Hey! Wondering what’s in this issue of the Sun? Read on and wonder no longer.
☀️National Night Out 2023
Marysville participated again in the National Night Out Tuesday evening at Jennings Park. Last year I sent my oldest daughter to the event so that she could write a report, this year I am writing the report, so I figured I’d better go.
It was actually a good, profitable time. I saw some friends with their families, talked to a few city officials, got a close up view of the city’s tactical vehicle and paddy wagon, and generally enjoyed being out in the Pacific Northwest August weather.
The National Night Out was sponsored by the Marysville Police and Fire Departments. I’m assuming that a number of firemen in particular weren’t able to attend. They were dealing with the large brush fire at I-5 and 136th which blocked all northbound traffic for a good portion of the evening.
I didn’t stop at every table or talk to each group represented (or taste one of the free grilled hot dogs), but there were more than just first responders participating. I talked with Kim Spencer who is the Resource Navigator for LINC NW. LINC has a family resource center as well as a community supply closet. I talked with Nicole from Dawson Place, a child advocacy center based in Everett that serves Snohomish County. Dawson Place helps kids who have been physically abused or sexually assaulted, and has started offering some preventative services such as parenting classes. And as fun as plastic fire-helmets are, perhaps the star of the give-aways came from Public Safety Cadets, a new program organized by Officer Garrett Wiseman; they were handing out rubber duckies ready for action.
While there are always things that need attention (and see the following article for just one significant example), there are many reasons to be thankful for the many law-abiding and law-enforcing officers we have in Marysville. If the city participates again next summer, this is worth adding to your calendar for the first Tuesday of August.
☀️Enhancing Safety, Growth, & Livability
by Philip Kulishov
Whatever the current political upheaval, police departments respond in different capacities. Some fold to whatever the machine demands. Like chaff in the wind, they are tossed to-and-fro. In the hands of gubernatorial puppet-masters, we’ve seen police officers used like political pawns. Whether the voices cry against police brutality in light of BLM resistance, or cry for stronger police enforcement of “health and safety” mandates, police departments around the country can’t catch a break.
Although the pressure to fold can be severe, some departments do demonstrate unwavering nerve when it comes to protecting citizens and upholding the Constitution. Even under critical scrutiny, we have examples of police officers showing integrity in their work. Accusations of racism be damned, these police officers do what must be done. State government can try to play tyrant, these police officers submit to a higher law. Karens can karen behind their masks, these police officers waver not under pressure. The Marysville Police Department is this kind of example of excellence, resoluteness, and professionalism. The citizens of Marysville are blessed to be under the caring and competent watch of our officers.
Police work is difficult and dangerous apart from any additional pressure from the people. Protecting a community and putting yourself first in the line of danger is a calling worthy of respect. It’s not a job everybody would sign up for. Fighting what’s in front of you is one thing. It requires aggression and competence. But mercenaries can do that. Fighting for what’s behind you is not the same thing. That requires more than aggression and competence. It requires compassion and nerve. Protecting a community is an extension of the work of fathers. And it’s not easy by any means.
What makes it more challenging, however, is when the community a police department is devoted to serve and protect is sabotaging their efforts - when pressure is coming not from the enemy, but from within your ranks. It’s difficult when the people you’re trying to lead are undermining your effort, and being critical, not just of your failures, but of your success in leadership. That is what we’re seeing in the attacks on police departments across the nation.
Sure, there are cases - multiple cases - of wrongful behavior by police officers. But much of the critical accusations that we see are thrown when police officers are doing their job correctly. Officers successfully restrain a threat, and get accused of racism because the threat happened to be coming from a black man. What would you have them do? Fail at protecting their community? Officers protect citizens’ First Amendment rights, and get accused of being lax on enforcing “health” mandates. What would you have them do? Enforce tyranny? It’s when police departments have been successful at their work, that saboteurs have turned their microphones on the loudest.
But the Marysville Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Erik Scairpon, have understood that leadership demands nerve in the face of criticism. Whether it’s with their measures on public drug use, homelessness, or other endeavors, Marysville PD has strived for success in its mission, refusing to cave under the pressure. Yes, the City of Marysville does have citizens who are critical of our Police Department’s tough stance on public drug use and homelessness, but the Department wavers not in their mission to keep our community safe.
They’ve done a marvelous job in mostly all areas. I say mostly because of the Department’s recent social media post taking pride in hitting a “diversity milestone” of having nearly 1 in 4 commissioned police officers be women. In the Facebook post, the Department claimed that diversity - as characterized by women on the front lines of policing - leads to “overall success.” But what does success in policing mean?
According to the Marysville PD Policy Manual, the mission of the department is to “enhance our City’s safety, growth, and livability.” Success is demonstrated in protecting the community in such a way that its people feel safe to live and grow within it. Does promoting diversity quotas of women on the front lines of the police force really lead to “overall success” in that endeavor? When we see a ruffian ignore the commands of a woman officer half his size and continue on his merry way, does that enhance the “safety, growth, and livability” of the city? The objective is safety, not diversity.
Courts could demand gender-normed PAT scores all they want - where physical requirements differ between men and women - and the Department’s public relations team could be proud of their so-called milestones. But the criminal doesn’t have “gender-normed” aggression, and couldn’t care less about the Department’s milestones. The male and female biological reality is what it is. No court-ruling or diversity quota can subsidize for that. This kind of political virtue signaling is presented as some sort of progress, when in reality it puts the entire mission of keeping a community safe at risk.
Apart from risking the safety of the community, trying to proactively meet diversity quotas by advertising “milestones” of women on the front lines also puts future women in danger. In calling more girls to join the front lines in the name of diversity, the Department is essentially saying, “We love women so much we make them go first into battle!” That kind of message is appalling and scary. Fathers are given to daughters for protection, not for using them as a shield against danger. Inviting more girls to participate as officers in the police force is working against the mission of the Police Department.
Perhaps there’s federal and state funding connected to meeting diversity quotas. Perhaps it’s pressure from the cultural mobs that the Police Department is trying to appease. Or perhaps there are other internal reasons why the Department believes it’s important to set, meet, and advertise “diversity milestones.” Whatever the reason is, a failure of nerve within the force to effectively protect Marysville’s community and future women is working against its own mission. Caving on this point undermines the Department’s pursuit of success. I am truly blessed and thankful for the work of Marysville officers and that of Chief Scairpon. And, “enhancing our City’s safety, growth, and livability” demands ongoing nerve to stay the course, not wavering under demands for so-called diversity.
☀️Around Town
Here are the unofficial results from the August 2023 Primary voting.
Marysville’s Best in Business e-newsletter has gone to a quarterly schedule, and the Summer 2023 issue is full.
Ari Hoffman reports that there is a 25% increase in private school enrollment in Washington. Good.
☀️Local Events
Rummage Sale - Friday and Saturday, August 4th and 5th, 9:00am - 5:00pm, at Evangel Classical School - 9015 44th Dr. NE. All proceeds benefit the ECS Trip Fund. Here’s a link to the OfferUp description page.
Pig Roast in the ‘Ville - Saturday, August 5th, 5:00pm at 5 Rights. See more info at the Facebook event page.
☀️Friday Fun
Graphs can be crucially helpful.
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