Just who are these "protesters" anyway?

 

A recent article in the Portland newspaper contained this subhead (you can find the article here https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/14/protesters-in-brunswick-vow-to-return-until-their-voices-are-heard/)

"Organizers on Saturday listed multiple policy and funding changes they want to see within the Brunswick Police Department and said they will keep coming back until they see change."

In other words, they intend to hold the Brunswick Police and Brunswick town government hostage, in a manner of speaking.   Which raises the questions of just who these protesters are, where do they live, and who are the organizers?

You see, we come from the old fashioned school that believes that Brunswick town policy and budgets are determined by the people through those they elect to represent them.  Old habits and old beliefs die hard, we suppose.

If we had to guess, some small segment of the protesters are the usual suspects among town residents, and the bulk of them are outsiders who get spun up and "organized" through the use of various "social media" platforms.  Some may even be paid to protest through national organizing channels like Black Lives Matter, which has a well-oiled machine, wealthy patrons, and liquid assets that would make your head spin.  We also know from earlier articles that one of the town political party committees has been involved in "organizing" such demonstrations.

Well, anyway, we thought about how when we wish to speak in front of the Town Council, we're required to identify ourselves and where we live (in Brunswick!) to be recognized by the Council Chair.  Statements like "we'll keep coming back until we see change" are absurd in these circumstances, since in most cases that we can remember, the Council could care less about what we have to say, factual though it may be.  Rather, they provide a modest time period for town residents to vent in public.

Head-banger that Side is, we came up with a thought on how to remedy this protest situation that holds the protagonists to the same standards town residents must oberve.  In another act of wasted energies, bytes, and electrons, we submitted the idea to the Council "for action."  The response has been just as we expected, and we don't expect a single official finger to be lifted to "protect and defend" the rights and interests of Brunswick residents and taxpayers.  Why would we, given their record?  And especially what some would perceive as their genuflecting to any and all protest groups.

At any rate, here is the message we sent them, on Monday June 15th, to be exact.  We included the Town Manager and the Police Department in the distribution.

As an additional thought on the memorandum I submitted regarding your draft statement, I suggest that the next time protesters gather in a confrontational mode, such as calling out Police at HQ, that a prominent method for them to sign up with their name and mailing address be provided so they can be kept up to date with decisions and changes made to town operations.  Phone numbers, email addresses, twitter handles, etc, would be optional.

They need to indicate their name and address if they want to be taken seriously in influencing town policy and expenditures.

As a town resident and taxpayer, I would like to know that those who are demanding various things from our Town Government have the same stake in the town that I, my neighbors, and fellow residents have.

The very least they should be willing to do if they want residents to take their inputs seriously is to identify themselves by providing their names and addresses.

Perhaps you'd like to send our besieged leaders a similar message.  Here are the email addresses you'll need for that purpose:

towncouncil@brunswickme.org
sstewart@brunswickpd.org (incoming Police Chief)
rrizzo@brunswickpd.org (retiring Police Chief)
jeldridge@brunswickme.org (Town Manager)

If and when you do, let us know, and we'll declare you an official novitiate in the unofficial head-bangers "club."

Flat Foreheads Forever -- and Brunswick Town Governance

Well, the Brunswick Town Council met last night, and the last item in their public session was to discuss and act on their proposed "Statement on Criminal Justice and Policing."

You can watch the video here: http://tv3hd.brunswickme.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/4404?channel=1  Start at about 1:15 in the time line.  You can also read the print media coverage in The Ostrich here: https://pressherald.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b6544575de905dda7d18aa459&id=bb627184d4&e=7a71570a65

The article is less irritating and time consuming, but the video tells the real story.

We promised in this preliminary post http://othersideofbrunswick.blogspot.com/2020/06/brunswick-town-council-proposed.html that we would submit a response to this proposal, and we did.  It had even less of an effect on the deliberation than we expected, and we expected none.

So our reputation for banging our head against the wall because it feels so good when you stop is remarkably intact.  Here is the text of what we submitted; we expect some of you may take exception(s) to what we wrote, as is your right, just as it is our right to submit our thoughts.

