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Thursday, July 11, 2019

Join us in Riverton as we oppose hatred, intolerance

BY RON HOWARD
On July 18, 2015, a shooting occurred at the Center of Hope in Riverton.
Sonny Goggles and Stallone Trosper were shot by a city parks employee as he searched for what many Riverton residents call “park rangers.” According to him, he was tired of dealing with these people at the park and he chose to actively shoot whoever he could find.
I refuse to say his name because what he did was a vile act of racism against two people who had done nothing to deserve being shot.
Goggles survived the attack but is permanently injured. Trosper, sadly, didn’t survive.
On that day, our community was thrown into a tailspin of chaos. Initially, everyone was in shock. The shooting made national television as well as TV news across Wyoming.
For the last several years, Riverton rssidents have marched against intolerance.
Social media were also ablaze with comments condemning this murderer, though some answered in support of his actions.
Some said the shooter was a nice person, and they couldn’t believe he’d do such a thing. After shooting Goggles and Trosper, he went outside, put down his pistol and waited for police and calmly gave himself up.
For the most part, people denounced the shooter’s actions. Within a short time, others thought his actions were justified.
The term “park ranger” was thrown around and became a highly used derogatory word for transient people in Riverton. It is still used frequently and has the same weight as calling an African American man the N-word or a Jewish man the K-word. Many people may think those two words are abhorrent, but they think don’t think of the term “park ranger” as overly racist or derogatory.  
The shooting seemed to give people the audacity to express hatred and anger toward the Native American community.  It seemed as though a racially charged, violent event was about to happen between Natives and non-Natives.  
As a father and a preschool teacher, I was fearful for all the children in my community. Through discussions on social media and on the County 10 Facebook page, several people felt that a public celebration of peace and a public denouncement of hate was in order.
I felt strongly that something had to be done, and it looked like I was the one to get the ball rolling. With the help of many like-minded people, we were able to come together for a very important event.  
Our inaugural Community Peace March was held a few weeks after the shooting in 2015, and we have held an annual peace march every year since then. The Annual Community Peace March has been on July 18 (the date of the shooting) to remember Trosper and Goggle. It is meant to call attention to the racism and hatred that still exists. We changed the date to make allowances for the Sun Dance, which takes place around that time of year. 
Our main focus has been to celebrate tolerance and equality in our community. People of all races and backgrounds have joined us to march down Main Street in Riverton to the City Park in solidarity with one another. Once there, we have speakers who talk about the good things that are being done to honor the legacy of peace and humanity.  
In recent years, the number of people has dwindled, mainly because I haven’t had the money to advertise the event. Some have said it may be due to dwindling interest, but I don’t believe that. I think the pain of that day is still present, and I also think people want to remember this shooting in a visible and loud way so that it never happens again.  
For me, I want my own children and the children of this community to know what tolerance is. I want them to know they are safe and free from violence here.  
I also want to continue to celebrate the good feelings we have for each other. I want to encourage others to speak out when they see or hear hatred.  
I fully believe the love of our children and one another is louder than hatred. This event is to remind others that every day should be a day of peace and tolerance.  
I would like to see those who oppress others come to a point that if they refuse to stop hating, the least they can do is to stop acting on it. 
Leave others alone. If you don’t like them or if you disagree with how they look or how they choose to live, then just walk on by or walk the other way.
I think to ask people to love one another is too big of a bite for many. Maybe just asking the haters to simply avoid those who they hate is enough to ease tensions.
If something is important, then it will take time to achieve and it won’t be easy. But it’ll be worth it.
I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, July 13 at 6 p.m. at the Rotary Park in Riverton. 
We will march down Main Street in solidarity and peace to City Park. There, we will have guest speakers and food vendors and we will celebrate the good things in our community.

Ron Howard is a resident of Riverton.

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