OPINION READER’S FORUM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Stop harassing people for doing their jobs
ome of you may have seen a
picture that made the rounds
online recently, of a sign at a
restaurant asking people to be patient
with how short-staffed they were,
sadly proclaiming that “No one
wants to work anymore.”
Honestly, I don’t
blame them.
The past year has been
a really tough one on a
lot of professions. Some
of that was inevitable — Jade
the pandemic has forced McDowell
NEWS EDITOR
everyone to adjust to
new situations and taken
away much of the casual face to
face interaction with coworkers that
helped make work more enjoyable (if
you had good coworkers). But cer-
tain difficulties faced were entirely
preventable.
Anyone who has worked a cus-
tomer service job knows you are
always going to have to deal with
some number of people who run the
gamut from garden-variety rude to
screaming-and-throwing-things lev-
els of entitlement. But it seems to
have gotten much worse during the
pandemic.
Businesses — including some
locally — have felt the need to put
up signs urging people not to take
their frustrations about masks out on
employees. Video after video has cir-
culated on social media and in the
news media showing adults throwing
merchandise, yelling racial slurs, pur-
posely coughing on people and other
behaviors they should be extremely
S
Jade McDowell/Hermiston Herald
“Now hiring” signs can be seen at fast food restaurants and other businesses around
Hermiston.
embarrassed about.
Meanwhile other jobs have also
faced increased hostility, to the point
that it is driving people to leave
the profession at higher than nor-
mal rates. Doctors and nurses, public
health employees, police, educators,
journalists, elected officials — all
have described increasingly difficult
situations that have included harass-
ment, threats and physical assault.
Senator Bill Hansell recently shared
that he had received messages from
people threatening to shoot him for
showing up to do his job, and I per-
sonally know journalists who have
received messages threatening to kill
or sexually assault them in the past
year.
There is no reason for us to shrug
our shoulders and accept that receiv-
ing death threats for doing your job
is simply part of living in our modern
society, but that seems to be what has
happened.
I’ve also seen an increase in peo-
ple sharing posts on social media
making blanket statements about how
all members of a certain profession
are dishonest, lazy, racist or some
other insult. That may seem harm-
less, but it can really wear a person
down over time. And no, it doesn’t
make it all better to tell your friends,
“Oh, I don’t mean you, you’re one of
the good ones.” People trot out that
line to excuse all sorts of mean-spir-
ited generalizations about everything
from race to religion, and I promise
you that it is never, ever a good look.
I understand that there are a lot of
people out there that are bad at their
jobs and a lot of companies that han-
dle things badly. But too often people
overreact or take out their frustrations
on people who aren’t to blame. If a
server at a restaurant tells you they’re
out of an item you wanted, chances
are they’re not the one responsible
for making decisions about inven-
tory, so directing a sarcastic comment
at them won’t accomplish anything
outside of making their day worse.
When I was a college freshman,
working at a food court, two of my
coworkers didn’t bother to show
up to work one day. The result was
much longer lines at our store than
usual — something many custom-
ers noted in a critical tone when they
reached the front of the line.
A couple of hours into my shift
I was feeling frazzled and over-
whelmed, when I suddenly realized
I had just put the wrong sauce on a
customer’s order. I began to apol-
ogize profusely and moved to start
the order over when the customer
stopped me and said he didn’t mind
eating it the way it was.
“When I was standing in line I was
watching how hard you’re working
to keep the line moving, and I just
wanted to say I really appreciate it,”
he added.
More than a decade later, I still
remember that moment, because it’s
what got me through the rest of my
shift. It was a small kindness, but the
way he chose to react, with a com-
pliment instead of a perfectly under-
standable tone of annoyance, made a
big difference to me that day.
May we all be a little more like
that.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Support the first responders
who keep us safe
When there’s a fire, a wreck,
a medical emergency, a hazard-
ous spill, or any number of other
potentially disastrous situations,
local firefighters and EMTs are the
first ones on the scene. They often
put their own health and safety on
the line to help others.
Measure 30-148 is the commu-
nity’s chance to give back to those
first responders. The bond pack-
age includes new protective equip-
ment, radio systems, vehicles, and
other tools that protect firefighters
and EMTs.
It also includes upgrades to
current vehicle exhaust systems
to reduce the cancer risk. Protect-
ing these responders while they’re
in the line of duty and in the long
term is important.
For around $4 a month for the
average property owner in Uma-
tilla County Fire District #1,
investing in our first responders
make a lot of sense.
Join me in voting yes on Mea-
sure 30-148.
Cathy Stolz
Hermiston
Sherman is dedicated to
Hermiston schools
I am pleased to see Karen
Sherman is again running for the
Hermiston School Board.