=========================================================

Response to:

Draft Town Council Statement on Criminal Justice and Policing

I take vigorous exception to your draft. My reasons are as follows:

Attitudinal Bias: Negativity Towards Brunswick, America, and Police:

• The document is relentlessly negative. “The country” is seen as “systemically and institutionally racist.” Nary a good word is said about the Police who daily take great risks on our behalf to see that the lives and liberties of all citizens are protected. “Pervades,” “entrenched,” “inequities,” and other similar terms add to the pall of the narrative. Is there nothing positive to say about our country, our town, or our Police? Is there no redeeming value in any of these? What do you mean by “offer spaces?” Can you communicate without relying on trendy social warrior terminology?
• You invoke the language of identitarianism and identity politics, saying “no one should be targeted because of their identity.” Yet you implicitly target whites and Police as systemically flawed and racist. You have fallen into the trap of judging everyone on the basis of skin color. And you judge Law Enforcement Officers with the same singularity.
• In indicting the country and all police, you cast shame upon Brunswick residents and Police. And you do so with no specific justification; instead, you adopt the methods of the anarchists taking over the streets nationwide. You profess no concern or disrespect for their behavior. One wonders what your official response will be if and when they threaten the order, tranquility, and property of Brunswick.
• In so many words, you are asking us all to confess to sins we did not commit. Where is your confession in this statement? Are you exempt from the transgressions you cite, even as you have held the leadership mantle in Brunswick?
• You talk of “ending excessive use of force, racial insensitivity, and police misconduct here in Maine,” as if you have evidence of it here in Brunswick and elsewhere in the state. Are you sure you don't mean prevent these behaviors? If they have occurred in Brunswick, why haven't you already dealt with them as part of your ongoing leadership and oversight of our town?
• You ignore the fact that racism is a two way street. Do the words “what do we want? Dead Cops. When do we want them? Now!” ring any bells? What about “pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!” Have you actually looked at the statistics associated with civilians killed by Police, and Police killed by civilians? Have you absorbed what goes on in cities like Chicago week in and week out? If you have told yourself there is no racism in the hearts and minds of non-whites, you aren't willing to realistically consider all aspects of the problem. And you should likewise consider the rampant destruction of private and public properties in riots and demonstrations we've seen all too frequently in recent years, regardless of who it hurts or belongs to or disadvantages.

• The statement reads as an expression of shame and guilt meant to appease town residents who likely demanded such a statement, and much more likely, the protest groups who have already shown up in town, blocked streets, and all but occupied the Police Station.
• It confesses to “systemic” and “institutionalized” racism “in our country, and by inference asserts that Brunswick residents, whom you represent, and the Police whom you employ on our behalf, are guilty by extension. You tacitly imply that all of Town Government, all residents, our Churches, Bowdoin College, our businesses, and any other institutions in town share this guilt, since all fall under your purview and governance.
• This act of contrition is reminiscent of the situation that led to the formation of the Brunswick Human Rights Task Force to deal with all manner of “systemic” and “institutional” injustice in treatment of others in Brunswick. Apparently the efforts of this body did not bear fruit.
• I resent the inference that my family harbors systemic and institutional racism, and I know that many of my friends and neighbors think likewise about theirs. I especially resent the direct suggestion that our Police are racist.
• You do not have permission to take a knee, figuratively or literally, on my behalf or that of my friends. And I request that you direct town officials, including the Police, not to do so, no matter what kind of social pressure is applied by aggressive, sign-carrying protesters. Doing so “to keep a lid on things” is a sure sign of appeasement, which will only lead to worse.
• Your five bulletized steps raise questions of their own. Are you suggesting that none of these are already standard operating procedure? Three of them are within your purview as governing officials over Brunswick Police, and yet your words suggest they are not already in place.
• You seem to assert that you understand these problems and how to remedy them. One is wont to ask if you had such clarity on the issues and how to resolve them, why have you not dealt with them before the current crisis was reached?

