It sure is a sad day when the ACLU has to come stick up for members of the city council because the citizens of Homer won’t do it themselves. I’ve lived for almost four years in this community and I love it; it’s an amazing place. I bought property out east up Greer Road and have begun making a home out there.

Technically, while my property is not in the town of Homer, I work in Homer, shop in Homer, I spend my time and energy in Homer, I play music and perform in Homer. The community I call my home is the community of Homer.

For the first few years I lived here I listened to the citizens and tried to understand the local problems and learn perspective from the people who have lived here for many years. I didn’t vote, I didn’t spout my beliefs, as I didn’t feel it was my right to blab on and vote on things I didn’t quite understand completely even if I really did at heart think that I understood. I didn’t want to step on toes or mold the town from my beliefs.

After all, that was the reason I moved here because I loved Homer so much. I more wanted to mold myself in the likeness of the town. But I find myself now fully immersed in the comings and goings of this community and I have to speak out.

People are using tricky linguistics to try to make people afraid and twist their political views to make it seem like they’re mainstream when they’re actually far from it. I understand very clearly that the city council ouster campaign is an ideological battle.

All of the women, men and families that have gone to Family Planning here in Homer, where are your voices to be heard standing up for Catriona now that she is being railroaded for doing her job as an elected official? It is shameful.

Our President Donald Trump was uniformly derided as unfit and unqualified across the spectrum of political beliefs during the primary election. The same individuals who stand beside him now told us how huge of a mistake it would be to elect him.

And there are countless reasons why members of every mainstream group said that Donald Trump was unfit. Complete lack of government experience for starters, his misogyny, his attacks against Gold Star parents, attacks against mentally handicapped persons, attacks against fundamental concepts in the U.S. Constitution like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Trump has demonstrated nothing but pure incompetence since he waded into politics.

While it could be argued unnecessary, I totally support the initial spirit of the original draft resolution that brought so much heat to our three city council members. I, citizen of Homer, thouroghly reject racism, welcome the tired and unwanted, rejoice in western enlightenment and seek peace where there is conflict.

Could it be argued this declaration and resolution is a bit of a waste of time a bit of an overreach and a bit contrived? Sure I think plenty of people could agree with that.

Is it recall worthy? I don’t believe so.

But there is a large issue here that a lot of people in this community feel hate from a large number of Trump supporters. And it’s not Republicans. Not my father’s Republican Party. God bless my dad’s soul, he was a member of the GOP and there’s no way he would ever be sitting here giving a thumbs-up to Donald Trump. I believe that with every ounce of my being.

I’ve been walking through town and had one of those big trucks with the big Trump flags do their rolling coal thing where they blow their black exhaust right in your face. I’ve seen it done to a young woman pushing her little baby in a stroller.

People who do this “rolling coal” are proud of themselves, don’t forget. I know and you know it wouldn’t be some little Subaru with a free Tibet sticker and a Hope and Change sticker doing that to their fellow citizens.

Sure it’s a bunch of kids but they feel vindicated knowing they can be angry little sociopaths and that it’s OK and condoned. Their parents sure don’t discipline them or do anything about it because it keeps happening.

Remember, because this is a key point, they think it’s funny; polluting the air so dramatically in front of a bunch of environmentalists is the perfect joke to them. You see they really are too uneducated to understand that they’re just harming themselves which is extremely sad.

The overall theme is this; Homer is about acceptance and tolerance and happiness. If you don’t like those basic tenets, perhaps it is YOU that needs to find another place.

Chris Needham writes that he is a musician who moved to Homer four years ago. He can be found in his free time socializing with his friends at the pub or working on his property out east.