STATEMENT ON PUTNAM CO COMMISSION 10/27/2020 ACTION ON CONFEDERATE CENOTAPH
Palatka – At its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, speakers to leave the Courthouse war memorial in place outnumbered those to remove it 30 to 1. But that didn’t matter to the Commission.
The weak-kneed Commission voted to ignore the vast majority of its citizens, including their own duly-appointed citizen “Statue Relocation Committee”, and decided to kick the can down the road again - this time AFTER the election – scheduling a special workshop for Nov. 10th.
Many were hopeful that Chairman Terry, a Gov. DeSantis appointee, now running for election to the seat, would pass the gavel and move for reconsideration of the previous vote to move the Cenotaph. But that was not to be.
Instead, despite the overwhelming support for leaving the memorial in place, Commissioner Terry repeated his desire to ‘keep the community safe” intimating his fear of the consequences of not appeasing those who were demanding the memorial’s removal.
Instead of re-considering, or even giving Commissioner Rawls' motion to put the issue on the 2022 ballot a “second”, the weak-kneed commissioners justified the delay to visit the proposed Melrose site and to have a workshop specifically dedicated to the monument matter. At Commissioner Terry’s insistence, a special date was scheduled so that the new commissioner replacing Commissioner Goddard would not be seated yet.
Terry seemed focused on ‘compromising’ with the take ‘em down forces including Ron Rawls and his allies in the coalition including the New Black Panther Party and Black Lives Matter and Anti-fa that have taken over St. Augustine by threatening to burn that town down if they didn’t get their way and have made their presence known in Putnam County.
We remind the Commission that terrorism is defined by US Law as ‘the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objective”. Pres. Ronald Reagan perhaps said it best “you can’t negotiate with terrorists” and St. Augustine has discovered this recently. Now that Rawls and his allies accomplished their first goals, they are advancing to more active targets… literally coming for the reputation and positions of a prominent St. Augustine businessman whose big crime, other than his skin color, is that he offered to privately fund a neglected city project, that would build up the minority community and improve the quality of life for some of the town’s residents. But that is not what terrorists want. They want power and how they get it is by threats.
This bunch just wants power and they sense weakness…and they found it in Putnam County like they found it in St. Augustine. So, Commissioners Terry, Pickens, Goddard, and Harvey, if you seek to appease those who threaten to burn down the town, like they have done in Ferguson, Baltimore, Portland, and so many others on the news – Great Job! It’s working. BUT keep in mind what is happening now in St. Augustine. Ron Rawls and the NBPP and BLM, won the monument fight, but that hasn’t stopped them – only emboldened them.
Commissioner Terry, Stop the madness! Man up and don’t compromise with our veterans. Putnam deserves better than this. And if you can’t handle it, call Gov. DeSantis and ask for his help.