Here is a comment I have heard lately regarding leadership in Amherst: “Here we go again.”
There are many unanswered questions, one being: Is this personal? We humans are very complex.
When I worked as a teacher in the public schools of Holyoke, we encountered similar issues daily. Teachers and administrators worked together to deal and solve them.
Why, in a town like Amherst, with so many illustrious residents, can’t we do the same?
Now that I’m retired, I realize that common sense and good intentions are better than graduate degrees to deal with anything collectively.
As a professional student of life, I wish everyone would learn how to deal with sensitive issues.
I hope we have peace in our civic life in Amherst in the coming years, or until the cycle starts again, but I doubt it.
Some people are just never satisfied and choose to live in the past, not being able to turn the page.
Recently, a lot of people criticized an African-American athlete who won a gold medal in the Olympics because she didn’t place her hand over her heart while listening to the U.S. national anthem. Yet no one has criticized the young, white winner of the shot putt for doing the same. Same action, different reaction.
Only they know why. A few days ago, I was shocked to see on the front page of the Gazette a photo of an African-American school committee member voting against the majority. He had a clenched fist up in the air, making the sign for black power.
He must know better. Semiotics and symbolism are important and say a lot more than words.
Victor Guevara
Amherst
Editor’s note: This letter has been updated to correct the author’s first name.