Councilmember Reynolds, Cancel Culture, and Eliminating Our Local Paper

From the Butte County Democrats

Last week, federal judge Morris England extended the Temporary Restraining Order that prevents the City of Chico from evicting people from homeless encampments.

During the hearing, England told Chico City Attorney Vince Ewing, “I think the constituency needs to be educated about what the law is.” England also suggested that the City address the misinformation being spread through various social media outlets.

Little did England know that Chico Vice Mayor Kasey Reynolds is helping to spread this misinformation and even calls on her constituents to CANCEL the Chico Enterprise Record, a source of information independent from local government.

Much of the misinformation on social media includes right-wing talking points such as the ‘Will of the People’ being thwarted, and other feigned outrages. Here is a bit of clarification…

Our democratic republic was designed to ensure the majority can never take away the freedom of the minority, even the minority of one. We value individual freedom above almost everything else in this country, and the purpose of the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments is to protect individual freedom.

Judge England declared that the ‘web of City ordinances’ essentially criminalizes homelessness, and the City (ie Reynolds and her fellow City Council conservatives) has violated the 8th Amendment with its sweeps. In other words, the majority CANNOT inflict cruel and unusual punishment on the minority, even if the minority are homeless.

While Vice Mayor Reynolds continues to manufacture outrage (#CancelCultureKasey), Chico can and must work together to find a solution to our homeless crisis. And we must do it without violating the Constitution.