UpdatedSun, Jan 3, 2021 at 8:40 am PT
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Steve Napolitano, Jason Boxer offer their thoughts on 2020 and 2021. Napolitano is a Manhattan Beach City Councilman; Boxer on MBUSD board. (Shutterstock)
MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Public officials in Manhattan Beach definitely had their hands full in 2020 due to the pandemic and racial tensions. Manhattan Beach Patch asked a few of them to weigh in in 100 words or less on 2020 and 2021, in any way they wanted. Here are the final two of comments of the ones I received.
Jason Boxer, board member of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District
"2020 was a consequential year, colored by empty grocery store shelves, distance from loved ones, and unprecedented economic disruption. Bitter partisanship intensified these experiences, estranging us from one another in a time of great need. I wish to suggest a remedy as we begin to process our resulting loneliness and loss: camaraderie. We can buy groceries for our immunocompromised neighbors. We can wear masks and fortify our collective safety. We can listen to people who don't look or identify like us. If we do, we'll find blind spots of understanding, grow our capacity for empathy, and begin healing together."