Kehlmann: Striving for positive change
October 29, 2020 | By Dani KehlmannThis year has brought many questions on both a local and global scale. One question I ask myself every day is, “How can I best be an instrument for positive change in my community?” Some days it’s a smile to someone on the sidewalk and some days it’s doing something much bigger and more complicated.
When I read the Seven Days story about Waterbury Select Board Chair Chris Viens’ suggestion of a segregated police force in Vermont, I knew it was time to do something that felt big and scary. I reached out to Viens in a personal email, putting aside my belief that Viens should step back from his position as chair, and offered my point of view as a community member who hopes to educate others as compassionately as possible. Below is that letter, slightly edited.
Mr. Viens,
My name is Dani Kehlmann and I live and work in Waterbury Village. I am a former educator and currently work for a local nonprofit and I believe in open, honest, compassionate communication. I believe that all people are capable of growth and change. I also think it is our responsibility as citizens to be willing to learn with an open mind and once we know better, we ought to do better. I am writing to you with all of that in mind.
I have spent the past week or so reading many of your words regarding your proposed ideas for a potentially segregated police force in Vermont as well as the subsequent follow up. I write because I am concerned that while you may not mean harm, the ideas you put forth do cause harm. I am not going to deeply discuss the logistical impracticalities of your proposed ideas, as my intent is to focus on how, even though you may not mean to show racial bias, your ideas do come from an inherently racist historical system.
When people say that your remarks are racist or support a systemically racist culture, they are not necessarily saying that you are a racist. I am not racist person, but I know in the past I have made mistakes and made comments that carried a racial bias. Systemic racism exists, that fact cannot be refuted. Link 1 at the bottom of this letter is a really short and informative video that I think can help you understand a bit better.
Segregation was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in 1964 (Civil Rights Act), 1965 (Voting Rights Act), and 1968 (Fair Housing Act). Separating people by race was done during a time where the view that one race or skin color was superior to another. To suggest in 2020 that we reinstate a similar method of operations within our civil services implies that the strides we’ve made to create a more equitable society should be erased. Separating folks when it comes to police is logistically impossible, but even if it weren’t, it would absolutely not help solve the issue of racism but likely reinforce it further. When we take away the responsibility of all police officers to learn to treat all citizens as equals, we allow those officers to see folks of different races differently. Racism exists in Vermont and if we close our eyes to this reality, it will only get worse. Link 2 at the bottom is a short article discussing this issue.
When our neighbors, community members, and fellow Americans are suffering, dying, hurting, and pleading for help, it is our responsibility to listen to their lived experience. As private citizens, it would be best if we could open our ears, minds, and hearts to others so that we can live compassionately; but I cannot tell any other private citizen how to live their life. However, when a person seeks election to an office of power and intends to represent a town and/or a state and its citizens, then it is absolutely their duty to learn more and do better. You mentioned that you are “just a construction worker” but indeed you are not: you are the chair of the Waterbury Select Board and you are running for the House of Representatives. That power also comes with the responsibility of expanding your knowledge in order to represent all of Waterbury and Vermont’s citizens. Link 3 at the bottom is one last short video I think could be helpful and informative.
Please know that I write to you with the hope that you’ll consider looking deeper into the heart of the reason why proposing that we segregate our police force would be detrimental to advancing anti-racist work here in Vermont. I write offering some tools and resources to help with the growth and change we all ought to strive for. I am not perfect, I am not an expert. I am a concerned citizen of Waterbury, Vt., and the United States, simply aiming to help make the world a little better for my friends and neighbors. Should you have any questions or want to talk further, please feel free to be in touch directly.
Dani Kehlmann
Waterbury
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