Speaking Up
To the Editor of the Cibola Citizen,
I want to share an experience of personal shame about an encounter I had recently in a public venue. In the course of casual conversation with a local citizen, a reference to a community near Grants came up. The person I was talking with said—in a whisper and with a straight face- ”Oh, people there kidnap children, torture and eat them...” I decided to challenge this person by asking if there was evidence to support this claim to which I received an “OH Yes, we [whoever WE is] have evidence”.
Here's where the shame comes in. I left it alone. I wrote this person off as just another nut job spewing venom. What I wish I had said was, “Well, what happened when you took your evidence to the Sheriff's office?” and “So, when can we plan to read about this gruesome serial murder and cover up?” If ever there was a time for the press to kick in, this would be it. Now, if I were a person who Really Believed this was happening to children, I would not be able to rest until I stopped it or died trying. I certainly wouldn't bring it up as a “fact” in casual conversation. This person was lying and knew it and, like a coward, avoided naming their own fears and prejudices that served to justify maligning an entire community. Was this person a completely cold, and uncaring coward unwilling to do anything to save these supposed child victims? I should have challenged them to defend their assertion. After all, there were young adults and others in the vicinity. What do they think when they see an older person like myself allowing that kind of malignant talk go unchallenged? Are we all so inundated with nonsense that we are normalizing it? Are we cowards as well? I have vowed to challenge such mean and cowardly talk in the future. Brian Johnson