Has God Forsaken Seattle?

Has God Forsaken Seattle?

*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington

 

I grew up in the Seattle area. I was born in a Seattle hospital that no longer exists. I was raised in the suburbs and besides college in Minnesota and a brief time in Southern California, I have been in Western Washington my entire life. I’ve raised…and am still raising…my 4 children here. I was always so proud to be from the beautiful, clean city of Seattle. Keyword: “was.”

 

I find myself disgusted by Seattle. There’s almost a shame-factor when people ask where I’m from. I sort of hang my head low, and mutter under my breath…”Seattle.” Over the past several years Seattle has become a disgrace. The homeless crisis that once was, for the most part, contained to certain areas of the downtown sector has now reached into the outskirts, hitting more suburbs every year. The Antifa and BLM rioting last summer in Seattle destroyed many buildings and businesses, leaving many of those to flee the city altogether. By August of last summer the Seattle Police Department had been significantly “defunded” by the Seattle City Council. Oh, and let’s not forget that Councilmember Sawant opened up city hall last summer so that activists could gather and coordinate. There is now a recall effort underway, but I am skeptical she will be held to account.

 

Last summer activists created the autonomous zone known as CHOP (Capital Hill Occupied Protest) where the mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, declared it was not dangerous and they would not make arrest because this was the “summer of love.” The city attorney announced this fall that he won’t be prosecuting approximately 50% of the crimes referred to his office, saying that prosecution does little to solve the crime problem. In 2020 Seattle saw a huge jump in homicides and a 525% crime increase due to CHOP alone. Clearly, these leaders haven’t found an alternative solution to lowering the crime rate in the city.

 

And now, we’ve got 2 members of the Seattle School Board who are refusing to have the homeless encampments swept from their schools. Now that kids are back in school, these board members suggest that these homeless people have a right to have their encampments on school grounds…that are taxpayer funded. Parents have been sweeping school grounds instead to clean up needless and other drug paraphernalia that should not be present around children. Last time I checked, these people were telling us we’re in the middle of a pandemic and therefore everything needs to be sanitized and sterilized and yet, here we are, enabling homeless encampments where our children go to school. Doesn’t sound very sanitary to me.

 

I could go on and on, but if you’re a Washington state resident…heck, even if you’re not…you’re likely very familiar with all of the insanity that has been going on for years and is getting worse by the day. For a long time I thought it was my job to stay here and fight the good fight for this state that I love. As I watch what’s going on in Seattle and in Olympia, I feel a sense of hopelessness. I know, God can redeem anything. I believe that 100%! I also know that when the people deny God and desire their evil ways, God can allow their evil ways to succeed.

 

As a parent right now in Washington state, I am not able to parent my child due to the laws that have been passed here giving children full right to medical and mental health care confidentiality. If you’ve never had to deal with a mental health situation as a parent, you may not be able to understand how bad this could possibly be. Maybe you think: “I’ll just have my child give me access.” That’s very naïve thinking. Or, “I won’t pay the bill”…I guess if you don’t mind being in collections, but by law, you will pay the bill.

 

I’ve had to move one of my teenage children out of the state so that she can get the care that she needs and so that we can be the parents and make the best decisions for her care. This experience has made me think about my other children and I have to acknowledge the fact that this same scenario could happen to ANY of them. It’s a terrifying thought.

 

I used to look at all these things that were going on in Seattle and all of Western Washington and I was determined to do my part to fix them. I really thought if we tried hard enough we could turn this around. I don’t believe it’s impossible but it’s more like turning a barge around than a little speedboat. It’s going to take a long time and the effort of a lot of people who care and are willing to work for change and step into positions of leadership.

 

If you’re a parent of children under the age of 18 and you decide to stay in Washington and fight the good fight, be sure to arm yourself and your children. Take necessary steps that will allow you to be able to continue to make good parenting decisions for your children. Consult your family attorney and ask them what you need to do. I hear you: “I shouldn’t have to pay for that?” I agree with you completely. But unfortunately that’s where we are. So lawyer up and protect your family. As parents in this state we can never let our guards down. We must watch closely our teachers, school administrators, health care providers and especially social workers and other youth activist groups.

 

Has God forsaken Seattle and Western Washington? I’m not sure. I know that God has allowed these things to take place but I also know that God has not forsaken HIS PEOPLE. And sometimes that means His People need to find a “new land” so that they are not living under the tyranny of evil leaders who want nothing to do with His ways.

 

If we stay, we’ve got to fight!

Conservative Ladies of Washington

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