Citizens for a Better Beavercreek strongly opposes the current attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion education under consideration by the legislature in the state’s two-year budget bill. After George Floyd’s murder, the long overdue, widespread acknowledgement that we still have issues with racial discrimination meant a great deal to many people of color – what they had long known privately was finally affirmed publicly. The backlash that followed was predictable – any time people of color in this country have made any kind of progress, backlash against that progress has always followed. The state legislature is positioning itself to be part of that backlash. There is much in the budget bill that is hostile to DEI, including one section that states “No state institution of higher education shall provide or require training…” on several concepts that are often part of DEI training. You read that right – the state is attempting to outlaw “providing” DEI education on several key concepts. Anti-DEI legislation makes people who wear cone-shaped white hoods happy at the expense of silencing the voices of groups that historically – and currently - experience discrimination. Contact your state legislators now and let them know that legislation silencing their voices is unacceptable.
- Jared Cutler, Citizens for a Better Beavercreek Beavercreek
In his June 21 column, Mr. Shumway makes a good point concerning the lack of common courtesy exhibited by some drivers and related traffic accidents. This is an issue that I was asked to evaluate for a major provider of in-home appliance service. With dozens of our vans driving throughout this region, the daily risk of accidents was significant as was the cost of repairs and personal injuries resulting from careless behavior. After reviewing the individual accident data it was apparent that a very small number of our employees were causing almost all of the vehicle accidents. So we terminated those employees which drastically reduced our accident rate immediately. The public should demand a similar solution including much stiffer penalties for reckless drivers. With the better traffic cameras being used today the technology is available to eliminate aggressive drivers. Eliminating those with aggressive behavior is the only solution.
- Steve Heckman, Springfield