Second Opinion / COMMENTARY FROM OTHER MEDIA : EAST (SAN DIEGO) COUNTY WEEKLY : Common Decency Is Never Out of Order

Editor’s note: The San Diego County town of Alpine was in the news in recent months because of an apparent vigilante attack on a group of migrant workers following an accusation of rape (which the district attorney later declined to prosecute) against a migrant. The following editorial indirectly concerns issues raised by the attack and its aftermath.

At the recent Alpine Planning Group meeting, the subjects (being discussed) were property rights and law enforcement. When public testimony began, most of the audience stuck to the matters at hand. However, one member varied and used (a derogatory term) to describe the migrant workers. Another audience member, Roberto Martinez, a migrant-worker advocate, protested and asked if racial slurs were going to be tolerated at the meeting. Martinez was told that he was out of order because it wasn’t his turn to speak.

If the issue of law enforcement was a major item, it must be brought out that racial discrimination is illegal in the United States. The Planning Group is an elected body and must adhere to all laws of this country. The audience member who used the (derogatory) term definitely has a right to say anything he wants under the First Amendment, but the Planning Group has a responsibility to address the use of derogatory racial terms at a public meeting.

Several members of the Planning Group have told of their sensitivity to outside groups calling some members of the Alpine community “racists.” They maintain that race isn’t an issue in the migrant problem. If this is true, then they should lead by example and be sensitive to racial slurs used in their meetings.

The Pledge of Allegiance invoked at the beginning of Planning Group meetings states, “with liberty and justice for all.” Martinez may have been technically out of order in his plea at the Planning Group meeting, but his message assuredly wasn’t out of order.