So.. I’ve lived in this community growing up here, and coming back midlife to raise a family. Some 35 plus years in total now of being immersed in the Green Bay Community (I am 55). I am an educated, gainfully employed, well heeled person who is active in many circles of the Community. I have interacted, at some point, with most every journalist, politician, and most of the larger companies and municipalities in the region.

This isn’t based off any particular issue or disgruntlement. But something I notice sharply here, that is not nearly as intense in the other places I’ve lived around the State and Nation, is the level of Gatekeeping here attached to almost every aspect of life.

This is most prominent in the areas of resource management for charity, grants, non profit donations, etc. if it has money attached.. be prepared for endless hoop jumping and redirection. One smoke screen or veil to pass through after the next.

But I also see a ton of the same behavior when trying to deal with any level of management or ownership at most any level of business and government as well.

The gatekeepers here have their own gatekeepers. Like layers of any larger bureaucracy, in almost every direction there are control points that keep people at bay from having actual conversation with actual decision makers. The middle managers all cover the other middle managers. It’s pretty rampant here, even in small businesses and institutions.

This is not a political thing, nor anti govt thing. I see the exact same behaviors in corporate and institutional circles. (Ironic because they then complain about the govt doing the same things).

Again.. this exists in all places, but not to the extreme levels I have found here. Good luck getting a direct phone number or even a name. Unless of course you have been pre vet by a gatekeeper. Be it a socialite or some country club membership or have an affiliated and recognized last name or an organization (like the packers) behind you, then getting any level of response from anyone in authority is pulling teeth. The gatekeepers have their way, some is legitimate and expected, but mostly it’s a matter of ass kissing. Heck, good luck if you lose someone’s number or email. Just reconnecting can be a nightmare of hoop jumping past someone who thinks it’s their only job in life to maintain separations of haves and have nots (usually not even knowing the person they are dealing with is far higher up the food chain than they understand).

I think the classism and caste system that exists in social fabric of Green Bay is the biggest cause of this and it’s been prominent that way since I was a kid. It’s a big reason so many leave the community as there are little chances to rise if you were born in the wrong side of the tracks/river. I think there is a strong component of people in this community who have made being a gatekeeper their cottage industry and the focus of their lives.

Curious what others have experienced?