Editor:
After reading Zach St. George’s article “Burned by the Wait” (Feb. 23), I was struck not so much by the contents of the article, but by the glaring omission of any consideration of the actual cause of Ms. Thompson’s and 10 other individuals’ abrupt trip to homeless status. What concerns me is the author’s apparent allocation of the responsibility for this outcome almost exclusively to Detective Wilcox.
My premise is simple: The vast majority of the responsibility for 11 people being forced out of their homes rests squarely with Ms. Formby and Mr. Davis as a result of their wantonly reckless decision to manufacture hash oil in a multifamily apartment. The couple’s current situation results from their own risk assumption. Their neighbors did not have the luxury of participation in this decision; they were only forced to bear the results of the outcome.
If the arrogance and recklessness of this initial decision on the part of the couple was not enough, they had a second chance to minimize the effects of their behavior while being treated at the emergency room, according to the Eureka Fire Department Incident report, which I reviewed. The information regarding the concern over a potential bomb was relayed to a police officer interviewing the occupants at the emergency room. The officer questioned the occupants about a pipe device or potential bomb in the closet of their apartment, and their response was that they “stated they were consuming hash oil, and had no knowledge of a bomb or pipe,” the report said.
It is unclear to me why the author chose to focus exclusively on one aspect of this tragedy to the exclusion of all others. Like most of these situations, the outcome was the result of a chain of seemingly small decisions and events that converged to result in tragedy. Local leaders including Supervisor Mark Lovelace have called repeatedly for an “adult discussion” of the marijuana industry. My hope is that this conversation not only includes consideration of the financial and regulatory aspects of the trade, but also considers the
increasingly corrosive underbelly that is affecting our communities on
an almost weekly basis.
Glenn Ziemer, Eureka
This article appears in Going Once.
Absolutely right-on brother!
“My hope is that this conversation…includes…the
increasingly corrosive underbelly that is affecting our communities on an almost weekly basis.”
Really?
Although this story is tragic and avoidable, it pales by comparison to the actual “corrosive underbelly affecting our community”.
Our corrupt town-fathers continue their legacy of saturating our cities with poverty-wage big boxes, the big-home subdivisions these new employees will never afford, while divesting from public services that poverty-wage families require to survive.
It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy of “growth” in poverty and the crime, illness and drug abuse that accompanies it.
We ain’t seen nuthin yet.
Well said, Anonymous. Complaining about the pot industry that, in reality, we all depend upon, while being boosters for truly “corrosive” industries, like WalMart exposes the short-sightedness of some of our leaders.
Funny, I didn’t feel that blame was allocated only to Det. Wilcox. The article did point out breathtaking stupidity and ignorance on his part. Aren’t Eurekans entitled to know how their police behave?