What Right Do We Have?

 

Community member and resident wordsmith “Espalier” has submitted the following open letter to The Watch. As always, we’re very grateful for his/her contributions here!

As an aside, anyone who wishes to submit open letters of their own can always do so by getting in touch with us through the Contact page.

 

Griff, I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of new names joining this discussion, because NutleyWatch offers, among other obvious benefits, one of the few long-form discussions available to Belleville citizens who otherwise might be told to zip it and go to the back of the line should they muster the courage to raise an issue in public.

Public meetings are intended to be another.

It doesn’t particularly matter to me if participants are newly arrived or late bloomers. What matters to me is that we recognize our individual voices and learn to use them for our own growth and the benefit of our entire community. People who have been stifled and made to feel outcast are not generally regarded as community assets. To me, however, a life is a life and is at all times to be respected. Letting someone know when they are over the line is a genuine, and sometimes necessary, form of respect.

While I am eager to welcome new voices, I feel a unique appreciation for people who have devoted themselves, over decades, to the proper care and feeding of public participation. They can often be the voice of reason, and offer invaluable perspectives as moderators and mentors.

I do not tolerate predatory behavior, not for very long at least. I will act to protect my family and my community in response to bad actors of any sort. I believe in giving people a chance to reconsider their assumptions with regard to their own rights, especially when those rights are in conflict with the law regarding the letter–but more importantly the spirit–of the commons.

People who don’t respect the spirit of the commons will, in time, force us to invoke the letter of the law. It is for their own good, as well as our own, that we must exercise our rights and prerogatives as contributing members of the community. If we choose to ignore developments and “stay indoors” when our fellow citizens are exposed to abuse, then we are surely on a trajectory towards a day of decision. Justice delayed is a burden on the people. It is also a signal to bad operators that the candy store is open and unattended.

The reverse swing of a slow moving pendulum can seem like it “just isn’t fair,” because, in the eyes of the myopic and self serving, it feels like a loss of privilege. Grownups know how to mitigate these swings so that kids can benefit from the experience and maybe avoid the pitfalls of toting around a massive chip on their shoulder because they were “disrespected” once upon a time when it was incumbent on them to account for their actions.

I am not a judgmental sort, but I am hugely cautious around aggressive personality types. I have found them to be legion and decked out in a variety of guises. They all have one thing in common, however, and that is the desire to exploit a given situation for their own gain. That is why we have laws in place to remind them that there are limits.

I think we would all be quite happy if we never had to run afoul of the law as written. It is also encouraging when laws adapt, effectively, to deal with the changing times. Responsible citizenship can contribute mightily to both of these desirable outcomes. Open discussion is a vital part of responsible citizenship. Unless, of course, you believe it all comes down to being good in a street fight.

I prefer to trust the people to whom we have delegated authority. It is their job to step in when a brawl erupts. But those in authority need to earn that trust, and they need to do it every day. No one gets to rest on their laurels. We all must strive to increase our abilities, whether our station be high or low. Decent people are able recognize that process and support it.

Bangers will always try to keep you down. It is, for them, the juice. Against that we have the opportunity to stand and deliver. It is a powerful experience and no secret to those who accept to step into it.

Ps: I feel kinda bad when I work too fast and throw up poorly-proofed copy as my spellchecker has a mind of its own and my finger(s) as well and I don’t catch everything. There is no way to make adjustments to a post, once it is live. Right? That power resides in the site admin’s hands alone. That ‘s okay with me because I can read just fine through people’s posts, even when jumbled, and am actually more interested in their courage and their sincerity than in their editorial perfection. I just want to do the best I can for this site and this community.

For me, the effort expended in bettering ourselves as contributing members of any family, group, or community-based organization, even when I’m scrubbing toilets, is a win-win opportunity. And that, my fellow citizens, is no joke.

Espalier

 

 

 

About Griff 321 Articles
Lee "Griff" Dorry - Founder, watchdog, and public advocate. ♫ They've got strings, but you can see, there are no strings on me. ♫

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