Veteran Turned Away from Slaughter's Office

After witnessing groups of citizens concerned about health care denied access to their Congressional representative's office at the July 1 rally for universal health care, Joe Soel thought he could make a difference. Specialist Soel is currently a member of the US Army Reserve, having just returned from duty in Iraq in January. Dressed in civilian clothing but carrying his military ID, Joe attempted to enter a public Federal Government building for the purpose of initiating discussion with his elected representative Louise Slaughter (D-28) on veterans' health care. Like the citizen groups before him, he was denied access to the building by the private security contractors standing guard at the front door. When he explained who he was and what he wished to do, the contractors became aggressive. When he read a passage from the Constitution he was told that it “didn't apply.” This is not the first time these employees of Wackenhut Security have made up their own laws in order to deny citizens their rights. Similar incidents took place during the March 19 antiwar protests. “I'm so angry” said Soel. I served, I fought for this country. These are my rights. What they did was wrong. The Wackenhut guards had “no comment.”

The actions of these private guards strike contrast with an exemplary performance earlier in the day by the Rochester Police Department. Their publicly-accountable and union-represented officers managed to allow the protesters to take to the streets in safety, while at the same time minimizing inconvenience to commuters by keeping some lanes open to traffic. What could have been a difficult situation was managed thoughtfully and professionally.

Critics of anything public will tell you that government is always bad. But who would you rather have managing your safety? Public officials who are accountable to an elected chief, mayor and council, or corporate lackeys accountable only to their paymasters? Who would you rather have managing your health insurance?