The environmental injustice issue in Flint Michigan is an extreme case of irresponsible and
greedy leadership. The public health message I would send to the affected community
would emphasize my understanding of the pain the members have experienced, address
their injustice and concerns, and ensure them that justice will be served and wrongs will be
made right for them. This group is already mistrusting of officials due to the lies and
damage they have already caused the community so I would have to be empathetic,
understanding, and listen to them in order to gain their trust and confidence in me.
For policymakers, I would be much more frank and upfront with a needed policy change
addressing the further health backlash that could happen if we don’t fix the water issue.
My message to policymakers would be more urgent and full of fact-checked statistics and
knowledge to hammer home the takeaway of a rapid address of the water issue.
Each group would have a different takeaway message, the community would be one of
reassurance and understanding and the policymakers would be urgency and frustration
with facts to support the need for quick change.
Discussion Response Post
I agree with Nina Aniosa that the case of environmental injustice witnessed in Flint,
Michigan was a bizarre occurrence characterized by greedy and irresponsible leadership (Tna,
2013). I also support the fact that it is only through effective communication strategies to either
the affected community members or the policymakers that will ensure the overall corrective
message is understood. It is factual to speak with the affected community members in a way that
show empathy because the leaders lied to them of ensuring they get clean water for the use,
which was never the case. It is right for Aniosa to use a reassuring and understanding language
for the community to gain confidence that the issue will be addressed.
I also support Aniosa on the concept that policymakers need a frank and upfront message.
The policymakers are obligated to address the issue of the affected community members. The
failure in Flint is a case of environmental injustice that needs to be addressed immediately (Tna,
2013). The policymakers should be concerned with finding solutions to the affected community
members, which requires drastic action. There is no need to beat around the bush when passing
the message to the policymakers because they are well-placed to bring change in the community.
I support the fact that the message from the policymakers will differ from that of the
affected community members. For example, the affected community needs a shoulder to lean in
terms of reassurance and understanding. On the other hand, the policymakers should understand
the necessity to work with speed because the community is already frustrated and needs to access
safe, clean drinking water. For the affected population, it is a matter of their health and well-
being, and there is no compromise. The affected community should be made to understand that
their issue will be addressed and would not recur again.
References
Tna. (2013). Effective Communications: Raising the profile of your archive service [Ebook]. The
National Archives.