Religious Views of Robert Vernon
Let the witch hunt begin! In its attempt to lay blame for the violation of Rodney King’s civil rights by members of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Commission has decided to violate the intellectual rights of Vernon by embracing the tactics of Joe McCarthy.
Police Commission member Stanley Sheinbaum’s query into comments made 14 years ago by Vernon to his church reveals a glaring intolerance by Sheinbaum of alternative ways of thinking. The problem, according to Sheinbaum, is not that the assistant chief has done anything wrong, but rather that he may believe in the wrong things. The message is clear: Either believe as I do or get out.
What’s next? Is it now no longer tolerable to allow someone to disagree with homosexuality on a moral or religious basis? Will every public official now have to guard what he says in church to make sure it does not conflict with the current “politically correct” ethic?
It will come as no surprise that the Police Commission will find something in the assistant chief’s record that will “clearly” be due to his ideology and will therefore allow him to be tied to the stake. He won’t burn alone, however. The problem with witch hunts is that witches show up everywhere.
CRAIG COX
La Crescenta
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