I was having a nice, relaxed Thanksgiving Day when I happened to see a Wednesday Journal at the local BP station, Harlem and Washington. I have read, and found it to be true, that local news is more pertinent and useful than world news, which in many cases does not touch us personally.
There was the Wednesday Journal headline “OPRF suspends wrestling coach.” I read the article and it seems Mike Powell, Oak Park wrestling coach, trusted some kids to stay in his house and take care of his dogs while he went out of town. I guess, unknown to Mr. Powell, some of these young people had a party when he was away.
I know a friend whose daughter has been trained to have one ear free and the other ear in an ear plug when she is listening to her cellphone. In this way, she can listen and react if someone is trying to attack her. This young OPRF High School student has been trained to be in constant fear so her mother also told me that her daughter has been intimidated by other girl students at OPRF, who may be affiliated with a gang. My question is what so-called authority symbols are influencing these young girl intimidators?
Also, in the same Wednesday Journal, Nov. 23, was a story about Danny Davis (in my opinion, a respected leader of the community) whose grandchild was impulsively killed by a gun.
My point is that there should be realistic fears. The fact of committing an act of violence, like shooting a person, and spending many years in an isolated cell is a very realistic fear. If any person encourages this unlawful act, it should be dealt with by the community. If we like it or not, we have a responsibility to follow certain group standards. A person has a responsibility to adhere to these group standards.
Nevertheless, I don’t think I have met Mr. or Mrs. Perfection. I think many people in the village of Oak Park have very high standards for other people, but very low standards for themselves. Some people think they are very, very clever.
George Vergara
A 29-year resident of Oak Park