I know, I know…should I have really expected a lengthy balanced article about the complex issue of refugee resettlement in Hagerstown, MD? Yes, there is still a bit of me that believes some mainstream news outlet will do a serious open-minded investigation about refugee resettlement, but I guess I won’t hold my breath. Thank goodness for alternative media.
For a little token balance, The Sun reporter throws in some small criticisms of how the Virginia Council of Churches handled the resettlement, but the whole tone of the piece follows the politically correct theme—those who challenge the righteousness of this sacrosanct program are bad bad people:
But ultimately, the problem was an “unwelcoming atmosphere,” said Frances Tinsley of Church World Service, the church council’s parent organization. “It’s pretty dangerous when you have people who say, ‘We don’t want you here.’ ”
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“That’s very sad,” she said. “What does that say about America?”
What is very sad is that tactics like these are employed by those who purport to be such good Christian people against other Christian people in order to silence them.
For new readers, Church World Service is the federal contractor that hired Virginia Council of Churches (VCC) to bring refugees quietly to Western Maryland. To answer Tim Rowland’s question about who pulled the plug on VCC—Church World Service pulled the plug because the US State Dept. told them to. The whole issue was eating up staff time and VCC had become an embarrassment for all those involved. As a matter of fact, I’m guessing, but I have a hunch that VCC got the hook for reasons greater than its Hagerstown troubles.