It’s been a while since words have called me. A lot has changed in my life since I last put pen to paper, or in this case, text to screen! Things are moving forward in a positive direction, and are genuinely looking up!
One place I do not see life improving is my community. Since 2020, the division between those who call themselves “conservatives” and those who are more “liberal” has continued to widen. Some people routinely badmouth any and every improvement community leaders try to make. They equate attempts to build affordable housing as rolling out the red carpet to drug addicts, thieves, and other criminals. These people bully everyone in town, including our elected officials, city staff, and those who volunteer their time to serve on committees to make this town a better place. They continue to attempt to keep our community a backward, haven to prejudice and fear.
Since yesterday, these people have come out in spades to have a man fired from his job and publically blast and bully anyone who tried to interject sanity and caution into the tale. Suffice it to say, no one has the details of this story except the person whom these keyboard warriors persecuted. They took half-truths and unknown facts, and then, with lighted pitchforks and angry words, they had this man fired from his job.
I do not know the facts of this case. But neither do these people. He was charged with sexual abuse thirty-odd years ago, but from what I heard, the story was recanted after the fact. Whatever his “crime,” it wasn’t severe enough to warrent him to be listed on a registry. And 35 years later, there are people in this town who feel he should continue to be persecuted without even the slightest of facts. Not only that, they’ve made a new page to condemn anyone who tried to caution them that facts matter, posting their pictures and telling their “followers” that these people support and protect pedophiles. It doesn’t matter if what they say is true; these people have never let facts get in the way of being horrible human beings!
Social media, and Facebook specifically, has become the soapbox for those who bully from the safety of their keyboards. These self-righteous individuals do not care about the lives they are ruining. They’re seeking notoriety, presuming themselves as heroes saving our community from their imagined fears. During the 2020 fires, they screamed to all who would listen that Black Lives Matter was coming to destroy our community because they heard on the radio that BLM was on its way. Apparently, no one has ever heard of the Bureau of Land Management during a forest fire. They’re not interested in the truth, just the attention they gain from people who are just as closed-minded, bigoted, and uneducated as themselves.
I am one of the people these jokers called out this morning. My face is on blast. At least they had the decency to share my actual words, so anyone with half a brain can see that his accusations don’t match the words spoken.
Please see the link below, should it still be active. I hope anyone and everyone reports this to Facebook for bullying or harassment. I am afraid people are going to get hurt because this man is the “admin” of his page, and he is the one posting these lies, half-truths, and vailed calls to violence.
I have the screenshots saved on my computer should this post be deleted, by Facebook. But they’re slow to review reports of bullying and harassment. At first, I thought I should stay out of it; I didn’t want to be targeted by these bullies. However, after some thought, it occurred to me, that if I did not stand up to a bully, then I was no better than them. We should not cower in our homes, afraid of angering those who would pull us into darkness. We should fight with whatever tools we have. If our tools are words, then we should use our words. I want nothing more than to beat back the fear, rage, and hatred that is infiltrating our world.
To quote a famous line from the movie Independence Day, “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive!” Our adversaries are not aliens from another planet but our neighbors, community members, and sometimes elected officials. And we must fight; we must fight for equality, we must fight for dignity, and we must fight for the truth. And when they come to claim our family in the name of a vengeful god, we must fight to ensure that every man, woman, and child can live their best lives; we must ensure they survive!
We must not hide from the bullies. We must fight for a better Estacada!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/10686001o70165529/permalink/2047148535644016/?mibextid=Nif5oz