Social Responsibility

Claiming Social Responsibility

Requires Hard Choices

“Social Responsibility” is generally thought to include working with a higher purpose than mere profitability, a striving to improve our society and strengthen community life.

To some on the right side of the political spectrum, the phrase has taken on a pejorative meaning and they use it to label left leaning folks and groups as “do gooders,” consistent with their world view that we should just care about ourselves and not each other. 

Some organizations use “social responsibility” as part of their mission statement. Claiming this mantle is meant to show a concern for the well being of others and a commitment to making the communities they serve better through their good works. 

Our local Y (formerly the YMCA) and the national Y organization have staked a claim to being socially responsible. The Y touts its social responsibility in its promotional materials and offerings. It stresses “healthy living” by offering exercise and fitness classes, youth programming, nutritional and health screenings, child care and other endeavors meant to promote long, healthy lives for all ages of members.

I have long been associated with the Y. I learned to swim in Y pools as a kid. I attended Y sponsored summer programs and camps well into my adolescence. As I aged, I came back to the Y to regain lost fitness, continue my cardiac rehab, and reconnect with other seniors in my community. I try to get to the Y on Washington St. three times a week to work out and meet with my personal trainer, who has helped me stay alive.  By partnering with Silver Sneakers and other health insurance programs for seniors, the Y has made membership free to those on fixed incomes.

All of these activities certainly entitle the Y to claim that it acts in a “socially responsible” manner. Unfortunately, when attempts were being made to expand the Y’s social responsibility activities to include more current social issues, the current Y management was not interested.

The first issue came in the form of a request to make the Y a “Safe Space” for people who felt attacked or threatened in the new wave of anti-immigrant, anti-LBGTQ sentiments that sprang up after the last presidential election. The Y was asked to participate in “Safe Space” training and to post a small poster in the window indicating that the Y would offer protections to those harassed or threatened. The former “Social Responsibility” director refused the requests, indicating that the Y does not discriminate against people of color, those with non-majority sexual orientation or gender expression or those in minority or immigrant groups. She did allow placement of the “Safe Space” poster on a community bulletin board in an upstairs hall in the building, but refused to replace it after it mysteriously disappeared from the board.

The second attempt to engage the Y in an expanded vision of  “social responsibility” involved its fund raising program that included accepting funds from and advertising for a local business whose mission is to encourage the taking of human life by armed violence. Again the Y dropped the ball and refused to even discuss the matter at a recent Board of Directors meeting. 

The Y started a campaign to solicit funds from local donors. In exchange for a $1,000 donation, the donor got his or her name on a small banner hanging from the rafters in the Y lobby. For a $2500 or larger contribution, the donor received a much larger banner hanging closer to the floor with their name. Most names on the banners are well known members of Washington County’s donor class.

One prominent name on a large banner on the first row is Delta Defense coupled with the logo of the US Concealed Carry Association. I have written here before about Delta Defense’s owners and their attempts to purchase respectability with corporate largess. For those who do not know, the company provides support to the concealed carry/self-defense movement and advocates for an individual’s absolute right to take human life through armed violence.

When I tried to point out that the Y’s claim to “social responsibility” was inconsistent with taking Delta Defense money and advertising its brand, the Executive Director and the Executive Committee of the Y’s Board of Directors decided not to engage in the discussion about gun violence in our community and refused to bring the issue before its full Board for a discussion of its “social responsibility” policy. 

Organizations claiming the mantle of “social responsibility” cannot ignore the social issues of our time just because they are controversial or may anger some of their members. If you are going to be socially responsible, you have to be willing to examine what that means and take positions consistent with your mission even if it means giving back some money and letting marginalized people know they are welcome and safe.

Waring Fincke is a retired attorney and serves as a guardian for the elderly and disabled with a Sheboygan County non-profit agency.

Protect the Dreamers

Protect the Dreamers

No Hate Allowed Here

Immigration reform has been a hot button issue since people started travelling to new places. We are a nation of immigrants and those who settled here in the first instance would claim that all those who came after them and took their lands are here illegally. We white folks settled those claims in the Indian Wars of the 1800s by brute force and genocide, but never you mind that part of our history.

The current effort to rid our shores of brown skinned immigrants was announced with a smirk by Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions this week. President Trump made the call, but left it to Sessions to announce the decision and he did so gleefully.

Former president Obama tried without success to fix immigration in Congress, but the republican majority prevented a comprehensive fix. As a last resort, President Obama implemented DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, to tackle what appeared to be an easy part of the problem. He protected the Dreamers, kids who were brought to our shores by parents who entered this country without proper documents.

DACA made it possible for the Dreamers to remain under certain conditions. Almost 800,000 received DACA protected status because they met conditions that include registration, proof of entry while a minor with parents without documentation, educational attainment or military service and lack of a criminal record. They paid a hefty fee for the privilege to boot. As adults with a protected status, they are productive members of our communities.

