A contributed perspectives piece by Sam Nickels
I don’t know who Dave Briggman is (Community Perspective: Valley Interfaith Action: Alinsky’s Playbook Has Come to Rockingham County), but he’s shown me he’s a bit of an odd fellow. He seems to think that Valley Interfaith Action (VIA) is sneaking in a hidden agenda past all the VIA members and faith organizations.
Well, Mr. Briggman, you may be surprised to discover that VIA is nothing but a grassroots community organizing effort aimed at improving community services in a bipartisan fashion. Good ol’ “democracy!” I used Alinsky’s organizing techniques when I worked as a tenant organizer in Washington, D.C., in the 1980s. It is an effective way to organize people for positive change in their communities.
There is nothing sneaky about VIA or the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). Just people working together to improve our justice system, obtain more affordable housing, expand affordable daycare for families while paying a livable wage to the workers, and whatever they want or need. The nonprofit’s finances are above board, transparent, and known to its members. No corruption as Mr. Briggman implies.
Mr. Briggman comes across as paranoid and conspiratorial when he thinks VIA and IAF are a “calculated, methodical franchise operation…deliberately deceptive.” Very scary Mr. Briggman. And laughable.
We need to correct Mr. Briggman on a few points: VIA has not, and never will, seek “millions of dollars” of state or federal monies for itself. We seek those monies to help our community with its needs. He seems to fear IAF’s list of issues in other places, as if they are an undercover socialistic agenda for taking over the country– “Childcare first. Transportation second.
Then comes the rest….living wage ordinances…housing mandates…gun policy.” Sounds scary, right—help our kids, then our workers, then people who need housing. Oh, and finally “gun policy.” Why is Mr. Briggman’s top issue and fear that there might be “gun policies”?
Well, just google him and you can see all the lawsuits he’s been involved in, allowing people to carry guns anywhere anytime. I’d like to ask him—does he also care about preventing people with mental illnesses from obtaining guns, or people who are suicidal, or children? Maybe he does, I just don’t see it for his obsession with gun rights.
I’m not opposed to responsible gun use, I own one. But why does Mr. Briggman seem to tolerate policies that result in a country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world from guns? Why allow such a high rate of mass killings of children and racist killings of blacks and jews in their places of worship? Guess I’m just “radical left.”
Finally, Mr. Briggman refers us to his anti-VIA website, warning us of scary things about VIA/IAF:
1) They are a national franchise. Ouch, I guess we should shut down McDonalds.
2) Build power. Ouch again, should we get rid of political parties and lobbyists?
3) God forbid, Childcare and Transit might lead to livable wages. Guess it’s time to get rid of the minimum wage, Medicare, social security, and SSI disability income, those socialist evils that allow people to put food on their table.
4) Using churches without transparency. Where does he get this stuff? My church went through a long transparent budget process to approve our funding for VIA.
5) Government as the only answer. If that were true, why is VIA’s childcare center at a church? Why is EMU contributing inkind staffing? Why is VIA seeking private sector contributions?
Mr. Briggman is deceitful—of course we don’t think government is the only answer. In fact, we’re different than the president that I’d guess Mr. Briggman greatly admires. You know, the one whose father made his wealth off of government housing programs and did everything he could to avoid paying taxes on his wealth, the one who claims to pay for a ballroom with private donations of $400M only to turn around and ask Congress for $1B of our tax dollars, who wants to pay police-beating rioters $1.776B for having to go to prison for their crimes.
6) Outside models imposed on rural communities. Yup, Mr. Briggman and his rural communities have no choice, they have to submit to VIA, they cannot speak up, they cannot join as members of VIA, they have to be pressured into making public commitments.
Of course, I’m just having fun here. My brethren in Rockingham County are just as smart and savvy and concerned for the welfare of their communities as I am. Together we can be a powerful force…. if we’re not distracted by naysayers like Mr. Briggman.
Sam Nickels is retired from working in the nonprofit sector, where he worked on homelessness, affordable housing, cross-cultural understanding, small business development, residential mental health programs, and more. He enjoys hiking in beautiful West Virginia, visiting friends on farms in Rockingham County, playing in the EMU orchestra, and making fun of people with conspiracy theories.
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