Jessemen
Blog
is
the creation of a wrist band in honor of Greg Floyd,
the individual who shot and killed Liko Kenney.
The
controversy stems from the use of the Franconia police
logo and the
display of that logo on the company's web site. Jessemen
has repeatedly requested
that the Selectboard officially contact the manufacturer
of these bands requesting that
they remove the picture displaying the town's logo from
their web site. The town has refused.
Jessemen
further cites a breakdown administratively between the
Town's Administrator and the Selectboard. In his blog,
he alleges that Sally Small, the town's administrator
failed to inform the Selectboard about the wrist band
issue for six weeks "and in the process ignored a RSA-91-A
request for info" that he had asked for information about
what the Selectboard had done.
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Wrist
Band Debate
...the
memorializing of a fallen hero. Instead, does it glorify
an act of state-sanctioned homicide.
The manufacturer
indicates that monies
are donated to charitable organizations honoring fallen heroes.
However, its also clear that this is a commercial operation
that is benefiting financially from tragic events befalling
the
families, friends, and loved ones of who have died protecting
our country and our communities. Is
the town condoning vigilante
justice, if so should we all strap on weapons and look
for opportunities to earn our own tye bands.
I
can't believe that either side of the Kenney-McKay
debate feel that honoring a vigilante is admirable.
No one questions that there were mistakes made that
fateful day, mistakes that ended the lives of two
individuals loved by their families and friends.
The
selectboard's failure to respond to a request that
stems from the action of a concerned citizen
is disturbing. A request that likely mirrors, to
a small degree, the feelings that the McKay and Kenney
family and friends experience in their grief. A
request
that only asks for the selectboard to exercise
it's freedom of speech in formulating a heartfelt
request
to remove a picture that holds open a wound in
the community that refuses to heal.
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