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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 17, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 17, 2020
 
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"7' L hsn,cabana from page As One take on marches Editor, the Journal, I purposely did not participate in either of the dueling demonstrations in Shelton on Sunday. My absence was driven by support for both sides. I do sup- port Black Lives Matter and the police. However, I think One has more current legitimacy than the other. I ll leave it to the reader to decide which is which. My takeaway from the Shelton-Mason County Jour- nal s coverage of the events and the subsequent letters to the editor is that beauty is in the eye of the be- holder. However, there is no excuse for Obscenities to be loudly voiced, especially in public and with children in attendance. Also, I question the presence of loaded guns in the hands of participants or spectators when there was ample police presence to deter any violence. What were the guns for if not intimidation, surely not for self-protection. And the use of the American ag for personal ag- grandizement? I have too much respect for the sym- bol of my country to use it in such a baseless way. It should be own and handled with all the respect it deserves not as an adornment on a vehicle or sewn into a piece of personal attire. I am too much of a conservative to disparage the ag so profoundly and publicly. After reading all the letters to the editor and their disparate takes on both demonstrations, I wonder if I am in an alternate universe where up is down and black is white and 2+2=5. I do have to say that they are examples of the human folly we call society. There is no need for a comic section in the paper. It s right there on the letters to the editor page. Bill Pfender Shelton g BLM marcher says thanks Editor, the Journal, As a participant in the Black Lives Matter gath- ering last Sunday, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the peaceful protesters on both sides BLM and Blue Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter participants had one goal: to show support-for Black and Indigenous folks and other people of color in Shelton peacefully and without incident, and we succeeded in doing this. At no time was our intention to do harm to any people or'property, but there seemed to be an im pression among some Shelton residents that we were something other than a peaceful rally that included Shelton residents and neighbors. The truly A unfortunate thing about this misunderstanding was that there were among the Shelton crowd individu- als who were genuinely threatening, following our peaceful march while shouting racial slurs and even some threats, indirect and direct. I hope very much that the people of Shelton who were present and spoke kindly to me on my way to and from the rally know how much they are ap- preciated. And I hope that those in Shelton who feel threatened by or afraid of the Movement for Black Lives can understand that we, too, believe all lives matter we simply want everyone to act like it. Until Black and Indigenous people and all people of color can feel safe in this country, we won t truly be the country we claim to be. Anna Mumaw Olympia Keeping the peace Editor, the Journal, I did not envy the Shelton Police Department s job on Sunday. It was over 80 degrees, and two very different groups were loudly exercising their First Amendment Rights under the US. Constitution, and doing it in the usually sleepy lumber town of Shelton, Washington. One group was very angry. They must have also been very afraid, because this group was unusually well-armed for a Sunday afternoon in Shelton. Almost like they had come to hunt in our streets, or come to do battle. With that many weapons bristling in this group, it was hard to imagine their intentions were peaceful. They were also predominately mask-free, proving their superiority over COVID-19 remains in- tact. The other group was seeking understanding, recon- ciliation and justice. This group marched together to share their deep grief, their frustration and, yes, their anger, over the many senseless executions of Black citizens by law enforcement caught on video; angry Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal . Page A-7 ' over the senseless death of Breonna Taylor, executed while she lay asleep in her bed. This group carried no weapons. This group wore masks, as required during this timeof COVID-19. Many of these marchers were long in the tooth. There were canes and wheelchairs in this group of local citizen activists. And then there were the police (thankfully). The Shelton Police Department was tasked with keeping these disparate groups apart. There were a few minutes when the Black Lives Matter marchers were cornered, and nearly surround- ed in the parking lot at the corner of Seventh and Railroad, where they had gone to seek shade before returning to the post of ce. It looked like there was no way out for the marchers as the angry agitators moved in on them. In this moment, I literally began to fear for my safety, if not for my life. Enter the Shelton Police Department, who worked with the organizers to get the marchers safely out of there. A r I know those deputies would have rather been at a picnic on that Sunday of Labor Day weekend, than having to play nanny in the streets of Shelton to a NEED HELP PLANNING RETIREMENT? bunch of gun-waving outside agitators. I am sure the deputies did not want to be in down- town Shelton, but I did not get the feeling from the ones I spoke with that they were there for any reason but to keep the peace, which they did. . On their way back to the post of ce many of the marchers thanked every deputy who lined the street from Safeway to the post of ce. They kept us old activ- ists from harm and I am most sincerely grateful for them being there. If this is how Police Chief Moody leads, we are go- ing to miss him like crazy. . No one was hurt, no property was damaged, and our march was over, and we were out of town by 3:30 pm. . My gratitude to the organizers, to the marchers, and to the Shelton Police Department. Another peace- ful march is in the books. Katherine Price Shelton seer LETTERS, page A S N if. if. if) iii if: t. P V V i H MEDCARE? if it seems like a daunting task to plan how you'll make your money last in retirement, you re in luck. We ve been there before, and we can help you get a handle on preparing for your nancial future. There's no need to go it alone. Call Bowman Financial Group today for more information! l l ( l. l. 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