bigotry – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Armenian Genocide

David Posnett — Sun, 02 May 2021 21:29:46 +0000

Letters to the Editor: Finally, an end to a century of U.S. complicity in Armenian genocide denial published in the L.A. Times

People from the Armenian community celebrate President Biden’s decision to formally recognize the Armenian genocide in Beverly Hills on April 24.

(Los Angeles Times)

APRIL 26, 2021 1:03 PM PT

To the editor: The Turkish government’s denial of the Armenian genocide compounds the tragedy. This policy kills the victims twice — first the actual murders, then the murder of their memory. Adolf Hitler is reported to have justified his genocidal intent by asking just before World War II, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Biden has displayed courage by taking this moral stand. The Holocaust was the next genocide. Perhaps if the free world had spoken out against the Armenian genocide, millions of lives could have been saved.

Steven Ludsin, East Hampton, N.Y. The writer was a member of the first U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which created the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Are we Ready?

David Posnett — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 14:52:55 +0000

The Love – Black Eyed Peas and Jennifer Hudson

“the choice could not be more clear”

NY State Senators under Attack

David Posnett — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 15:24:57 +0000

From Sue in Brookhaven:

The attacks from Ron Lauder on Democratic State Senators from Long Island are unconscionable as well as false. They also raise an important strategy question.

These attacks especially infuriate me: at the same time that Lauder has been all over the media during the High Holy Days decrying anti-semitism and hate, he is running attack ads against Monica Martinez (my senator). She herself (as well as her community) has been the victim of so much anti-immigrant anti-Hispanic hate. It seems incomprehensible.

Even before she became a state senator, Monica was working hard with community leaders and law enforcement in her hometown of Brentwood to end the scourge of MS13 and start anti-gang programs in schools. As a senator she’s secured $500,000 for anti-gang efforts. MS13 has been largely closed down because of these joint initiatives.

Sen. Jim Gaughran is one of the loveliest and most thoughtful progressive senators we have in Albany. To add insult to injury as far as the nasty charges in these ads, Monica and Jim tried to act as peacemakers between the bail-reform advocates and law enforcement. And this is the thanks they get!

Lauder’s attacks do raise an important question. With the Supreme Court going conservative, we absolutely MUST win the NY Senate again and continue to build a progressive firewall. Having a super-majority in the NY State Senate just became critical.

The campaign kitties of state senators, even in these swing districts, is pitiful (at the end of July, Monica had around $65,000 in hers) so even small donations can give them a big boost. If people can’t donate but can volunteer for a couple of phonebanks or share candidiate information on Facebook, that would also be great.

Monica Martinez (Suffolk) https://monicaforsenate.com/
Jim Gaughran (Nassau) https://gaughran2020.com/
Andrew Gounardes (Brooklyn) https://www.andrewgounardes.com/
Kevin Thomas (Nassau) https://senatorthomas.com/

Thanks so much. Best, Sue

Amy Klobuchar: the Cruz Hypocrisy regarding SCOTUS

David Posnett — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:58:06 +0000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtyrrtM7iME&feature=youtu.be

People are already voting and they don’t buy in to phony Republican arguments for replacing Justice Ginsburg as soon as possible to insure enough Trump support on SCOTUS to overturn the election results if needed. Trump is not hiding his intent. This would be the death of democracy and the birth of tyranny.

We need an uprising from the majority of American voters. A revolution against tyranny. Yes, when the minority uses their ill begotten power to suppress the will of the people, that is tyranny and wide spread protests will ultimately happen.

If you are still hesitating about whether we are heading to a dictatorship, read this from Dana Milbank about the parallels between the present day Trump regime and the burning of the Reichstag on February 27, 1933!

Now lets go do our part: Phonebank! Text! Letters! Postcards!

Is it Fascism yet?

David Posnett — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:50:27 +0000

LETTER in the Boston Globe
How fascist is it?
Updated September 24, 2020, 1 hour ago

The cult demands allegiance
“Is it fascism yet?” by Renée Graham (Opinion, Sept. 23) reinforced my fears about how dangerous Donald J. Trump is. The American carnage he vowed to remove from our country was actually his goal. The pandemic mismanagement confirms that chaos is his modus operandi. The cult of Trump enjoys the binary approach that Trump advocates. Threats, intimidation, and violence make them feel good. Trump struts on stage with the smug arrogance displayed by Benito Mussolini. The divisive rhetoric has echoes of Adolf Hitler. Trump may not be a dictator, but that is his goal. The walk across the street from the White House with a show of force to highlight the Charlton Heston moment with a Bible in hand sent an unmistakable message. The cult of Trump requires blind allegiance. Trump lies and people die, and the refusal to wear masks shows us how bald-faced the strategy is. It gives true meaning to “in your face.” I am reminded of the warning at the entrance to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum where an American liberator of a concentration camp says these things just don’t happen. Unfortunately, they did.

