I have been reading all the articles about the "Clint John" shooting and how the family is looking to hold someone liable for their son's death. They have filed the lawsuit against the city of Farmington and Officer Shawn Scott, but again, these two have been exonerated.

I have struggled to try to understand both sides of this "issue." I don't want to be one of those who is quick to accuse the whole city of Farmington of racism, because I have personally never experienced such a thing, and I have lived in the area all of my life. I even started my early years of school in Farmington, I work and travel to Farmington from Shiprock on a daily basis. I can honestly say that I have never been discriminated against, and if I was, I was lucky enough not to have noticed.

The biggest problem I am having with this whole ordeal is the way the Navajo Nation took it upon themselves to go ahead and fund the lawsuit for the family. It was said that the Nation paid $300,000. I was just appalled that they were willing to put up that much for a lawsuit! I think that this was definitely a big waste of the people's money! And this was at a time when the Nation was cutting funding in other areas, such as the financial aid that is given to students attending college.

One question I do have: Where was the Navajo Nation when Mr. John was struggling with his addictions? Did they offer him any help when he was alive and obviously needed some anger management or substance abuse counseling?

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The money the Nation put up after his death might have helped him before this happened. Instead of funding this lawsuit when he is gone, why didn't they help him by offering to pay for some sort of rehabilitation when he was alive?

It is my understanding that he had numerous charges related to battery and substance abuse. Why didn't someone notice that Mr. John obviously had a problem: family, friends, girlfriend? And what about the other families whose loved ones have also been in the same situation? Is the Navajo Nation willing to fund those lawsuits also?

The first case that comes to mind is the officer-involved shooting of Mr. Arnold Dan. Was the shooting of Arnold any different than the shooting of Clint John? Just because this shooting happened on the reservation by a Navajo Officer, I have yet to hear anyone screaming, "racism!"

The ironic thing is, the Navajo Nation has "no comment" when asked questions about this particular shooting! They refuse to release any kind of findings when it comes to an officer-involved shooting on the reservation, but they want to know every detail and hold someone accountable when the same thing is committed by someone who is not a Navajo. Does this make any kind of sense? Who's the racist one now?

In the end, I have come to the conclusion that the Navajo Nation does a lot of things "backwards." My opinion is that the $300,000 that was "wasted" could have been put to use in other areas. I'm sure that the Home for Women and Children in Shiprock could have used some additional funding; they still have not been able to open the doors to their new facility.

This is a place that provided shelter, counseling and resources to victims of Domestic Violence, something that was part of the incident with Clint John. This amount of money would also have paid the salary of how many additional counselors, social workers and police officers to work for the Navajo Nation?

On a daily basis, I hear about the shortage of workers in these fields, and it is the people who end up suffering because of it. I figure the money could have hired an additional five to 10 people to work for up to a year at least.

To the counsel: Take this into account the next time you think about spending so much money for something that seems to have been just a waste. There are many, many more members of the Navajo Nation that need help, and this is where the money should have been spent.

Kimberly Multine is a resident of Shiprock.