When Things Turn Ugly

I don’t know about you, but the negativity surrounding the foothills – heck, most of the nation – is at an all-time high. Nationally, the horrific shooting deaths of 17 students in Florida pierce our souls. Questions abound of how to fix a situation that is difficult to define. “Certain guns should be outlawed,” claim some. Others ask, “Why are guns to blame? When a crazy person mows down a bunch of people while driving a truck, a call to action is not made to ban all trucks.”

And if mental illness is the cause of such destruction, as is suspected in the case of the South Florida mass murderer, how is that situation supposed to be dealt with? I know of one local family who is afraid of one of their children. Only a youngster, he appears to be mentally unstable. However, he hasn’t actually done anything yet. Law enforcement can do little until a crime has been committed. In the case of the Florida teen, multiple law agencies had been called, but nothing appears to have been done. Was law enforcement to blame? I don’t know.

I do know that mental illness in itself is a difficult problem. Years ago, I was part of a group that donated money to the Midnight Mission. In addition to the traditional brick-and-mortar building, the Mission also had an expansive courtyard able to accommodate homeless people who prefer being outside. How do you help someone who wants to be on the street?

Other lesser problems have plagued us locally. The two Welcome to Glendale signs erected on Foothill Boulevard at Lowell and Pennsylvania avenues have caused angst among our neighbors. Two things puzzle me: 1. Meetings were held prior to the erection of these signs. Where were the opponents of the signs? Why didn’t they attend the meetings? 2. Why is a local resident being harangued – actually, threatened – because of the signs? She didn’t erect them. She didn’t build them. She didn’t have the authority to approve them. But she is being attacked. This resident has been a voice for the community for years and is hurt by the anger directed at her. Those who don’t like the signs should attend Glendale City Council meetings, sign a petition or write a letter in opposition to the signs. But attacking one of our own? For shame.

If you haven’t already guessed, the vehicle for these attacks is predominantly social media. Sadly, people feel that they can hide behind social media and say awful, hurtful things that they would never have the guts to say publicly.

I don’t have much time to spend on social media (and have missed some events that would have warranted an invitation in the olden days), but it has come to my attention that the administrator for one of the La Crescenta Facebook pages has been verbally assaulted. It was so bad that her husband had to post a reminder that recognizes that everyone has, and is entitled to, their own opinions but they do not have the right to “throw digs back and forth.” His wife moderates the page and has to go over the comments posted. Being that the page has over 7,300 followers that can be pretty time- consuming. It was decided that instead of just deleting negative comments, in moving forward those who “can’t be nice” will be removed from the page.

With so many problems in the world, and avenues to express our displeasure, shouldn’t we be helping each other rather than attacking?

Just my thoughts.

  robin goldsworthy