I first met Karen when she
came to teach at the junior high
in 1970. I quickly realized she
was an effective teacher with a
lot of empathy for the kids. When
she retired in 2001, I asked her
what she was going to do. She
responded, “I am not giving up on
the kids because I am planning to
run for the school board.” She was
elected in 2001 and has served
continuously since then, many
times as board chairman.
There have been few board
members who have been as dedi-
cated to this district as Karen has
been. We need her experience at
this time to lead us through the
state COVID mandates placed
on the schools. We also need her
experience in directing the schools
through the construction of two
new elementary schools. She has
been there and done that.
Carlisle Harrison
Hermiston
Support the first responders
that support you
I’m proud to be part of an
area that cares about our first
responders. And now is a time
we can show our gratitude for
what they do as we create a safer
community.
Bond Measure 30-148 funds
critical and necessary equipment
for our firefighters and EMTs.
Budget shortfalls impact their
ability to safely do their jobs, and
this bond will alleviate that.
Emergency personnel are on
the clock 24/7, and having ade-
quate housing for both men and
women and an upgraded alert sys-
tem will make sure they’re pre-
pared to do their jobs. The bond
will also replace vehicles in the
emergency fleet that need to be
phased out so responders can meet
the needs of a growing region.
Umatilla County Fire District
#1 leaders wrote this bond to pri-
oritize the most necessary invest-
ments, and has committed to an
oversight committee to ensure the
dollars are spent as intended.
For all these reasons, I’m vot-
ing in support of Measure 30-148.
Please join me in supporting our
first responders.
Ginny Holthus
Hermiston
ENDORSEMENT LETTER DEADLINE
The Hermiston Herald will accept endorsement letters for the May
18 special election until Monday, May 10 at 5 p.m.
Endorsement letters must be less than 300 words and may be
edited for length, spelling, grammar or clarity. They should include
the author’s name and city of residence, which will be published,
along with the author’s phone number, which will not be pub-
lished. Letters are run on a first-come, first-served basis.
You can email letters to editor@hermistonherald.com or drop
them off or mail them to the Hermiston Herald, c/o Jade McDow-
ell, 333 E. Main St. in Hermiston.
We will publish our last letters on Wednesday, May 12. Any letters
received after the deadline will not run. Election Day is May 18.
A vote for Gomez is a vote for
the future
I am writing this letter in sup-
port of Lili Gomez for Hermiston
School Board Position 3.
I have known Lili for over 20
years, both as a classmate and a
respected friend. Lili and I both
attended Rocky Heights Ele-
mentary, Armand Larive Mid-
dle School and Hermiston High
School together. Lili is a strong,
experienced and compassionate
leader.
Lili understands the chal-
lenges that students who grow up
Hermiston face, because she was
a student who grew up in Herm-
iston. Lili understands the com-
plexities and challenges that
first-generation college students
from Hermiston face, because
she herself was a first-genera-
tion college student from Herm-
iston. Lili’s unique lived expe-
riences allow her to relate to the
growing challenges that so many
young people in Hermiston are
impacted by.
There is no question in my
mind that Lili Gomez is the most
prepared, most experienced and
most willing to do the work for
all of our students. A vote for Lili
Gomez is a vote for representa-
tion, a vote for our students’ future
and a vote for a Hermistonian.
Please join me in supporting Lili
Gomez for the Hermiston School
Board.
Mitch Thompson
Hermiston
Gardner will be a voice for
students
Over the past 4 years I always
spoke up as a school board mem-
ber on matters the public held.
I thank you for the chance to
serve. It has been an honor. I sup-
port Dain Gardner for the school
board. I could not think of a better
person to take my place.
His independent ideas on
reopening our schools and keep-
ing them open impressed me. He
will be an advocate for the peo-
ple. Dain attends board meetings,
so he knows the issues. He ran for
the budget committee just weeks
ago. He has shown me that he will
be a voice of the community for
the betterment of our children’s
education.
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
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VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 17
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local,
state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer
letters should be kept to 250 words.
No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person.
The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
length and for content.
I support Dain Gardner for the
school board and I hope you will
give him your vote.
Mark F. Gomolski
Hermiston
One BMCC board candidate
supports another
As a candidate for the Blue
Mountain Community College
Board of Trustees, I participated
in a candidate forum sponsored
by the BMCC Faculty Associa-
tion. Carrie Sampson-Samuels
is also a candidate and likewise
participated.
I listened to her responses to
various questions and have rarely
been so impressed at the grasp of
the issues and ability to articulate
personal perspectives and posi-
tions as in her presentation. I hope
my strong endorsement will not
negatively impact her candidacy.
The college will be well served by
her unique skills, talents, abilities
and perspectives.
Kim B. Puzey
Hermiston
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers.
Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include
a telephone number so they can be reached for questions.
Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
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