To the editor:
I hope that the community will consider the broader implications of the first-proposed Malone police reform plan that was allowed to be presented to the public. The author chosen states that Malone has seen its long decline after manufacturing was moved abroad, leading to “Tremendous unemployment. Soaring drug and alcohol abuse. Despair.” But then the author goes on to demonize the people who have fallen weakest to these consequences of the overall decline. Here is one out of the many disparaging statements referring to deviants from the author’s standards, this one describing his opinion of “drug dealers and users”: “These people absolutely destroy the quality of life for law-abiding and well-behaved residents.” How many of us “well behaved and law abiding citizens” has a loved one or relation that has fallen in weakness to deviancy? Would we be better to condemn them or to address the problems realistically with compassion rather than harsh authority? I wish to bring attention to the following thought: If the mayor and MVP agree with this rationale, criminalizing the very products of the downfall described, regardless of blatant examples of racism or lack thereof, is this type of viewpoint conductive to the overall well-being of our community?