Letter to the Editor: Illogical op-ed
Dear Editor:
Every Friday morning my copy of The Downey Patriot gets delivered into the gutter, right at the mouth of the driveway. By the time I get to the paper it is usually wet, multiple tire tracks imprinted through the thin plastic bag. This is irritating to say the least, and I’ve been looking for a month to find someone at the paper whom I can hold responsible.
I’ve decided the blame is to be shouldered by every single employee at The Downey Patriot including writers, editors, maintenance workers, and custodians.
After all, they all work for the same publication who published a “Letter to the Editor” written by Mr. Rojas and Ms. Reyes, and it is this publication whose job it is to ensure each Downey resident receives a copy of the paper. So, logically, the blame must be shouldered by all employees at The Patriot when the obituaries bleed through the real estate pages, making it impossible to tell whether someone has died, is selling a house, or, I suppose, could be doing both at the same time.
Sound ridiculous? Well, to a good many of the staff members at Warren High School, this argument makes as much logical sense as the ideas presented in the editorial published in The Patriot where the writers put blame on Cari White, Dr. Garcia, and the entire school district for promises made, even as the entire world grappled with the aftermath of a world-wide pandemic that no person, government, corporation, or entity could honestly see coming. How can Mr. Rojas and Ms. Reyes find fault with Ms. White’s handling of the situation, labeling her “disingenuous,” when all she was trying to do was provide a glimmer of hope during an otherwise grim situation? At the beginning, no one knew what was happening day-to-day much less what would be happening one...two...months in the future?
Mr. Rojas, you especially seem to be an intelligent young man, bolstered with the life experience and maturity that all fresh, eager “20 somethings” possess. After all: you were very careful to highlight that you are in a MD/PHD program, surrounded by “leaders in the field of medicine and science.” And surely a MD/PHD candidate who was the Farewell Speaker at a past Warren High graduation knows far better than the leaders at WHO and the CDC, leaders who have changed opinions and contradicted each other—from the beginning—at every step of this global nightmare. If only you could have contacted the authorities at these two agencies back when all this began…well, I’m sure they would have welcomed your thoughts. However, if it isn’t too late, and you do what I suggest, perhaps when you “Monday morning quarterback” and offer your suggestions and ideas for change to WHO and the CDC maybe you could share them with your readers—because you certainly didn’t offer any in your op-ed.
As a parent who will miss hearing the senior activity stories coming from his eldest son, a graduate of Warren this year… as a parent who missed out on taking pre-prom photos…as a parent who will not witness his firstborn graduate from high school… it is important to note that I am saddened too. But to put any blame on anyone or anything other than the virus itself would be a case of woefully misplaced emotions. My senior certainly doesn’t blame anyone else, and he doesn’t even possess the collective wisdom Mr. Rojas and Ms. Reyes must share.
As is their first amendment right, I hope Mr. Rojas and Ms. Reyes will continue to post their thoughts as often and as passionately as they wish—as I will. Just understand that I am confident that their opinions here do not represent the majority of the staff members of the Downey Unified School District.
Finally: I do find some satisfaction in the knowledge that the same educational institution that Mr. Rojas was eager to criticize is the same educational institution which provided him the solid foundation that put him into that MD/PHD program. You’re welcome, Mr. Rojas.
Now since I’m convinced the editors, custodial staff, etc. will not take care of the ongoing issue I’m having with my Friday delivery, I will have to be satisfied with my paper sitting in the gutter, week after week, crushed and wet.
At this point, I feel it’s a good place for it.
Greg Elasser
Warren High School