Springfield, Ohio
My wife and I just attended our 50th high school reunion together and had a magical time re-connecting with some truly great classmates. The class of 74’ made the decision to travel back to our hometown of Springfield, Ohio to laugh and reminisce. Although we had a pretty large turnout to feed, no one suggested we cook a St. Bernard. There was no kitty pate’ on the menu and none of us saw immigrants running around with a Canadian goose under their arms. In fact, speaking of unwanted immigrants, most of us would be OK if these geese were returned to our neighbor up north. Perhaps someone should check their papers. But while we focused on each other, the entire nation focused on our city.
Springfield was a great town in which to be born and raised. A city of 80,000 with a huge reservoir for swimming and boating, beautiful parks, shops, good schools, and a stone’s throw from larger cities. For me, many of the best people I’ve ever known I met in that city, including and especially, my wife. Over the years the city declined, shrinking the population to 58,000. To revitalize the city, businesses were encouraged to locate there, but would then soon discover a labor shortage that would endanger this plan. Enter the Haitians.
City leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, and many local businesses were all in favor of their arrival. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/us/springfield-ohio-school-bus-crash-haiti-immigrants.html In a few years, the population of Haitians approached 15,000 and the city’s labor shortage was lessening, and businesses were happy. However, the primary problem with this plan was the lack of awareness of what was happening by the current residents. When you suddenly increase a city’s population by 25%, it puts great stress on the city’s infrastructure and functionality. In addition, language and culture barriers put an even bigger strain on everyone as well. Whatever logic their arrival served; it was unfair to not include the community in the discussion to ensure their full understanding of it. But as our Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently stated, they are there legally and there to work.
After a local child was killed in an accident caused by a Haitian motorist, the wolves descended. Suddenly the city was being overrun by crazy, starving illegals who are destroying the city! In addition, their depravity also includes eating their neighbor’s pets, presumably due to the cost savings. The message in summary is “The Haitians are coming! Run for your lives!” The problem with these smears is not just that they are blatant lies, it’s that they insult the intelligence of the American people. Anyone interested in the truth can do a five-minute research and find it. These lies also endanger the Haitian families now living in the community and have triggered bomb threats for schools, hospitals, city buildings etc.
I did not know that our Governor was also born in Springfield. He wrote a very good article about his fondness for the city and the trauma it now faces published on Set. 20th in the NY Times. I highly recommend it. Republican Mike DeWine has been a solid Governor and is a very decent man in my humble view which is why I’ve supported him. His reverence for the city and concern for its residents I appreciate and share. This isn’t about politics; it’s about telling the truth instead of spreading hate. In summary, it’s as the Governor said:
“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”
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