I’m writing regarding Mr. Inzana’s “advertisement” on behalf of Village Square Management. It is not stated what is being advertised, but I believe that careful readers of all social/political groups can arrive at a conclusion.
It seems that Mr. Inzana is perhaps vacationing in another time zone, as he references the protests as “taking place under cover of night”, which is not the case. The protests continue to begin at times between 1 – 3 PM, and often continue past midnight. There are lights, camera and numerous reporters and photographers on site, and the time and location of the protests have been announced in advance and publicized on many news media. It is still light in the Monroe County and surrounding area until about 7 PM.
While I do not believe that the Vice Principal’s choice of airing the video of his personal political actions and statements was the best one to make, I don’t think that any of the apparently delicate and sensitive youth of the Spencerport Schools will be shocked or surprised. It might benefit Mr. Inzana to review some of the movies, video games and other activities that many youths now are actively engaged in. Many of our youth are also very socially conscious and support the messages of Black Lives Matter.
On a broader and bigger topic, I have trained close to 5,000 law enforcement and forensic personnel across the country. There are many kind, professional and ethical men and women among these ranks, and some go out of their way to be generous and compassionate to those they serve. There are also too many bad apples who are protected by regulations, HR policies and unions. There has been an epidemic of profiling, illegal searches, undue force incidents, and deaths of unarmed citizens – too often Black males, people of color and people with disabilities. Ignoring this ongoing crisis is to deny the reality of life in the US. Despite this, even many protesting violence and murder by police know that as a society, we need (ethical and trained) police to help us.
For the most part, and certainly here in the Rochester area, “defunding the police” does not mean taking all funding and abolishing the department/s. It means reallocating some of the funding to address issues such as mental health crises, youth supports and mentoring and neighborhood crimes and concerns.
The issue of the Vice Principal’s job is and should be contingent upon the HR policies of the school. The right of people to protest is guaranteed by the same Constitution and civil rights that enable “advertisements” such as Mr. Inzana’s. What would have been helpful here is if Mr. Inzana had simply been open and honest about his social and political views, instead of flying them under the false flags of “covert operations” and “our innocent youth”.
