The Editor and Chief Tanksley:
It was painful to read of your experience of being Black in America; it must have been painful to write. Thank you for telling us your story. We needed to hear it.
Jennifer Plombon
Blaine
The Editor and Chief Tanksley:
I wish to thank you and Chief Donnell Tanksley for publishing his article in The Northern Light last week. We are very fortunate and blessed to have Chief Tanksley leading our Blaine Police Department, especially at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial discrimination across our country. We are so thankful for our police officers and local law enforcement that provide safety to our community and give their service daily, despite the potential risk to themselves in their profession. Chief Tanksley will provide valuable leadership and his life’s story is an inspiration to all of us in our community and beyond. Let us truly come together and encourage all to live as we pledge: “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
David Magelssen,
Blaine
The Editor:
America is grappling with lockdowns, protests, looting and riots as we approach America’s birthday. Let’s learn from the
negative, then seek the positive. We must accept diversity of thought, not encourage mindless anger. We cannot say we are for free speech, then silence another voice. We must pursue unity, not division. We must keep faith in our nation, not tear it down.
How many Americans accept racism? How many believe that what happened to George Floyd was right? My bet – very few. But how many feel pressures to conform to a narrative that America is racist, or fear mob violence? My bet – many. This is not tolerance, it is intimidation.
Fear and hate are fanned by “influencers,” tech demigods and media moguls. They divide, not unify. They do it for clicks, profits and power. We must question their assumptions. We must reject the propaganda that is used to enrage one another.
This, in my opinion, is why we face so many challenges. We have lost something of great value, respect – for ourselves, our communities and our nation.We are human. We make mistakes. It is our nature. But Americans are self-reflective, we learn from our mistakes. We strive to be better, seek forgiveness, charity and hope.
What makes America the most prosperous and the most integrated country ever? Justice, faith and the willingness to improve. Our system of government is not perfect, but it is flexible, resilient and the best that mankind has created.
America began with ideals that changed history, that God created all of us as equals and “We the people” have the right to govern ourselves. These are ideals we cannot forget.
I believe in America. Let’s teach our children to do the same this Fourth of July. Give them hope, they are our future.
Jim McKinney
Blaine
The Editor:
During a sunset stroll, we encountered someone attempting to deface the Black Lives Matter display on H Street Plaza. The individual was muttering and yelling, and succeeded in ripping several posters off the fence, tossing them into the blackberry bushes below. The police responded promptly, affording us an opportunity to observe the entire interaction from a safe distance.
The responding officers determined that the individual was drunk, informed the person that it was not OK to damage private property and instructed the individual to leave the area. The officers were truly professional: poised, calm and polite, yet firm.
We felt so bad for the people who took such time and care to express themselves with messages and artwork about systemic oppression, only to have their work literally tossed to the ground. We stopped by later in the evening to see if we could retrieve and repair any of the signs that were tossed overboard. We were not alone. Mark from Drayton Harbor Oyster Company was already there trying to retrieve the damaged signs. Some quick thinking, Yankee ingenuity and three sets of hands managed to retrieve almost all the signs so they can continue to be part of Blaine’s growing display of solidarity and community connection.
We are grateful to live in Blaine, especially during these challenging times and we strongly support non-violent active anti-racism efforts. We also feel blessed that our own police department is headed by Chief Tank and staffed by officers who serve as guardians of the public peace and not warriors to be feared. And we are glad to find example after example of caring community in our city. There are different points of view in our town but almost everyone we meet is tolerant, respectful, friendly and willing to help when needed. This one act of intolerance – tearing down signs – appears to be from someone who is alone and sad. Although we are still distressed by the anger we encountered, we hope this person can find hope and healing in our diverse community, which would extend its hand readily to help.
Elaine Alpert and Bill Marsh
Blaine
The Editor:
We would like to encourage you to vote for Evan Jones for Superior Court Judge. We have known Evan and his family for many years. He would be a valuable addition to the judicial system as he is honest, ethical, hardworking and responsible. He has extensive experience that is detailed at evanjonesforjudge.com. Please check it out for more information.
Barney and Carollyn Yorkston
Birch Bay
The Editor:
Strike while the fire is hot. As unfortunate and terrible as the news of the last several weeks and months have been regarding the dominance of minorities affected by COVID-19 and actions by specific racist police officers, the current rally power shows that Americans are awakening to the injustice of power by the
privileged.
Our national policy has been designed to benefit the powerful, from Native American treatment, through slavery, to immigrants seeking citizenship. Banking, policing, education, real estate, job opportunity and leadership have been designed to protect the privileged against equal participation by all of our citizens.
Demographics of this nation’s population shows that increasing numbers of the total do not meet “privileged” criterion and the opportunity to participate as equal citizens. Because some privileged people see equal participation as a threat, we must continue the pressure of education and persuasion. Ugly and inconvenient as pressure is, so is pandemic and war.
Change is hard. We need to work to make a country that actually is better than this. Our forefathers intended to have a country run by property-owning white males. Our Constitution now reflects a modern America, one that includes all citizens. We must live up to today’s liberty and justice
for all.
Donna Starr
Blaine
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