At What Point Do We Speak Up?

by Jim Ru of Oil City:

Just this week we have had a extremely bigoted comment posted in the local Oil City paper, and a sign placed on a local street that is a slur on transgendered people.

Once again, the community is being asked to accept fear and hatred as a political standard, or as a joke.

You may ask why this is important? Why bring this up again?

Why not just ignore these people? Why make a fuss over it? Let's just think positive and ignore them. They don't mean it. It's just a joke. It's just a small group of stupid people.

There is a group that has formed around the United States called Not in Our Town, which started after an incident in Billings Montana.

Here is a video about that incident, and I do hope you watch it. I hope you pass it around to people you know in Oil City and the region.



The national movement web site is HERE.

There are excellent community information links on that site and I think it's important that Oil City pass this information around, especially in the government, the police department, and the schools. I think a community effort is in order here to promote this idea.

At what point do we speak up? Is it really funny to make fun of transgendered people? Does a letter promoting hatred against numerous groups qualify for us to speak up. Or is it just funny to read such things. It's politically incorrect so that makes it amusing.

And when someone gets hurt around here, will it be funny then?

Our silence gives people with hate in their hearts permission to take that next step.

We may not agree on these issues. But if we don't agree that politics is not solved by scapegoating people and making them targets of fear and violence, then our community will suffer because of it, as it already has in my opinion. People do live in fear here in Oil City. Just ask around to any minority. They live in fear because they know people think it's funny and amusing to make them live in fear.

You may say, well this guy is a community leader and has been here a long time. We don't want to upset him. Or that guy is just an uneducated redneck. Just ignore him. You may say these things until someone you know - a black friend, a gay associate, a liberal son, an educated woman - gets hurt.

We can wait until someone gets hurt and then ask, "How could that happen here in our town?" Or we can speak up now.

Boycott businesses that use bigotry and fear as a marketing tool and a political joke. Tell your neighbors how you feel about hate-filled letters in the paper. Then talk to your family and neighbors about what you did and why.

The thing that astonishes me about Oil City is that so many people claim to be Christians here. But how many speak up and follow the words of their teacher? Love conquers hate. Love one another. This is the commandment of the Christian faith. If this is the standard of our community, then your faith demands that you talk to your neighbors who spread hatred and fear.

It astonishes me that so many people sport American flags here and tell each other that they support our troops and our freedom. But if that means that you must behave exactly as they do, or else you face hatred and violence, what freedom is there in that? What exactly did those troops die for?

If you laugh at or ignore political hatred and fear, then not only are you mocking your faith, but you're destroying your freedom as citizens of the United States of America. In both cases, it will eventually catch up with you.

Thanks for listening to my concerns. I know that creating positive, constructive outlets for local people can educate them to find new, diverse environments to explore, and people learn through interaction. My efforts and support go into those ideas. I think the city is doing a good job promoting those outlets.

I know this community is better than that sign and that letter. I have met many many people here who may not agree with me, but respect my right to exist and to express my opinions. I know people here want a peaceful and prosperous community without hatred and fear, especially for their kids and those they love.

Not In Our Town seeks to gather those people together and I hope it finds a place here in Oil City.