Tag Archives: Tammy Menard

People, Not Props

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In my recent post (since amended) about the deaths of Lucas and Tammy Menard, I was guilty of the very thing I have accused state officials of doing: Treating real people as symbols or statistics or props. My post caused further distress to the people who knew the Menards. And I apologize for that.

I ventured beyond my knowledge in depicting their situation, which was terribly unfair to them, their family and friends. I painted them as hopeless poster children when, according to Lucas’ sister, they had agency, they had help from those closest to them. They addressed their situation with intelligence and grace, and handled it far better than I could possibly imagine myself if I were in their situation.

The sister’s account can be found in the Comments section under the post originally entitled “How Many More Menards?” (Hell, the title itself reflects my thoughtless presentation of Lucas and Tammy as props for my argument.) I won’t quote the comment here; I’ll leave her words in the way she expressed them.

I should have known better. The people I’ve met who are struggling to find security in this world are not victims; they are smart, resourceful, and enterprising. They have their challenges, but they do their level best to adapt and rise above.

I write about political issues from a 30,000-foot perch, which has its advantages but risks losing sight of the real people in the crowd. That’s what I did in this case, and again, I apologize.

How Many More Menards? (SEE ALSO ENSUING POST)

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Note: This post is deeply flawed and hurtful in ways I did not intend. In making a case against state policy, I used the Menards as symbols — or props, if you prefer — in ways that dishonor their memory and affect their family and friends. I apologize. I’m keeping this post as is, but I have written a follow-up with an apology and further reflections.

Lucas and Tammy Menard may have been the first to die because the State of Vermont didn’t care, but they will not be the last. There are roughly 1,500 people, all of whom were officially classed as “vulnerable” due to age, disability, or other factors, who have been unsheltered by state policy since mid-September. Our leaders put all of them in the most horribly uncertain of circumstances because we could not muster the political will or managerial smarts to provide for these people.

Instead, we were satisfied with a policy that amounts to “culling the herd,” weeding out those too compromised to survive the onset of winter living in a goddamn tent. The Menards’ deaths could be seen as a policy success in that regard. The long, long list of the unsheltered has just been reduced by two, so hey, congratulations?

It’s a situation that would seem to warrant charges of negligent manslaughter against certain politicians and bureaucrats — except for that pesky immunity standard they enjoy for official acts. And if you think accusing Our Betters of willfully committing two felonies is a bridge too far, well, let us turn to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “manslaughter” as

…resulting from the failure to perform a legal duty expressly required to safeguard human life, from the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or from the commission of a lawful act involving a risk of injury or death that is done in an unlawful, reckless, or grossly negligent manner.

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Phil Scott’s Shelter Policy Has Started Literally Killing People

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Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! The Vermont State Police found two people dead inside a tent in Wolcott on Thanksgiving Eve. They were Lucas Menard of Montpelier and Tammy Menard of Berlin. Few details are available, although police do not suspect foul play.

Unless, of course, you consider this fall’s mass unsheltering “foul play.”

And yes, the Menards were among the close to 1,500 vulnerable Vermonters recently unsheltered following cuts in the GA emergency housing program. Brenda Siegel of End Homelessness Vermont says they were clients of her organization who had “complex medical needs” but were denied shelter by the state. Siegel on Facebook:

Wonderful vibrant people. And Tammy herself helped so many others. Tell me again how what we did was fine and people will manage. Is this what you mean by “manage”?

I can’t add much to that, except to remind everyone that this was the inevitable and long-predicted result of denying shelter to so many of our most vulnerable. And the cold weather is just beginning. Siegel gets the last word:

I wanted nothing more than to be wrong about the catastrophic outcomes this policy would cause. But I knew that I was not.