My friend the late Jonathan England, being a native of Prince George’s County, was famous for his “bama of the day” declarations on social media. For those unfamiliar with the term “bama,” this Washington Post article describes the D.C. slang word best: “… it’s an insult… if someone calls you a bama, whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong.”
Yesterday, a group of Howard County parents earned the dubious honor of being named the 2020 Bama of the Year.
A small group of Howard County parents, aggrieved by Board of Education decisions regarding school reopening plans, showed up at a Board of Education member’s home to protest and leave disparaging leaflets containing personal attacks against her that had nothing to do with reopening schools. Dressed in expensive coats and boots and carrying designer handbags, they displayed signs saying “Kids are not pawns” and “open the schools.”
(Seriously, people. There are other coat brands besides The North Face. Broaden your horizons. #basic)
Let’s get the most obvious problem out of the way here. Showing up to protest at an elected official’s house is out of line. Not illegal, and not unprecedented in higher levels of government, but there’s something truly wack about showing up at an elected official’s driveway to insult and intimidate her into capitulating to the demands of maybe ten people.
Noticeably, there were members of this group of protesters not wearing masks, standing close to others while talking to them. Folks, if you want schools to reopen, but you’re not willing to do the bare minimum to protect public health, then you’re not operating in good faith. Why would anyone want to reopen schools and send their kids to a place where other people’s kids and their parents can’t be trusted to follow basic safety protocols?
Finally, this is a group of people who ordinarily care little about underserved populations and disadvantaged kids, but they are quick to use those kids’ plight to support their argument for reopening schools (see image above). The problem is that they don’t actually know how lower-income families or people of color tend to feel about this topic. They simply make assumptions from their perch of privilege, then co-opt it for their own self-interest.
In closing, here is what I have to say to this group of protesters: you have every right to have concerns for your own children based on their unique needs and circumstances. I fully recognize that this pandemic is hell for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. But our Board of Education has had to make agonizing decisions. This is not a joke to them. And there are many, many of us in Howard County who agree with the decisions they’ve made while recognizing the downsides to them. If things are not working well for you and your family, then I encourage you to use your resources to get help, make changes, and take responsibility for your own situation. No, it isn’t fair, but there’s a heck of a lot about this pandemic that is unfair to a great many people. Showing up to protest at an elected official’s home is out of line and not likely to help your kids, and it begs the question of whether you’re really trying to help your kids or merely trying to be vindictive.
Do better, folks.
