Letter to the Editor: Deja ‘Blue,’ All Over Again

Crumbling district roads, completely unabated CAFO-produced liquid manure pollution, threats from his own party leadership to dismantle the DNR, ever multiplying public education dollars siphoned off to religious schools (disregarding the oath of office in the constitutional separation of church and state), no improvement in living wage jobs to be seen anywhere, not a single word spoken publicly against major corporate interests demanding unregulated ownership of all our public groundwater resources, Joel Kitchens unsurprisingly comes out again, prioritizing his support for the born in Louisiana racist response, intended to intimidate, to counter and to suppress the “Black Lives Matter” movement for social and economic justice.

Demoting his father from former FBI agent to mere former law enforcement with his near rehash of his “Blue Lives” press release of a year ago, are we accorded this impotent non-sequitur supposedly justifying this genuine waste of time, fraudulent scheme and abuse of public power? Once more with feeling, nothing labeled “blue lives” will afford any greater physical safety for law enforcement with this pretense to strengthening law and order (although outlawing high-speed vehicle pursuits will save numerous “blue” lives, but that’s likely too practical an idea for this majority legislative intellectual vacuum). “Blue Lives” legislation is divide and conquer, minority-aimed intimidation and self-serving legislator publicity.

Hate crime penalty enhancement provisions in the law were instituted to attempt to protect racial, religious and other historically persecuted ethnic groups and minority people. Law enforcement, fire and rescue, and other public servants weren’t birthed into their careers. Their freely chosen uniforms are not inescapable, inherited genetic markers. However, invaluable human diversity indeed matters little at all to our corporate-owned, GOP legislative lapdogs, desperately grasping at money, power and control with distractions, lies, threats and scare tactics that will never compensate in the slightest measure, for their complete failure at achieving any responsible governance for the people. Don’t expect better.

Donald Freix

Fish Creek, Wis.