For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2020

Statement on Protection, Not Persecution

We the people of California call upon our Governor and legislative body to publicly denounce fear mongering and slanderous hate speech. We call upon your protection and refuge. The fear propaganda of bad actors within the legislative body is clearly intended to taunt, target, and sway public opinion by fanning the flames of hate and false fear toward thousands of California families.

Without denouncing these false accusations of blame, “acts of persecution” are sure to follow. By abusing and misusing a trusted public office, position of authority, and media access, ideological differences are being politicized by trying to manipulate public opinion. The actions of any legislators putting down a minority group should not be tolerated. For example, we are sad to see social media posts, from some California Legislators, targeting groups that are promoting civil rights, accusing them of intentionally spreading COVID 19. In the past legislative session, PERK has equally denounced discriminatory behavior towards legislators.

At a time when millions of Californians are scared and already filled with uncertainty, we call upon our Governing body to denounce the usage of organized fear control and manipulation of social media targeting a minority group.

Whether a person is against or cautious about government mandated medical treatments, fighting for constitutional freedoms, or dissents from the media narrative, they are being categorized and stigmatized with negative connotations, and falsely accused for spreading COVID 19. The message control and usage of media platforms is intended to fuel fear, organize against opponents, and target these families as enemies, by dehumanizing them. Furthermore, censoring the voice of the legislator’s opposing ideology through all social media platforms, the internet, and mainstream media, further provides an uncontested propaganda platform.

The cries of injustices from these families fall on deaf ears when the governing body ignores their cries and desperate need for protection. Censoring is further compounded as tech giants, working with the government, alter and manipulate algorithms that remove their stories of injustice from the marketplace of ideas and communication. We believe the intent is to achieve a greater political agenda through the following:

Through discrimination: by categorizing people into a fixed inferior group. By labeling these families as different and inferior, the intent is to further isolate, track, and target this singled out group.

Through laws: by codifying measures to separate these families from mainstream society, with conditional entrance back into society included, but not limited to school, work, public spaces, and travel.

Through propaganda: to disseminate hate, fear, and misinformation with the intent to extensively influence public opinion of California citizens, colleagues, and media to further justify any acts of persecution taken against these men, women, and children.

By spreading rumors, half-truths, and false allegations, the purpose is deliberate to injure, damage, and cause harm to these families. We call upon our Governor and governing body to loudly, boldly, and swiftly act to oppose the harmful propaganda that utilizes classic techniques, catch phrases, and slogans that single out, attack, and persecute men, women, and children.

Transparent to the discerning eye, there are those who will promote his or her political career, cause, and bias, using the devastating time of the COVID 19 shutdown. We believe bad actors in the governing body will use this “opportunistic time” to justify tracking, targeting, policing, new legislation, and policies to further isolate a sub group of people.

We need to look at other countries who have been able to come out of the pandemic without infringing on human rights to do so.

Like all Californians, isolated at home, these families have been devastated by the impact of COVID19 shutdown. Children have lost their parks, schools, friends, beaches, any sense of normal childhood. Business owners have been forced to close their doors. Thousands of these families are included in the millions of Californians who have lost their income overnight. These families are hurting and grieving, devasted by circumstances beyond their control. It is our right to be protected, not persecuted by our governing officials.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Bohn
Executive Director, PERK
ProtectionofEducation@ProtonMail.com

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