||| FROM VELMA DOTY |||
Apologies to Rays Pharmacy and all others who were recipients of last weeks “protest.“ Not on behalf of the group BUT because some on our island who chose that behavior I am writing this.
Orcas has always had a reputation for its intermingling of people and respectful acceptance of its diversity. Are we to lose that ? With the actions of a few begins a change that is not going to be for the better.
I am glad I do not have any idea of who constituted the group. I only saw a group on the street driving by and later learned of their actions at Rays and elsewhere.
The price we pay for pharmaceutical needs is indeed a big concern but to target our local supplier is not the answer. We support pharmaceuticals because we need antibiotics and many other drugs for a large variety of health problems. We are lucky to have a very fine pharmacy here on Orcas. Decades ago when Ray and Elaine Jagles risked starting the business we were grateful to not have to wait for a prescription to be flown in from elsewhere.
Target the real villains if you must. Masks or unmasked who’s to say? Vaccinate or not, hindsight will tell which side was more correct. I [along with] hundreds of other islanders did get vaccinated hoping this was the answer. My hope is our children will not be subject to this before and only if it is PROVEN to be necessary for them by more than one entity.
A bigger concern is the big picture of the Critical Race Folly to indoctrinate the young with all kinds of misdirected, inappropriate, unnecessary forced information. Many parents in our country are seeing the damage to the children this will have and are doing
something about it.
The inappropriate action shown by the protest group to include children encourages disrespect for others and private property. What are they to learn? God forbid that the mentality to burn and loot will become their accepted right also. I pray not for those growing up on Orcas Island who have been exposed to better learning & living with others .
A bigger concern that should be at the top of the list, how Big Tech communications now OWN us, systematically controlling, manipulating and censoring information and not always for the good of the people but for a particular purpose.
Thank you Velma for your thoughts and concerns. I am in total agreement with you.
I do have a question about your Critical Race Folly comments. What does that mean?
quite the jump there from a peaceful protest to burning and looting. Kids are at no risk from covid. Masking them, locking them down and god forbid injecting them with an experimental drug is the real crime.
Hmmm. Why are we even considering advice on the health and well-being of our precious kids from one Mr. Decker who does not know the difference between a vaccine and a drug?
Velma, I applaud and support the statements made in your letter. Thank you.
Meanwhile, from the Land of Reality… https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.today.com%2Fparents%2Fparents%2Fkids-getting-covid-hospital-rcna14693%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0xtkO3-VL3SqosxDy2k8h40XREIJh1drik8ip2LB55n_ZjoSrhuRGFSN4&h=AT3l01zSo9MQrTiWIqa3648TlJCzV5fhLrc_II1PrnU646TszHv0_jCr8PQmJeAPaVpuqjap3jRftCQit34J5zk2Beipwauc9PXTVWTx0RMabrVoc_SWSbfhsd1DoTe_Og&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT02mMkkLqH50kwqYY4dB5-kM7LjZnOGe3d83H339n7s_3CxIgq58jjXSNPUSJchvYPEQLx2hfeSCxJn3PLg4PDO93tlAtZf-EVdphQTcMWiKxJDQMWB-7BmKFtEN6AY0CKQUgy62hld5vfAE4PpOcKpZvqxwqaWS-dK0WkfHWFZRdAkXC3T3y8L2jaC-3Gj52I6WsZbJ0nbbQ
The last paragraph of your letter is really the crux of it all, Velma. That is the driver and controller of the masses, driving a wedge between communites worldwide, including ours. This used to be a community of people who were neighborly, tolerant, curious about each other, willing to discuss and disagree, sometimes passionately, on issues, and hug at the end as friends. It seems we have lost that ability as a community and that is what hurts my heart and scares me most of all.
I see it as a combination of many things, but covid has screwed down the coffin lid of life as we knew it and the fragile veneers of decency that used to define Orcas for me. I don’t think it’s the actions of a few that has undone us. I think it’s the indoctrination of the many and the political manipulation of people’s minds, hearts, and beliefs that are fomenting this intolerance and great divide.
We clearly differ on what it means to have health and well being for our children; therein lies one of the biggest problems, since they cannot choose for themselves and must rely totally on the adults for that. I am saddened, heartsick, and sore when I read the comments that shame, blame, and bully people. Smug self certainty on any issue – including my own – is a detriment to open discussion and deep listening that needs to happen. Will it?.
Name calling, finger pointing, shaming, blaming, lumping all people together in a container of sameness; this will never get us anywhere or allow the many wounds we have on all sides of these issues to heal.
Thanks Velma but I must say this whole Critical Race Theory thing is very puzzling to me. Having taught high school history and civics here on the island, I discovered after I retired that I had, indeed been teaching around that subject for some years. Critical Race Theory is a GRADUATE school concept taught to advanced learners at college and university. It is not something taught to 4th graders. My teaching consisted of trying to put the issue of race into proper context to try to get my students to understand that these issues and problems are long-standing in this country, and the rest of the world. Empathy is the key to understanding how the other person lives and thinks. I don’t know if I was successful or not but I did my best to reach the students on troubling subjects and give them some perspective. My students were almost grown up, 11th and 12th grade, not too young to begin to understand the complexities of our society in the US. I operated under the idea that education is to provide a window, not a mirror.