OPINION: St. George mentality is cohesive as drops of water

Written by Dallas Hyland

There is a cohesive attraction in St. George, that exists much like that of water and its bonding properties, whereby any singular form of water when joined with another becomes one. And although it takes a little more observation than one may be willing to commit to, it exists and it is affecting everyone.

Last week, two individual entities came before the St.George City Council to request that ordinances and legislation be addressed with regards to, oddly enough, the same thing: equality and fairness under the law.

The first was premised around the issue of the recently embroiled dance fiasco that happened at Fiesta Fun.

After listening to a truncated version of the radio traffic from the night in question, there is one thing that is glaringly evident; the police, or more specifically, one particular policeman, say like a Captain, had a personal interest in shutting down the dance.

But what is really most disconcerting about the entire thing when it comes to the issue of permits for such parties, and dancing in particular, which the city swears it has no problem with, is the semblance of a selective enforcement of their rules. In other words, it’s okay for some groups to dance, but not others.

Sound familiar? Kind of like selective code enforcement? 

Isn’t the city currently being sued in federal court for willfully violating the rights of citizens by way of selective and possibly illegal code enforcement?

These proverbial drops are so close, lines are not needed to connect them. In fact, as with attractive cohesion, they overlap to form one mindset that has correlations to many issues affecting the city.

Add to this the sad state of affairs whereby a known and very respected member of this community, Matthew Jacobson, had to actually ask the council to consider making equal rights under the law for all people an item on their agenda and you begin to see a pattern. A corrosive and collective mindset that says it knows better for the community as a whole what is needed to preserve its moral nature, yet violates laws, civil rights, and plain common sense to carry it out. 

We have much work to do. But to all those brave ones who came to the meeting last Thursday night to dance, to protest, to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, a firm nod of affirmation and an admonition of a job well done. 

See you out there.

Dallas Hyland is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer, and documentary filmmaker with three films currently under his belt. The opinion editor of The Independent, Hyland’s investigative journalism and opinion columns have ranged in topics from local political and environmental to the international front, covering issues such as human trafficking in Colombia. On his rare off-days, he can be found with his family and friends exploring the pristine outdoors. Listen to him live as a regular guest co-host on the Perspectives talk show on Fox News 1450 AM 93.1 FM in southern Utah.