Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:
___
Feb. 2
The Augusta Chronicle on an action that would add oversight for the Georgia cemetery industry:
What would you do if you visited a loved one’s grave and found another coffin in the plot instead?
Apparently in Georgia there have been so many shocking incidents of this that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger felt compelled to strike back. On Jan. 30 he announced a reshuffling in how his department is organized, to allow a different division to help “uphold law and order in the cemetery and preneeds industries,” his office said.
Oversight of those industries now falls under the purview of the department’s Securities and Charities Division, and no longer with the division that deals mainly with issuing licenses to practice certain professions.
Reserving a cemetery plot years in advance, only to find it already occupied when it’s excavated, is uncommon but not unheard of. Most often it’s an unwitting mistake, particularly in older cemeteries, and it’s attributed to poor record keeping and changes in cemetery ownership, or both.
But with this change, Raffensperger is out to prosecute offenders who intentionally take grieving families’ money, promising typical funeral and burial services, only to abscond.
Remember the local incident last year when more than 100 military grave markers were found in a defunct downtown funeral home instead of assigned to their proper resting places? We hope the state’s oversight change makes it easier to track down the guilty parties in such disgusting cases of neglect.
Online: https://www.augustachronicle.com
___
Feb. 2
The Valdosta Daily Times on the observation of Black History Month:
Black History Month has a history of its own.
The commemorative month was founded more than 100 years.
In 1915, 50 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which abolished slavery in America, Black History Month was created as a way to acknowledge black Americans.
Attempting to recognize all African Americans who achieved greatness in their field is impossible.
The contributions of black Americans is as broad, as vast and as diverse as the nation.
Some people still like to deride the need for a Black History Month. Why don’t we have a White History Month, they ask?
History books and curriculum have largely been written by white people, and thus reflect a homogeneous perspective that has excluded the contributions of blacks, women and other minorities. Arguably, every month is White History Month.
Still, eventually, our country might reach the point we no longer need to call attention to the achievements of any specific race or ethnic group.
But we’re not there yet.
For the fourth year, the newspaper’s SunLight Project team interviewed several community leaders and residents to discuss the importance of the civil rights movement, current race relations and other aspects that could easily fit into the character of Black History Month.
And while the stories are shared during the month, readers will hopefully realize an overriding truth.
These are not black stories.
They are the stories of our neighbors and friends.
They are American stories.
Online: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com
___
Feb. 1
The Rome News-Tribune on internet safety for children:
We need to be paying attention.
There are so many reasons to pay attention to what your kids are doing online.
We’ve all seen it and many of us have been guilty of it - just letting your kids pop on an internet-capable device and then go about your day. You see it at ballgames, in the park, at church and even at home.
As parents we’re all stressed out, trying to keep up, constantly moving and constantly working.
And that is how our kids can fall down a rabbit hole into some pretty dark places.
In Floyd County we’ve seen the arrests of numerous men who’ve come here to meet up for sex with a person they thought was underage. It’s almost daily that we see those arrest reports.
The warrants usually read something like this: (enter name here) came to Floyd County to have sex with a person he believed was 14 years old. (Enter name here) asked for or provided explicit photographs to a person he believed was a minor.
This is actually the best possible scenario, by the way. In these sting operations, the suspect never victimized a child - they chatted with a Floyd County police officer.
But these are the ones that got caught. There are so many other children who fall prey to predators in many forms.
They could be teenagers who don’t feel appreciated or loved falling prey to extremist ideas.
Three young men - ages 22, 19 and 25 - are now in jail facing serious charges because they’d gotten so swept up in extremist dogma. The white supremacist group The Base existed primarily online - but they met at a member’s property in Floyd County to conduct paramilitary training and, if police are correct, plot to instigate a race war.
A group that tracks extremists online even characterized the only local man associated with the online hate group as the “lead recruiter.” He turned from the recruited to the recruiter within a year - but did his family even know?
These three young North Georgia men are accused of taking their fantasy to overthrow the government to the next step - plotting to murder a couple they didn’t even know.
That’s when online fantasies of grandeur become real. Without that online connection and encrypted chatrooms, would they have connected with others? It’s hard to say. It certainly has happened in the past. But in this case, it appears to have been the method of their radicalization and the tool this group used for recruitment.
In other cases, it could be a kid who is coerced into running away with a person they believe cares about them - only to find out that person is ready to sell them to the highest bidder.
The horrors of the street take place every day on the internet while parents are too busy to pay attention. Groups like End Slavery Georgia and others are very familiar with the horrors children go through when they’re victimized.
We need to pay attention.
Online: http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.