Don't Bring the Violence Here
By Chris Lundstrom, Publisher Many of you know how much I love this community. It breaks my heart to see the violence and destruction going on in towns across our beloved country. However, it is extremely important to realize we are not safe from the same thing happening here.
I am not going to debate whether or not racism exists here. Unfortunately it exists everywhere and until we can describe people by something other than their race or sex or anything other than who they are, we will never be free of it.
Until then, we need to realize that we are all humans, beautifully and gloriously made in God’s own image. Our differences aren’t in how we look, but in what we believe and how we act on those beliefs. We also need to understand that some people will never change their attitudes and we have no control over that and need to pray for them and move on.
Sometime last week, someone sprayed “defund the police” on the wall of a building in Yoakum. After seeing reports on tv of the protests and riots in other towns, it isn’t hard to realize that just because we live in Smalltown, Texas doesn’t mean we are immune to the unrest.
As a society, we need law enforcement to keep us protected. Plain and simple. We need to treat them with respect while they are doing their job and I believe they will respect us as well. No one likes to get pulled over or have interaction with officers when we are the ones in trouble, but we sure are quick to call them when we need help.
No matter our differences of opinions, I can’t believe that any of us wants buildings burned and destroyed and violent protests in our own community. That doesn’t solve anything and besides that, all those buildings and businesses were built by the blood, sweat and tears of people who wanted to build a better life for their families.
Think about it. When the protesters finally leave, do they clean up the mess? Do they care about the lives they have destroyed and the future of the people who actually live and work there? I believe the majority of the individuals responsible for all the damage aren’t even residents of the area they are tearing up, so it doesn’t matter to them what they do. After all, they will move on to the next place and do the same thing until someone stops them. And I fear it won’t end without violence.
So fellow citizens, I get it. There are some people who are just mean. They say the most vile and hurtful things without regard for the consequences. So we have to be the ones who feel sorry for them and realize they are in the minority. Police officers are human and will make mistakes. Please don’t inflame the situation, because that is when bad things happen. It’s easy to make a decision you will regret in the heat of the moment, but you can’t go back and undo it. For the sake of this community, please try to forgive those who would say hurtful things. The worst that can happen is that it would bring national attention to us and bring outside protesters by the bus load. We aren’t prepared to protect ourselves from that and it would be disastrous.
We are all so blessed to live here and have the life we’ve made. I don’t think many of us would want to live anywhere else. But it can change in an instant in today’s volatile political climate and we are the only ones who can control it.