Blaine Confidential

Glen Pentland, former member of the Downtown Advisory Committee, wrote an email to city council this week that addresses my concerns about the absence of public involvement in planning Blaine's future that is keeping us from moving forward. I have addressed the city council numerous times about this. 

When Lummi Nation defeated the coal export developers at Xwe'chi'eXen (Cherry Point), Lummi councilman Jeremiah Julius called Cherry Point their Jerusalem, a sacred place where their ancestors resided prior to being displaced by white settlers. Long before it was a toxic waste site occupied by petroleum refineries, Cherry Point was a place of significance in Lhaq'temish (Lummi) culture. As one of several prime reef netting locations, Xwe'chi'eXen was a community of unpolluted abundance. Recently, the petroleum industry announced its intention to come after Washington state and all the "clean green" programs initiated by the Washington Legislature and Governor Inslee. While Washington develops the latest in electrical conversion of its ferries, the petroleum industry is preparing for war in 2024.  Meanwhile, toxic discharge by the Cherry Point oil refineries into the Salish Sea continues. They can't even imagine a future without them. But I can. Imagine...

The usual modus operandi (m.o.) of the theocratic bigots is to conflate issues by repeating ad nauseum imaginary problems caused by treating transgender people like human beings who need our empathy in dealing with a very traumatic experience rather than our scorn. The two most repeated horrors relate to restrooms and sports, as though such minor problems cannot be easily resolved by goodwill and ingenuity. Unisex restrooms with private stalls and open walls so teachers and staff can see any misbehavior such as smoking and bullying are one. We use unisex port-a-johns at public events all the time, so it's not insurmountable. And transgender students would no longer get bladder infections because they are discriminated against wherever they go.

Culture (worship earth) began as an expression of gratitude for the generosity of nature. This gave rise to matriarchal religions of joy and love, later supplanted by the perverted patriarchal religions of fear and hate.  Reality-based matriarchal religions thus succumbed to fictional patriarchal religions designed by men to dominate women. Based on faith rather than reason, the fear and hate religions operated on the principle of exclusion, thus displacing understanding with belief. Children brainwashed by fear and hate doctrine are often damaged for life, unable to overcome the social pressures to conform to an unhealthy mindset, instilled by notions of a vengeful god. The story of Sarah Cloyce helps us to understand the Puritan roots of this scourge in America.

It has now been one month since Blaine and Birch Bay voters elected a bigot to Blaine School Board, and only one citizen of Blaine has said a word--me. Despite inciting violence against LGBTQ+ students, Cliff Freeman won by a wide margin. 

Tragic as it is, the scourge of fentanyl is but one of many symptoms of a society that has given up hope. Even the mania of mindless consumerism cannot heal our collective soul.  We can continue to destroy other countries who never did anything to us, or we can redeploy our tax dollars toward healing and housing here at home, instead of enriching war profiteers like Dick Cheney.  The oil wars were bipartisan, as were the bank bailouts, which signals a level of corruption that might seem insurmountable today, but it is a battle worth fighting--win or lose.

Anomie, a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, would seem to describe America today. It was recently noted in CDN that a whopping 51% of eligible voters in Whatcom County bothered to vote, compared to 36% in King County. This means roughly half of our citizens cannot be bothered to take ten minutes a year for democracy.   

The thin red line from the Salem witch hangings to Sarah Palin and the current lynch mobs over transgender equality has always been with us.  While it may seem new to young people, violent bigotry is a very American trait. The only thing keeping it at bay is citizen activism, which takes courage, but more importantly, knowledge. And quiet time to study and think. One cannot arrive at understanding with constant interruptions from cell phones.  The continuity of murderous, bigoted Puritan ideology is evident in the agenda of the "American Taliban". What is new is the mobilization of these bigots, made possible with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. As the fruit of the big business/Christian Right marriage arranged by Paul Weyrich, these religious fanatic thugs were unleashed on American society, leading to the present state of ruin. The solution is for those who believe in democracy to make a similar commitment to civics as those who are actively destroying it.

Paraphrasing former Washington governor Booth Gardner, democracy is not a gift, it is an achievement. Paraphrasing Nelson Mandela, the way to defeat bigotry is to attack it. 

THEOCRACY MOVEMENT Agenda Deprive women, LGBTQ+ and non-Christians equal protection under the law. Strategy Create climate of fear. Targets School Boards and State Legislatures [The following section is for opponents of theocracy.] Countermeasures Research Education Organizing Action Pitfalls Gullibility, pandering to bullies, and blaming the messenger [Sophisticated bigots are often pathological liars. Some are trained in the art of deception. Those who expose them are frequently blamed by cowards who pander to them.] [related news article: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to WA State ban on conversion therapy ]

A significant impediment to democracy is liberal arrogance that equivocates defending democracy with promoting bigotry. They view themselves as centrists or "moderates" looking for "common ground" with bigots. Due to this cowardice in confronting bigotry, they attack defenders of democracy instead.  In 1996, when Paul de Armond and I helped the FBI in apprehending Christian Patriot terrorists in Whatcom and Snohomish counties for making bombs to murder human rights activists, the chair of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force did the same to Paul; putting Paul down to enhance his prestige.  When the WHRTF lobbied the Whatcom County Council to adopt a human rights policy, the chair compromised with Republican members in deleting equal protection under the law for LGBTQ+. As a black man, the chair happily sold out the LGBTQ+ community so he could declare victory. It's an old story of pious poseurs--those who pay lip service to human rights--undermining the work of ...

The absence of vision and lack of initiative by our city government has set us on course to bankruptcy. Given this dire situation, one would think they would reach out to Blaine citizens for fresh ideas. Unfortunately, they continue to play with toy economy ideas that generate little revenue for the city.  As tourism development is the official city plan for economic recovery, one would think they'd look to successful tourist towns like La Conner for inspiration. Sadly, they overlook two key factors: public involvement and public investment; public discussion in community forums followed by public investment in tourism infrastructure, the top two items being art galleries and museums. The city officials constant refrain is we don't have the money, but they aren't even trying to find it, and public discussions are where public/private partnerships emerge. City hall needs help in saving our city, but they need to communicate that fact and facilitate public involvement so we c...

Living in an impoverished border town with nothing to do or see, longtime Blaine residents have apparently adopted a losing mindset, one where they are resigned to that longstanding situation. City leadership, such as it is, is no exception.  To turn this untenable situation around and set a course for prosperity requires looking at long term public investments in attractions that draw tourists, like they did in La Conner. Tourists want to see art galleries and museums, not churches downtown.  Tourism appears to be what the city chose by default as its economic recovery plan, without any idea as to how to make the transition from a fishing economy that died two generations ago. The city could solicit fresh ideas from its citizenry, but that would take a change in mindset. 

While few attend to the duties of citizenship, those that do make a difference. Monitoring civics in their community, writing letters to the editor, speaking to elected officials is what I call monitory democracy. Allowing things to get out of hand with the excuse of not having time doesn't wash. With the Internet, individuals can contribute to democracy doing open-source research and correspondence at home.  When good people come together to discuss their research, they help create a moral barrier against hate. Preventing bigotry from propelling Blaine into violent conflict is worth giving up one evening of television per month don't you think?  Being a role model for young people requires standing up against bigotry, not hiding in fear. Laziness and cowardice of most citizens are what bullies count on.