A few days ago, I noticed a gentleman placing some campaign signs for Luke Priddy across the street from my house. Priddy is currently a Roanoke City Council member, and he is running in the June 20 Democrat Primary to be on the ballot for State Senate District 4 in the General election in November.
It is obvious that Roanoke City Council members are not able to improve the safety measures and at least reduce the violence which in most cases results in killing people. Apparently, running for public office has become a business nowadays.
However, while I was observing the process of placing the signs, many thoughts came to my mind. Like every other member of Roanoke City Council, except for talking to people and pretending to be Mr. Nice guy, Priddy has not been able to serve the community of Roanoke.
If Priddy is unable to benefit Roanoke, sending him to Richmond will only cause more damage to our District. As residents of Roanoke City, we ought to realize that a seat as important as the 4th District of the Virginia Senate must be filled with a sincere and serious person. It needs to be a person who focuses on the core problems and finds logical solutions.
As long as people with the same mentality hold the steering wheels, there will not be a positive trend in our community. Also, Priddy does not seem to understand the diversity in Roanoke as many immigrants from different religious backgrounds are living here and of course are rejecting a certain sexual orientation.
This matter becomes more disturbing when we realize that Priddy has been interfering in personal families’ lives and intervened in schools and supported teaching sexual lifestyles to children.
Priddy left his City’s problems behind and became a voice advocating for teaching homosexuality to children at Roanoke County’s Glen Cove Elementary School. He joined the protesters supporting the teachers who taught such a subject in the classroom. Regardless of Priddy’s beliefs, neither he nor anyone else has a right to push and educate elementary children about any subject related to sexuality.
Elementary school children must not be exposed to overtly sexual subjects. By making a statement, Mr. Priddy has totally violated the boundaries of innocent children. During the protest Priddy said, “The students in the classroom, they need to see positive representation of them.” (WDBJ 7) How does Priddy think that elementary school children would know exactly about representation and homosexuality unless they are taught?
The extreme liberals in Roanoke City are incapable of reducing violence and creating a safer environment, but they are interfering in children’s lives, which causes confusion. For the record, when I’m driving at night in some of the Roanoke City’s neighborhoods, it reminds me of Iraq in the 1990s, when I was living in the City of Erbil. The darkness of the neighborhoods and the expectations of shootings every moment were parts of people’s daily lives.
Instead of interfering with families’ personal matters, Priddy must only focus on Roanoke City issues, and leave the children to be raised and taught by their parents.
– Serwan Zangana supported Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S Army translator before coming to the U.S from Kurdistan, Iraq in 1997 to seek political asylum. He was granted asylum status and years later proudly became a U.S citizen. He currently serves as a correction officer in Roanoke.