Spa City meeting ‘tone-deaf lecture’
The recent meeting in Saratoga Springs that was held by Assistant Police Chief John Catone and Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton was, in my opinion, an inflammatory, rambling and tone-deaf lecture. It began with concerns about a drunken brawl but pivoted to blame being placed on social/racial justice movements and promoting a “you are with us, or you are against us” mentality that has something to do with how long you’ve lived here.
The message was clearly that people of color are not welcome in Saratoga Springs because they bring gangs and drugs. How many white members of our community and surrounding areas are arrested for selling drugs or for physical or sexual violence? Why pick the narrative that our problems are all the result of racial/social justice movements and “outsiders from Albany?” Because blaming the “other” is historically a very powerful narrative that has effectively divided us throughout history.
There is only silence on the part of our elected and appointed officials rather than seeing this as an opportunity to explore how we got here and who we really are as a community. We need to have uncomfortable and difficult community-wide conversations, facilitated by trained mediators, about race, policing, violence and safety. All stakeholders and voices would need to be represented because, when all voices can be heard and people truly listen, real change can happen.
Above all, this can serve as a model for how to engage in a civil, purposeful discourse for the betterment of our community.
Heather Reynolds
Saratoga Springs