Future is bright because of diversity
If your family is Irish or Italian, Catholic or Jewish, Hispanic, African-American or Asian, there was a time when your ancestors were new to this country, and there was a time when the people who came before likely shunned the newcomers. My grandparents moved to the U.S. from Ireland, which means I’m only one generation removed from an immigrant myself, and I’ve heard all about the struggle that so many of those that went before us endured. All of our ancestors had to work hard to become accepted members of this society, but America today is a far greater and stronger place because of our diversity of thought, religion, and culture.
That’s why I was pleased to see the Jan. 9 Dispatch article “Columbus lags in assimilation of Somalis” in which an academic expert suggested things that members of both the Somali community in Columbus and the city at-large could do to help ease tensions, build trust, integrate, and thrive as one vibrant community, including the hiring of some Somali police officers. Unfortunately, the reader comments on the web-based version of this story were appalling. I won’t repeat them here, but one thing they all agreed on: we don’t need any Somali cops in Columbus.
These same things were said about the first Irish, black, or female police officers, and they were just as ignorant then. To suggest that some of us are too good to be policed by members of a particular group because of that group’s ethnicity, language or religion is prejudiced, unproductive, and unpatriotic. Police agencies and all government offices should always be working to take best advantage of the diversity of experiences within our community, and with all of the divisive national rhetoric lately, I am proud to see many in our community working instead to strengthen relationships with their neighbors.
Franklin County is a special place to live and work. Tens of thousands of immigrants and their families live legally and productively here in central Ohio. Our future looks bright, in part, because of the continuing integration of new Americans, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of our neighbors here in Franklin County to make it the best place to live that it can be. We’re all in this together, and that’s a good thing.
John O’Grady President Franklin County Board of Commissioners Columbus Cincinnati and Columbus. There is no indication these crimes are perpetrated by undocumented immigrants but rather local citizens.
Middletown is experiencing a heroin drug crisis that also demands Keller’s focus. Instead, Keller ignores her constituents and is oddly pushing cities outside her district to waste valuable law enforcement resources profiling ordinary citizens. Keller would do well to talk to Middletown Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw, who is rightfully training his force in policing that does not include racial and ethnic profiling. Kudos to Muterspaw.