Silence on Black lives is deafening here

Call in the militia, and the storm troopers as well. A small band of Montezuma County residents has been marching on Main Street every Saturday for two months, bearing signs that say Black Lives Matter and calling for justice and peace. They organized with the blessing of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, although many of the marchers are not even members. This has struck a nerve here in little ol’ Cortez.

Those who are unbothered by the deaths of unarmed Black people at the hands (or knees) of police must unite! They need to give the middle finger to these dangerous protesters, and to call them Nazis who want to riot and destroy America. They need to show up in droves to counter-protest with loud vehicles and Trump flags flying, to drown out the men, women and children who are marching behind a banner proclaiming words straight out of the Bible: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Heaven forbid! We can’t have that!

It’s not clear what the Trumpers stand for, but clearly they are threatened. They love the Second Amendment, but that first one about free speech and expression? Not so much.

It says a lot about our community that so many of its citizens are outraged by calls for police reform and justice for all. If the majority of people feel otherwise, their silence is deafening.

Erin Turner-BirdCortez