~Opinion~
Dear Yreka City Council
While I understand Ms. Aumack’s feelings about the language that she overheard some young people spouting, I’m not sure that it is something that arose to the level of City Council action or expenditure. Photo from Facebook
I recently experienced a situation of being yelled at by speeding teenagers using the same language and being called a “bitch” for telling them to slow their trucks down to avoid us while we were herding cattle on Ball Mtn. Road, which is a windy loose gravel road making turns at high speeds dangerous.
I was upset but would not have considered asking the Board of Supervisors to take action. I did not vote for them to take away peoples constitutional right of free speech or expression. The framers of the Constitution did not write the free speech clause because of the speech we like, but rather for the speech that we don’t like.
We have no idea the level of anger that those teens were feeling. They had not had normal school for two years and were being threatened to mask up again. Their parents could have lost their jobs because of the economy; or because they did not want to take a vaccine that their job was requiring; or they may not have as much food in the house because of the high price of gas or the rising cost of insurance. This by no means excuses the language, but this is a new generation and they hear these words on almost every TV show. To them its just another word and they don’t understand why it offends our generation so much.
Personally, I take issue to someone calling others “stupid or fringe group” because they don’t agree with others’ opinions, but I will not ask the City Council to write a resolution against such hurtful language or blame previous Presidents for those persons being out of control.
I applaud the City Council for his or her empathy, but feel that free speech and expression is what makes our county the place everyone wants to come.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Bacigalupi