Aligning with and Endorsing BLM Without Full Knowledge:

• I am troubled by your official endorsement of “Black Lives Matter,” which is a nation-wide, formally organized 501(C)3 charity with 40 Chapters across the land. You may think you are simply voicing a slogan when you use the words in proper, capitalized form, but you are in fact not. You are instead approving of and advocating everything they stand for.
• I doubt that any of you have taken the time to do due diligence on the organization before officially endorsing it as the Town of Brunswick. Posted below is a letter I submitted to the Times Record on Wednesday, June 10. They did not run it, and did not even reply to its submission. When you read it, you will find enough information to confirm that BLM is in fact a political organization with Marxist--Leninist roots, and they are extremely selective in which black lives they choose to mourn publicly with street protests and related unrest and destruction.
• BLM explicitly does not lobby on behalf of black Police Officers who are injured or killed by members of the general public.
• Your closing two sentences are particularly troubling, because they show fealty to the BLM organization, and specifically close by affirming that “Black lives matter to the town of Brunswick.

Addressing Potential Escalation of Troubles; Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst:

• Rather than going to such extremes to figuratively take a knee on behalf of the town, perhaps you should be planning with the Police Department on what our response will be if some “peaceful activists” decide to occupy several blocks of Brunswick's down town.
• And what if others decide that “Black and White” Police Vehicles trigger waves of oppression by the old white men patriarchy that runs the town? Will you promise to get the vehicles repainted in a tie-dye rainbow theme?
• What if the BLM organizers and their associates from other aggrieved groups demand that we disband our Police force? Are you prepared to deal with that? Have you considered whether you can muster any arguments to defend retention of the Brunswick Police in the face of aggressive, possibly violent direct action by “peaceful protesters?” What will be your response if any destruction, burning, and looting takes place in our town?
• Don't say it isn't possible. It's happening all over the country and can happen here. The more acquiescence you show as a Town on our behalf, the more the social justice warriors will demand that the Town Mall be covered with groveling pads for ceremonial penance rituals.
• Before too long, 1700 or so Bowdoin students will return to campus, all fired up from what they have been watching for weeks now. Aided by the faculty, and the strength of their own numbers, they will be whipped up into righteous fervor to “stand up for social justice,” and to “take action to make it happen.” Have you discussed how you and the Police will react to any such uprising? Will you take steps to contain it, or treat it as a loving expression of human longing?

Closing Thought:

• I cannot fathom why you have not made clear that your lives matter, my life matters, others' lives matter, and Police lives matter, summing up to ALL LIVES MATTER. Such a pronouncement would be more in keeping with principles of equality, inclusion, and justice, and respect for all people in our country and in Brunswick. 
  Shouldn't that be what you stand for?

Brunswick Town Council Proposed Statement on Criminal Justice and Policing

At it's upcoming meeting on Monday, 15 June, the Town Council will discuss and presumably adopt this statement on Criminal Justice and Policing, possibly as amended during the meeting.

Side is currently at work on a response, and will submit it to the Council and others no later than tomorrow (Sunday.)

BRUNSWICK TOWN COUNCIL

Statement on Criminal Justice and Policing

The Brunswick Town Council condemns the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We also condemn the murders of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky before him. Mr. Floyd’s murder and the protests it ignited are a flashpoint in the long-standing battle against systemic racism in our criminal justice system and country at large. The protests have shone a light on systemic racism and the current and historically disparate treatment of African Americans and people of color in our country.

We as a Council support and commit to calling out hate and discrimination when we see it and help promote our core American value that no one should be targeted because of their identity.  Hate will not be tolerated here in Brunswick and we will stand together to fight any form of bigotry, discrimination, or hate, in speech or action, against any group, from whatever the source.

Condemning Mr. Floyd’s senseless murder is not enough. The true challenge is changing the entrenched and unjust racism that pervades our society as a whole and our criminal justice system specifically. We must commit ourselves to working on ways in which we can engage our communities to address and uproot institutionalized racism and implicit bias and offer spaces for dialogue, trainings, and understanding.

There can be no overnight change to the inequities in our system, but concrete steps can be made. A functioning criminal justice system requires the fair and humane treatment of everyone at every stage of the process: on the street during an arrest, in the courthouse, and in jails and prisons. We believe the following are the beginning steps to accomplish this:

• Police departments must treat all allegations of misconduct against officers seriously and handle investigations with accountability and transparency.

