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."