Mia Hyder had never attended a public meeting before when she showed up to the city council meeting in Springfield, Missouri. After briefly speaking at a podium during a public comment period, she was arrested and dragged away in handcuffs.
“Hello, my name is Mylie Hyder. I’m a Springfield, Missouri constituent, and I’m here to oppose the usage of ALPR cameras, most commonly made by Flock Safety. These cameras are not just surveillance,” Hyder started.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” Springfield Mayor Jeff Schrag said. Her mic was cut. A cop approached her at the podium.
Hyder held up both of her middle fingers while continuing to speak: “They are an invasion of our privacy,” she said.
The cop said, “You’re under arrest,” grabbed her arms, and pulled her out of the room. “I can do this all night. I get paid by the hour,” the cop added.
City council has acted like this everywhere I’ve lived (and I’ve moved around quite a bit). Main reason I have no faith in reforming from within. Even when there’s barely anything on the line in terms of power or bribes politicians will throw their constituents under the bus 8/10 times. I don’t think we can outsource the stewardship of our communities to politicians even on the local level. People need to be directly involved in the projects that pertain to them.
You know, you can make stewarding your community as a politician a project that pertains to you. City council is a pretty achievable goal if you set your mind to it, especially in cities where the constituents are dissatisfied with the decisions of the existing council. I’m considering it myself. Run for office yourself, or help someone local who represents your interests.
Take the guy who owns five gas stations and cross him with a reddit mod/HOA president. Clone him five times. That’s the town council.