• The State should maintain a database of complaints against officers that can be viewed by the public.

• Police departments should regularly review this database and terminate police officers with a history of excessive force and racial insensitivity.

• The State must mandate training and continuing education for all police agency personnel on racism, implicit bias and use of force.

• Every police officer in Maine should be required to wear a body camera that cannot be turned off at the officer’s discretion.

This is the bare minimum of what is required to maintain the public’s trust in law enforcement. We look forward to hearing from our Police Department, the current command staff and our incoming Chief of Police Scott Stewart to hearing their recommendations on the steps needed to move forward to reassure our citizens that the Brunswick Police Department hears its voices and concerns. Members of our community have raised their voices and it is time for our law enforcement agencies and our State leaders to join us in efforts to end the excessive use of force, racial insensitivity and police misconduct here in Maine. The excessive force, violence, and unequal treatment must end.

As public servants we have an even greater responsibility to speak out against racism,

discrimination, bias, and hatred because when the unacceptable becomes the norm in our society, human rights for all are threatened. It is our duty to maintain constant vigilance with regard to its own public safety policies and actions and do everything in its power to make certain that Brunswick is and will remain a welcoming town opposed to acts of racism and bigotry.  We affirm and are committed to protect the rights of all people, including the Black Lives Matter Movement, and justice allies and activists in our community who speak up and protest and demand justice for all. Black lives matter to the town of Brunswick.

This statement was adopted by the Town Council at its meeting on June 15, 2020.

_________________________________     _________________________________

John Perreault, Chair                                      James Mason, Vice Chair

Black Lives Matter letter to the Times Record

The following letter was recently submitted to The Ostrich (Times Record) for publication.  They declined to publish it, and couldn't even muster the common courtesy of a response.

Side has a thirst for knowledge, and this led us to research the subject phrase, which is easy enough in the internet age. We quickly learned there is far more than meets the eye.  In a spirit of informing the community, we offered what we had learned and the references to allow personal follow-up.

Apparently this was all Too Much Information for The Ostrich.  We have come to believe that "mainstream journalism" prioritizes inflaming and influencing over informing.

Maybe we should found a charitable organization called "Actual Information Matters."  We could abbreviate that as "AIM," which would make it relevant to the old saw "ready, aim, fire," which is all too often distorted as "ready, fire, aim" by today's so called journalists and the activists in our midst.

Clarification for “Black Lives Matter” Promoters

The mantra “Black Lives Matter” is spreading like wildfire. One Church in Brunswick has displayed a banner with the inscription for years; another prominent parish recently posted it on their Marquis Sign. Today I saw it displayed in large solid letters in a front yard.

No doubt these folks believe they are displaying a moral principle to signal their virtue, though one wonders why they don't assert All Lives Matter. Especially the Churches.

Unfortunately, they have been deceived. The phrase they display may present as a slogan; but it is in fact the formal name of an organization founded 7 years ago, with 40 nationwide chapters, and structured as a 501(C)3 charity under the umbrella of ActBlue Charities.

In spite of their name, BLM decidedly does not advocate for all black lives. Instead, they are a hyper-political activist group with a Leninist-Marxist agenda. Their founders have roots in this political philosophy. They have been very clever in naming their organization with an entirely sympathetic slogan that fits into their protest tactics, and draws credulous activists into their fold, carrying their signs and taking a knee in homage.

How do I know this? They have no interest in black lives continuously and flagrantly taken on the streets of Chicago, or the life of retired Police Captain David Dorn, killed in St. Louis as he tried to protect a pawn shop owned by a friend. These black lives don't matter to them because they can't be blamed on police, so they can't be leveraged for their political agenda. But they do care about the life of George Floyd, since he was so visibly and criminally killed by police.

Due diligence research of the organization on their own web site will confirm this. Go to https://blacklivesmatter.com/, and make sure in particular that you read all five items listed under the “ABOUT” tab at the top of the page. Then go here to read about the activism of their Chicago chapter: https://www.blacklivesmatterchicago.com/ Their own words will tell you what really matters to them, regardless of what their name says.