, they wouldn’t have decided to race pigs, would they?
Claims and counterclaims have flown. Critics raise concerns about traffic congestion, flooding, possible adverse impact on property values and the “unknown.”
Ah. The dreaded “unknown”.
Lovely as Baker Road is, I wouldn’t consider buying property there now… and not because somebody’s planning a mosque. I’d much rather have a place of worship nearby than Friday Night Pig Races.
What a lovely way for Katy to hit the news. This is so embarrassing…
More here.
And, the deed restrictions for that neighborhood don’t have something in them prohibiting residents from keeping farm animals on the property WHY?!?
Maybe someone can put a sign on the front of his property saying “Welcome to K-K-Katy”…
~EdT.
So this group claims never to have made such a statement, and you simply accept this? Why dismiss Craig baker’s claim that the statement was made?
And Ed — as far as deed restrictions are concerned, the family has had the property since the early part of the nineteenth century — pretty much as long as there have been Anglos in this part of Texas. Indeed, the road is named Baker Road precisely because the family has such a long tenure on the land. As recently as a decade ago, the area was definitely rural, and even five years ago the land where some of these houses sit was undeveloped. So where, exactly, would any deed restrictions on Mr. Baker’s land have come from.
Now Baker is a long-time resident of the area and a respected businessman in the community. Does it make sense that he would have taken this course of action if there were not some provocation by the new neighbors? I’m therefore going to side with him on the matter — and hope the races continue until such time as the mosque-builders formally and publicly apologize to him for attempting to run him off his own land.
The property area involved in this story, is it actually in Katy city limits, or any sort of association? Or is it just under county rule
Jack, it’s in the county, not city limits. Actually, the people I know in that immediate area have a Houston mailing address rather than Katy, but that may not include this section.
I’m sure Greg (Rhymes with Right) is correct: there’s no zoning there. If I get the chance today, I’m going to run over there with my camera; it’s been a couple months since I drove down Baker Rd.
Greg, I saw your post about this. (link) You obviously see that the underlying problem, however dressed up as a silk purse, is the sow’s ear of ignorance and fear. Surely you can also see that Mr. Baker’s approach will do nothing but massively increase hostility and suspicion on both sides?
Obviously, whatever was said between Craig Baker and someone from the KIA is a “he said she said” situation. None of us, not bearing witness to the conversation, can know…. but the path Mr. Baker has taken isn’t in any way civil, nor adult. In fact, his choice of Pig Races (and from the sign, barbecue also) took the situation to an entirely new level.
OK, someone please explain this – according to Mr. Baker, the KIA suggested he move because “…a mosque and a marble shop didn’t go too good together.”
I am not that familiar with the Koran, but as long as his marble shop isn’t producing statues of the Prophet Mohammed, what is the “incompatibility”?
I think this is the statement that really tells the story:
Intent… with results –
As I said before — Welcome to K-K-Katy!
OH – btw for those who think that all mosques are large white monolith structures with big domes… try driving by the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Sugar Land, over at 1700 First Colony Blvd. First Colony has some very stringent deed restrictions (they required both the local Denny’s and Burger King to re-brick their buildings to comply with the area CCRs!), and this building certainly fits in with the neighborhood scheme.
~EdT.
To all look-the-other-way, tolerant people: I admire your tolerance, but fear your ignorance. Have any of you visited these mosques? Have you been shown the rooms filled with the stash of weapons? They do exist, you know!
Joan, I assume, then, that you’ve reported all these weapons that you’ve no doubt seen with your very own eyes to the appropriate authorities…
Hey Polimom you need to save your embarrasment for when there is some thing to be embarrassed about. Craig Baker has set up a website to tell his side of the story. It is complete with date, full names, events, & even times. Take a little time to get your facts straight before opening your mouth o a subject. The site is http://www.americanpigrace.com then once you know more about a subject, post an opinion that you won’t have to be embarrassed about. ha ha lol
Ah, happy, I’m overjoyed by your visit. Perhaps you can also enlighten the oh-so-interested world why that site was last updated on December 8th, but he’s quoted by Fox on December 7th as saying (link):
I think Greg Baker did the right thing. These people telling him to move and then dening that they ever said is sameful. This is the kind of people your dealing with, Bold Face Liars. This is America. Hold your ground, you have alot of supporters Greg Baker.Go pigs go.
I am completely embarrassed by this whole thing. As a 7 year Katy resident, I knew our little town had some intolerance (I am one of few Jewish people in the area), but this is an outrage. Sleeper cells are the real fear and we can only hope that the area’s upstanding Muslims will not go that route, since most of them consider themselves the Westerners/infidels that the true terrorists would incude in their lists persons to hate… How can Katy be a multicultrual communtity (which it is, folks- open your eyes to the beautiful range of “browns” around you) without truly serving it’s members with a place of worship? I am relieved to read some agree with my position on this topic.
Way to go Mr. Baker!! I love it. By the way, Sabrina. YOU’RE the igorant one. Espcecially as a Jew, you should have some kind of sense as to what Islam is about. I was born in Northern Iraq as a Christian and left at the age of 2 due to Muslims taxing and bullying us around EVERY DAY. You have no clue as to what Islam truly is. What Mr. Baker is doing is great and I would love to support him, even from here in Orange County, CA. We ALL need to put our foot down and say NO for a change. “NO” to things we, as Society, don’t WANT to do but feel we MUST in order to appease everyone else. WHY?! I heard the leader of the Katy Islam Society speak on TV about the purchase of the property next to the Baker ranch. He speaks of wanting to add Muslum schools, Gyms, Muslim apartments to make a Muslim community. Last I checked, there are Millions of Muslim communities all over the Middle East that I’m sure would love to accomodate this Islamic group. Also, if they are SOOO interested in staying in the West, THEY, not US need to be more flexible in respecting OUR rights and appeasing OUR ways.
We need to wake up and understand that turning traditional family property such as the Baker farm, which has been in the family for 200 years, should NEVER be sold and turned into Muslim territory. No matter what you hear about Islam, especially the Shi’ite sect, it preaches and teaches INTOLERANCE of Westerners and “Infidels”, or “Non-Muslims”. Good for you Mr. Baker. I will pray that you stay and NOT move to appease this group. Thank you and God bless you.
I think the problem is Mr. Baker was expected to be a good Dhimmi, and didn’t play along.
The tactics on both sides make me wince.