I am a NURSE!

Posted bypaberryrnPosted inUncategorized

I am a nurse. I will be a nurse until I die. So, this weekend, January 27th, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, was murdered by ICE. A NURSE! A nurse who took care of VA patients. That afternoon, I turned off. I was traumatized because in my younger days, I might have been A NURSE carrying a first aid pack. God knows I did enough of that as a Red Cross NURSE.

Let’s also talk younger days. I remember when students were killed at Kent State on May 4, 1970, by the National Guard in Ohio. Whenever Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s song Ohio comes on the radio, not only do I tear up but my husband also tears up. Maybe you do too, if you are aware of the history. Other significant events include the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre (3 dead) and the Jackson State killings (2 dead). We don’t hear about them as much as Kent State because they were African American students.

I am still traumatized as of Monday, but I am now able to articulate my horror that our government is again condoning violence against citizens. ICE is a terrorist organization condoned by our government against US citizens and legally entering immigrants, short circuiting the processes we have in place to grant citizenship, using children as bait. I can’t stress this enough: We will see more bloodshed unless all of us join hands to stop it.

Will I throw my 71-year-old body to the front lines? I don’t know yet. I know my husband needs me at home to help him with an impeding surgery so all I can say right now is “not yet.” Will I write my senators and representatives? Yes! Will I sign petitions? Yes! Will I continue to illuminate injustice and citizen rights being squashed? Yes.

Let’s do this. Let’s all work together to whack those knuckles of those politicians who think we are sheep. We are not sheep. This world needs our heroes. And Alex, is a hero. He was trying to protect someone. Don’t let anyone say differently. Alex is a hero. Alex is a hero. Alex is a hero!

Published by paberryrn

Peggy Ann Berry, PhD, MSN, RN, COHN-S, CLE, PLNC, FAAOHN earned her doctorate from University of Cincinnati in 2015. She is a past Graduate Nurse Intern to DOL OSHA, a NIOSH Education and Resource Grant recipient and an American Nurses Foundation Scholar. She is a Founding Fellow with the U. S. Academy of Workplace Bullying, Mobbing, and Abuse and a past Graduate Nurse Intern to OSHA, past Malcolm Baldrige Examiner, and a past senior examiner with The Partnership for Excellence. Dr. Berry is a member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and the Ohio Nurses Association, as well as past chair and member of the Environmental and Public Health Caucus. Peggy has been advocating for clean air, access to potable water, chemical transparency with fracking solution, and methane regulation by congressional and state visits, press conferences and social media with and for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club, and Mom’s Clean Air Force. In addition to being the LWV Ohio volunteer lobbyist, she has been an environmental advocate since 2012, participating in EPA and OSHA requests for testimony on chemical transparency and Methane New Source Rules, collaborating across many NGOs to promote clean water, air and tillable soil. She has presented and published on the human health effects of workplace bullying, climate change, and migraines.