I have seen the decay of our beautiful county

Friday of last week a community leader was stabbed in front of his own business. I call my friend Jeff a leader, not because his is a successful businessman — although he is, but because he is all about bettering our community, through volunteerism, support, involvement, and love of family and friends. How is it that this happened? But, more importantly, there seems to be little outrage outside of his close circle.

The police officer on scene actually scolded him for approaching the “bums” that were vandalizing his building, aka throwing trash at the structure while nonchalantly enjoying a convenient corner; all of this during business hours! While waiting for the ambulance and holding his protruding guts, the police officer also lectured him about not having the front door to his business locked at all times.

Hmmm, am I the only one that thinks things are really upside down? We the taxpaying, working class, follow the rules types are having to lock ourselves in buildings to protect ourselves from those that break the law, vandalize our properties, don’t contribute and apparently stab people with knives when asked to behave. Apparently, this guy is a two-time stabbing offender. When are our representatives going to start showing at least some empathy toward us?

I’ve witnessed this slippery slope of community activism geared exclusively toward those who abuse the liberties of law-abiding people. The civil liberties of the less fortunate are noble, but the disconnect is that it has facilitated a culture of filth, private as well as public property damage, unsanitary conditions, and now more frequently personal injury. All of this happening, while we are told because we choose to work hard and take care of our families and communities that we are “privileged” (a trigger word, I know) and could not possibly relate to the very people that we now find ourselves retreating from — locking our doors, not walking on our trails, avoiding public parks, etc.

Is this really proactive compassion, allowing a take over of our beloved public spaces while allowing drug use and squalor? I’m 72 years old and have lived in Humboldt County, almost my entire life. I have witnessed the decay of our beautiful county. I know the problem of vagrancy, drug addiction, and homelessness is complicated, but I don’t think the answer is forgetting about those who do keep the economic and community engine running. Let’s see some justice for those of us who don’t have the time to protest our feelings of abandonment because we get up and go to work every morning.