In an ongoing discussion about affordable housing, our city fathers are telling us it's needed for the "good people" of the area. Our college level instructors, firemen and police. Two things come to mind right off the top of my head. One, why are these professions the only ones mentioned? And two, why are we paying them so little that they need special consideration when it comes to the housing market? One gets what one pays for. In quality of public servant as well as housing.This doesn't bode well for our area when you look at the problems the police have in neighboring Spokane. The pay scale is considerably higher than here and they still could use some quality control! If the picture of the paraplegic being dumped from his wheel chair by a shreriff's deputy doesn't haunt you perhaps memories of events closer to home will. Remember Otto Zehm, a mentally impaired janitor who was beaten, hog tied and suffocated by seven officers? None of them have been prosecuted.
Or the gang that couldn't shoot straight tasering a man threatening suicide, causing him to jump? What happened to those officers?
Or the deputy who exposed himself to a barista and is now on unpaid leave until his retirement when he can collect his pension.
"Good" people? Hmmm.
We have good police officers to be sure. Just like the Catholic church has good priests. Far more good than bad, but at times it looks like the police departments have become a haven for wrong doers much like the church has been for pedophiles. And they protect their own.
Today's headlines in the Spokesman include two more stories to add to the llitany. A U.S. Marshall posted in Spokane is promoted even after it is discovered he lied about his education, having bought a bogus diploma and transcript from a phony online University.
The other speaks of a bill working it's way through the Idaho legislature that will bar felons from becoming sheriffs! Who'd have thought that was an issue?
So when push comes to shove and I take a look around, I wonder if both our terminology and our priorities are a bit skewed.
4 comments:
You know, just when you think Spokane's finest..but it city or county... can't get worse, then one of them tops the last issue.
I saw that about the felon not being a sheriff... where you want to say...duh, but considering all... I guess you need a law.
Affordable house.. what a joke. it is in the eye of the beholder. As they think affordable is $220,000 with payments of $1,400 a month. What waitress, nurses aide and etc. makes that kind of money. After 17 years as an aide, I still didn't make $1,400 a month take home pay. And that doesn't count utilities, food and etc. Affordable? by whoses standards?
What is the story behind the picture. On the face of it, this seems to be heinous. Why was this person dumped?
anonymous, here's a link that will explain it to you:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23144420/
Yes there are some bad apples in police departments, but there are bad apples in schools, churches, private businesses, public businesses...anywhere. I have a hard time when people focus on that bad seed and publicise the heck out of it.
Right now there is a very nice family, the Chism family in the spokane area, that are going through the worst time of their lives right now because the dad was wrongly accused of purchasing porn online.
The press jumped on the story because he was a fireman and because there had been a past incident with a fireman...so wow, there must be a problem in the fire department.
It's nice that we can get our news so quickly nowadays, if only the "bad" news wasn't sensationalized...especially prior to proving the allegations.
Post a Comment