Who Can You Trust?

 

January 28, 2021



One of the stunning revelations that we have learned following the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 was the participation of individuals who work as public servants. The most stunning must have been the presence of police officers, firefighters and even school teachers. The participation or association of some police officers with far-right militia groups has been documented, but now we hear of firefighters at the Capitol being involved in the melee that occurred with Capitol Police where five people lost their lives. Equally shocking to hear of some teachers who were identified and have since lost their jobs for their participation. It was literally a cross section of who America is, from housewives, retirees and some elected politicians saw the opportunity to show the world just how far their political beliefs go. It should be of significance to the community that people who are paid by the public, should also be expected to be color blind when performing their duties. The responsibility of ensuring that public servants stay out of politically sensitive matters must rest on the shoulders of city leaders such as the mayor, police chief and the local school board. Locally, the mayor, police chief and the superintendent of the school board have been silent. The question has to be why? The Dispatch would like to know what are the thoughts/opinions of city leaders who should put at ease any concerns that the community may have about who these individuals are who are answering their calls for assistance. Seeing teachers on the list should especially be troubling because parents send their children to schools to be educated, not subjected to unfair treatment by some teachers who may bring their political ideology into the classroom. Some of those educators have been identified and fired from their jobs. Which has to make one wonder what is more important; being true to your profession or following the ravings of an individual who uses people to stay in power. According to media reports, there were also some people who were nurses inside the Capitol that took part in the insurrection and they too are no longer in the business of caring for the sick. Perhaps the professionals who should trouble most are the police officers, alleged military (also retired) members and firefighters. A firefighter from Houston was fired, as fire chiefs make difficult, but necessary decisions to remove individuals who show clear conflicts of interest (that of the public) and poor decision making that affects the character of a community’s fire department. The exposure of these individuals shows that they may have “issues” with certain segments of the community, who according to ex-president Donald Trump, constitutes a threat to America. It didn’t matter if they came to the country legally or that they protested against what the world knows is systemic racism by some law enforcement officers against Black/brown people, who only ask for equal treatment under the law. It is getting to the point (or has it passed?) that people can’t feel safe or trust those who say that they want to be public servants. If it were not for video, we might not know that the person you see/know or associate with, had no problem taking part in an insurrection because they want to “make America great again”. City leaders say that they want the “trust” of the community to believe that only “the best” work to serve them and one can only hope that when “stuff happens”, it will be swiftly removed. We can hope to change people’s mindset about others, but if their hearts are not into change, then they will have to go if they are not willing to be true servants. We still have a ways to go.


 

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