The average DACA recipient is 26 years old and came here at the age of six. Ninety-one percent are gainfully employed. One hundred percent have no criminal record. They pay $500 to renew their status every two years. One, a Houston paramedic, died rescuing people in his flooded city after Hurricane Harvey.

With the stroke of a pen, the Trump/Sessions administration took away DACA protection for these neighbors of ours, subjecting them to easy incarceration and deportation, unless Congress acts to solve the problem by next March.

The GOP controlled Congress has not been able to pass a single piece of significant legislation yet. Internal divisions between ultra conservative members of the Freedom caucus and more moderate GOP pragmatists have prevented House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from advancing a budget, passing healthcare reform, or much of anything else. Tax code reform bills are next, along with funding the wall on our southern border, infrastructure repair and natural disaster relief measures. With all this on the congressional plate, and little GOP interest in talking with Democrats, comprehensive immigration reform or even protection for the Dreamers appears well beyond the horizon for consideration in this short period of time.

Make no mistake. This move is just another of the racially motivated actions by those currently in power to Make America White Again. Trump’s rhetoric and actions increasingly appeal to those white Anglo-Saxon evangelical racists who voted for him as he tries to shore up his political base against the rising tide of opposition from those in both parties and the Independent middle who fear further erosion of our democracy.

Former President Obama took the unusual step of weighing in on President Trump’s action and concluded his condemnation of it with the following:

“Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.

“What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union.”

We must protect the Dreamers just like many Germans did when they hid the Jews from Hitler’s thugs. We must stand up for our neighbors, friends and co-workers who share in the American Dream. Hate, prejudice and discrimination must not be allowed to triumph.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired lawyer who serves as a guardian for minors, the elderly and disabled.

Stand Up to Hate and Intolerance

Here's my response to the election results.

Stand Up Against Hate and Intolerance

I must admit that I never saw a Trump election victory coming. I refused to believe that so many of my fellow citizens would buy into his hate filled and fear-mongering messaging or fall for the greatest con since P.T. Barnum. But it is what it is.

With no one left to blame, the new world order of the Republican party now owns whatever comes next. I still fear the worst and take no comfort in Trump’s command for his supporters to stop the hate crimes, especially given his pick for Senior White House Counselor, Steve Bannon, who is a self-proclaimed racist, misogynist and anti-Semite.

With no real agenda of his own, Trump will gladly take whatever House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell serve up and sign it into law. One can only hope they temper the urge to completely dismantle the progress made since the Great Depression. The signs are not encouraging and I fear Social Security and Medicare will be among the first legislative casualties.

The message that hate is the order of the day continues to spark unacceptable behavior towards those made out to be responsible for our lack of “greatness.” Hate speech, neo-nazi graffiti and white supremacist rantings are being widely reported. The Klu Klux Clan will hold a victory rally later this month. Talk of a mandatory Muslim registry with Japanese World War Two internment camps serving as prescedent runs rampant. With an over zealous evangelical Vice-President elect ready to attack the LBGTQ community with conversion therapy and roll back same sex marriage victories, many fear for their safety and the safety of their families.

So where do we go from here?

All of this forces a necessary discussion in communities across the country. Is this what we really want to have happen where we live, go to school, attend church and raise our families or do we want something different?

Several campaigns have sprung up to address these concerns. One has people willing to stand against hate and intolerance in all its forms wearing safety pins. The pins are a visible symbol that the wearer is an ally to those made fearful or attacked in our current climate. We stand ready to intervene when we see inhumanity visited upon another person. We will record and report those who attack and shelter those oppressed with kindness. We will say no to hate and intolerance and try to defuse emotional situations with kindness and redirection.

The safety pin became a symbol in Britain of solidarity with and protection of immigrants who were being attacked after the vote to leave the European Union.

Locally, some are opening their businesses and homes as Safe Spaces for those subject to hate and intolerance. Soon you will begin to see Safe Space signs in windows so that those in fear know they have someplace to go for help, comfort, referrals and assistance. In community Safe Spaces, all will be respected and treated with the dignity they are due as fellow human beings without regard to gender, sexual orientation, race, immigration status or other targeted minority status. Safe Space providers will not accept hate or intimidation in their businesses or homes. 

Choosing to provide a Safe Space or wear a pin will hopefully help send a message that we build a nation based upon dignity and respect for all and not by giving into fear of the “others” who can conveniently be blamed for what ails our society.  Having Safe Spaces will lead to a discussion of what kind of society do we want to share with our neighbors and the rest of the world.

If you want a Safe Space sign like the one above, I can send one to you for your window. They print up nicely on photo paper. If you want training in how to be an effective ally to those in need, let me know and we can let you know when the training starts. You can reach me by email at waringfincke@gmail.com

Anyone can wear a pin or provide a Safe Space. You just have to care about your fellow human beings and be willing to help those in fear or in need.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired attorney and vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Washington County.

Make Your Space a Safe Space

Put this in your window and welcome those rendered fearful by Trumps's bigotry