OPINION
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | March 27, 2019
Diversity. … Really? Bigotry is a horrible thing. Black, our hometown. What did Dad do? white, Mexican. Gay, straight. Mi- I remember to this day. The guy sogyny. Muslim, Christian. Good was out watering his lawn, and Dad cops, bad cops. “Foreigners.” I crossed the street, went over and don’t understand it. Where does shook his hand, and welcomed him this hatred come from? Why do we to the neighborhood. If he needed have this inability to embrace peo- anything, don’t hesitate to ask … ple and the diversity of our A few years later, my great country? cousin married a “Mexican I guess you learn about girl.” The wedding? One of diversity the same way the most fun I’ve ever been some people learn to hate. to, and, I think it was the From your parents, your best food I had at any wedcoaches, your friends, your ding I’ve attended. By the coworkers. … I’m not sure way, they’re still married, I understand the world now, 40-some years later. and the hatred that seems At my own wedding, to have grown all around one of our groomsmen us. I think back through MAX N. HALL happened to be African my life, the lessons I’ve American. I didn’t think learned, and the experiencanything about it, as es I’ve had, and I am thankful for Chuck was a good friend and classthem. While institutional activities mate from West Point. Thirty-some have grown (and continue to grow) years later, I was talking with some to support diversity and inclusion friends back home and one of them over the years, it’s the small, per- said, “Ya know, that was pretty sonal encounters that I recall, and brave of you, back then.” that make a difference. And I said, “What was pretty I remember as a grade-school brave?” kid, there was a young AfriAnd he answered back, “You can-American couple who moved know … having a black guy in your in across the street. It caused a bit wedding.” Really? of consternation at the time, beHalf-way through my time at cause the “black neighborhood” West Point, the decision was made to was down off of Third Avenue in admit women. Before the decision,
there was much angst and fighting about the issue. After the decision was made, the superintendent made a presentation to the entire corps of cadets. He said, “If there are female soldiers, and female officers, why wouldn’t we want women to attend West Point, one of the premier leadership schools in the world?” And all of a sudden, the issue disappeared, or at least it did for me. Over time, other happenings… Several years ago, we were with a friend who was trying hard to tell us something, he was tearful while doing so. Finally, it comes out. “I’m gay,” he says. And we say, “So? We love you no matter who you are”. And then he was crying tears of happiness, because he wasn’t sure how we would react. Or the coworker and officemate I had while working on the Pentagon renovation, who is one of the smartest engineers I’ve ever known. Sajeel was the lead engineer for all of the new information technology in the Pentagon. He also happened to be Muslim. Guess who led all of the IT reconstruction efforts at the Pentagon after the events of 9/11? Or a former boss who is Vietnamese, and was stranded in this country when South Vietnam fell. After stints teaching at UCal and Georgetown, he started an IT company and has grown it to over $200
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million in annual revenue, through hard work and persistence. Or your sister-in-law and brother-in-law adopt a little girl from Guatemala. And the love in that family is totally colorblind. Or the lesbian friend and coworker who is the best operations person I’ve ever seen. After she and her wife were married, they had a little boy. If you see the three of them together, I defy you to find a better family, or see more loving parents. These are just a few of the countless examples throughout my life. Look around people — I’m sure you have many of the same in your own life, if you just take the time to look. I’m not trying to be Pollyanna — I know that bad things happen as well. But I have to believe that the good in people outweighs the bad. Hatred and bigotry? They have no place in my life. Life is too precious, and too short to waste time on them. I’ve always thought our diversity is what makes us such a great country. Each of us needs to do what we can to end bigotry and I’m convinced it can only happen at a personal level. Make a difference. You can. Embrace diversity and take a stand against bigotry today, and every day. Diversity. … Really. Max N. Hall is a resident of Marshall.
YOUR VIEW
No change needed: Sheriff Mosier making a difference on opiod epidemic Christopher Cochrane, in a recent Times opinion piece, parroted a quote from a local politician that Fauquier and Culpeper counties were the “epicenter” of drug trafficking in Virginia—the suggestion being that Sheriff Bob Mosier is not up to the job. (Cochrane is opposing Mosier in the June 11 Republican primary.) Bunkum. Cochrane is entitled to his own opinion, but he’s not entitled to his own facts. A look at the Virginia Department of Health’s most recent map of fatal opioid overdoses by county, Fauquier was among the lowest percentiles. If there’s an epicenter, it’s the local fight against the abuse of fentanyl and other opioids, along with the dramatic drop in the price of heroin — hardly the epicenter of the epidemic.
If elected, Cochrane promises to put together an exclusive task force to take on trafficking and abuse. It conjures up the image of a SWAT team. We already have one. It’s called the entire Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office— and then some. From clerks to dispatchers to patrol officers on up, the department is clearly determined to stop not just the crime — but the human suffering that follows. They have partnered with medical and mental health teams. They are using some of the most advanced tracking technology. And the sheriff expects that Fauquier will soon become a part of the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, which will increase funds, manpower and intelligence sharing. In part at the urging of one of the
The left wing is still left of what Virginians want for America. They are “Democrats.” Sadly, they are led by Nancy Pelosi [California, 8th District, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives], who is so anti-American in her thinking. Democrats used to be correct in “thinking they were for America.” Sadly, now they are not! They are just “left wing” and not thinking of America and what
is right for America and our constitution. Look at Nancy Pelosi. The news is full of her “misinformation” and “false news.” If you do not look out, you will back her because she is so against [President Donald] Trump that you will not see where she is wrong. Can you quote “what she is for?”
The Democratic party is too far left
Madge M. Eicher Warrenton
sheriff’s staff who lost a son to an overdose, every officer in the field carries Narcan, a nasal spray that attacks the symptoms of an overdose. Mosier named it the Travis Project after her son. And it’s become a standard life saver on the streets. The sheriff was recently invited to Richmond to testify before the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Opioids and Addiction. The following are statistics of note: In 2017 there were 58 opioid-related overdoses. In 2018: 50 overdoses. So far this year we count five opioid-related overdoses. Drug arrests are directly related to increased enforcement. In 2016:
290 arrests. In 2017: 332. In 2018: 351. Of real interest is the fact that each managerial district had about the same number of overdoses last year. Yes, Fauquier County has a drug problem, as does every jurisdiction — especially those near a big city. Yet, I would put our offense in prevention, treatment and enforcement up against any county our size in America. Candidate Cochrane repeatedly asks us: “Are you ready for a change?” Not for a New York second.
I would like to add my voice to the hundreds of citizens in Fauquier County who enthusiastically support the re-election of “The People’s Sheriff,” Bob Mosier. After spending more than 30 years in local and international law enforcement, including service in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Fauquier County, Herzegovina, and Iraq, Bob Mosier ran in 2015 to become the 60th sheriff in Fauquier County history. As someone who spent nearly 40 years working in the House of Representatives, I have watched many politicians make and break campaign promises. Bob Mosier is different. He made promises to the
people of Fauquier County and he has kept those promises. These promises include: community partnership programs, enhanced cooperation with neighboring counties, new effective crime fighting methods, salary increases for deputy sheriffs, a vision for the future, and law enforcement accreditation for the first time in county history. By any objective standard, Bob Mosier has earned re-election and I hope you will join with me in voting for this remarkable man at the Republican primary on June 11.
John Sherman Paris
Sheriff Bob Mosier kept his promises
Harry F. Burroughs Warrenton