Activism & Agitation In Wenatchee

I am tired of hearing all the bad stories about Wenatchee, and living it. I keep thinking, "Everyone knows!" SO many people come to me and tell me they know how bad it is. Even people who have never lived in Wenatchee know. I mean, Eastern Indians who have nothing to do with the town are telling me this. Guys getting out of jail for crazy sentences that never would have gone anywhere in King County tell me this. Nicole Richie gets 1 day in jail for a first time DUI and some poor white man in Wenatchee gets 6 months to a year. Or, lucky option--5 years probation.

So I keep wondering how in the world anyone could ever change or fix or do anything to the system driving this town. Who is going to come in and shake things up?

I never have a solution coming to mind. The feds? the state? (which part, as there is a division of every state organization in Wenatchee). The ACLU? the ACLU has done a little bit to help out, with settlements to change the structure of the justice system, but they are not really an active presence. No one is afraid of outside influence in Wenatchee. They make their own rules, and protect their own. And use everyone else for their own financial and political agendas in the meantime, hoping to pacify the masses with a little free healthcare here and there, and maybe a little bit of church to boot.

I have been wondering who is going to do anything about it, and I know I can't, by myself. But if enough people started to mobilize and throw around ideas, gather, and plan, I think we could make a difference. I think it's time for the poor to have a voice, and let it be heard. One voice gets drowned out over here. It's time to put people together to demand accountability.

People are thrown into jail on false and trumped charges, and get lousy defense, and there still are not enough PDs to begin with, even if one or two is decent. Not even a great lawyer can do a great job when overloaded with cases. The town dynamics are totally bizarre, with generational internal mafias practically in place which exert influence over who does what and who gets blackballed and run out of town. Families are subject to prejudice and allegations by CPS that lack grounds to begin with, and those who are misunderstood or who have become an enemy to a particular person or group in town, are targeted while other kids barely make it and are ignored.

Everytime I take the bus over, I hear something bad about Wenatchee and I always ask myself who is going to step up and go in and make a difference. I've realized, no one is going to do it.

The only way people are going to stop being used and treated like commodities there, who had better know their place or run the risk of getting into trouble, is if people who are living and still dealing with Wenatchee, start having meetings and put their heads together.

I don't know exactly what that means yet. But I think the whole town needs polls and a census of sorts, to find out what's really going on. Because we all know no one with The Wenatchee World is going to do it. How many people are getting the raw end of the deal over there?

I think we need to start with collecting names, addresses, numbers and contact information. Start finding families that have been affected by CPS and the jails and start collecting and making copies of the legal documents, and then taking independent surveys and facts from those alleged to be guilty of things. Find out how bad it is first. Get records which show which nationalities and what groups are being targeted by CPS. Where are the kids going? which foster homes? find out who is related to whom.

I still think we need to do a freaking geneology Wenatchee family (and political) tree for that town. Who is connected to whom? It would explain a lot to see it drawn out.

So I'm just agitating right now. I just want people to start thinking and consider what could be done.