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PEMA Characterizes All Racial Injustice Protests As Civil Unrest

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As Lehigh Valley Ramblings reported yesterday, Mr. Michael Rinker from Northampton County Emergency Management sent an email to local government agencies informing them of scheduled “Civil Unrest Protests” that would occur on Saturday and Sunday.

EMS also wanted to be advised of any that they might have missed, or are being planned.

I questioned why the peaceful protests had been characterized as, “Civil Unrest Protests,” considering that there have been no incidents of civil unrest in Northampton County.

The definition of “Civil Unrest” is typically defined by law enforcement as a gathering of three or more people, in reaction to an event, with the intention of causing a public disturbance in violation of the law. Peaceful demonstrations and protests that abide by the law do not constitute civil unrest.

My question of the origin of “civil unrest” in the EM email was answered by Mr. Todd Weaver, also of NorCo Emergency Management. His email stated that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) is responsible for the terminology.

His response was as follows:

The terminology we use is how it is classified in the PEMA management system. 
It is also how PEMA has it listed in their daily briefs. 
We are aware that all the protests in the Lehigh Valley have been peaseful (sic). 
The info sent out was just for situational awareness for local officials and responders. 
The request for information was at the request of PEMA and for us to have situational awareness in case a response or resources would be needed. 
As EM it is important we have situational awareness of events that are occurring throughout the county.

 

Hoping to understand why PEMA would be involved in gathering information when no emergency existed due to the local protests and no indication that one might arise, considering past protests in Northampton County were peaceful, I went to the Mission Statement found on PEMA’s website:

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) helps communities and citizens mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other human-made disasters.

PEMA, if Mr. Todd’s explanation is accurate, wants NorCo EM to be prepared, in case our African-American community and their supporters against racial injustice suddenly decide to riot, creating a human-made disaster?

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PEMA and NorCO EMS would be better off by simply referring to the protests as what they are – “protests.” Leave the biased descriptors out of it.

 

 

Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.