Steven A. Ludsin

SPLC under attack

David Posnett — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 17:28:53 +0000

This past weekend, the Republican National Committee caved to white supremacist and other hate groups by adopting a resolution titled Refuting the Legitimacy of the Southern Poverty Law Center to Identify Hate Groups.

https://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do

The focus of the resolution is that “the SPLC is a radical organization” that harms conservative organizations and voices through our hate group designations.

This attack on our work is an attempt to excuse the Trump administration’s pattern and practice of working with individuals and organizations that malign entire groups of people — immigrants, Muslims and the LGBTQ community — while promoting policies that undermine their very existence. It comes from the same vein as Trump’s claim that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Simply put, it’s an audacious attempt by Trump and the GOP to paper over the bigotry and racism that has been allowed to infect their policies.

This resolution comes at a moment when Trump will argue at the Republican National Convention that he will combat hate and bigotry, despite welcoming the support of QAnon. It also comes days after the indictment of Stephen Bannon, reminding us that Bannon was once the White House chief strategist and senior counselor and CEO of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. And it comes just after our special investigation shined a light on One America News Network’s Jack Posobiec, a reporter at Trump’s favorite network who is aligned with white supremacy and has used his platform to further hate speech and propaganda.

Trump should sever these ties to hate groups and extremists instead of doubling down through this RNC resolution.

The Trump administration has filled its ranks and consulted with alumni and allies from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigrant hate group that has ties to white supremacist groups and eugenicists. They include Julie Kirchner, Kris Kobach, Jeff Sessions and, most notably, Stephen Miller.

The Trump administration has worked with hate groups like the Family Research Council (FRC) to roll back LGBTQ rights. FRC was designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group for decades of demonizing LGBTQ people and spreading harmful pseudoscience about them. Over the years, the organization has published books, reports and brochures that have linked being LGBTQ to pedophilia, claimed that LGBTQ people are dangerous to children and claimed that LGBTQ people are promiscuous and violent.

Anti-Muslim groups have also been welcomed into the administration, including the Center for Security Policy (CSP). Fred Fleitz, a longtime staffer, was appointed the executive secretary and chief of staff of the National Security Council. For decades, CSP has peddled absurd accusations that shadowy Muslim Brotherhood operatives have infiltrated all levels of government.

These extremists are seeking a license to continue spreading their bigotry and will do anything to undermine those — like the SPLC, which tracks and monitors hate groups — who expose their extremist views and oppose their attacks on communities. With this resolution, Trump and members of the GOP (including Lee ZELDIN*) have shown the extent to which they will carry their water.

This past weekend, the RNC also released a resolution titled Resolution to Conserve History and Combat Prejudice – Christopher Columbus. It’s a remarkably transparent statement that hate and bigotry stem from Black Lives Matter protesters. The RNC and Trump did not denounce organizations that promote antisemitism, Islamophobia, neo-Nazis, anti-LGBTQ sentiment or racism. It only criticized the SPLC for challenging those groups.

Outraged? Here are two ways to take action today:

Sign up for our next Power Hour Virtual Phone Bank on August 27. We’ll be calling likely unregistered voters of color in Georgia to share information on how they can register to vote.
Listen and subscribe to our new podcast, Sounds Like Hate. Episode 2 is about the connections between extremists and the Trump administration.

Onward,

Margaret Huang
SPLC President & CEO

added by D. Posnett

Huge Crowd in Bridgehampton: Justice for Floyd

David Posnett — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 15:15:33 +0000

This was easily the largest rally I have ever seen on the South Fork or in Suffolk County. Official estimate according to the Patch.com about 1000 people. Just imagine Main street (Rte 27) filled on both sides and on the sidewalks with protestors: from the Bridgehampton Community House to the Monument. We marched the distance and back, twice.

The chants included: “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”, “Black Lives Matter”, “Justice for Floyd,” “Silence = Violence”, “Be the Change”, “I can’t breathe.” And the crowd lay on the street face down and hands in the back for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time that Floyd begged for help.

The videos on the Patch.com are telling. The story is also covered by the East Hampton Star.

Recipe for Fundamental Social Change (from Judith Hope)

David Posnett — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:28:40 +0000

Everybody is missing the key element of this challenge. Fundamental social change will not happen at the national level. (Although courageous and coherent national leadership would be really helpful.). It must come from the grassroots up. It must begin in local communities throughout the nation. For example : how many of the following questions can any of us answer:

How many black law enforcement officers are on the East Hampton Police force?
What percentage is this of the local force?

How many black officers are on the Suffolk County law enforcement agency? What percentage?

What is the extent and quality of local police training in Anti-Bias Law enforcement practices?

Does East Hampton have an Anti-Bias Task Force?
Are they active or merely window-dressing?

How many minorities are in local elected public office?

How many black citizens are on the Town/County Democratic and Republican Committees?
What are we doing to recruit more minorities onto the political committees?

You get the gist…. I will get off my soapbox now & I apologize. I have a former local official trapped inside me who occasionally demands to be heard!

Judith Hope

NB: just change the name of the town to “Anytown, Anystate, USA” and then send to your local newspaper!

Protesting the Callous Murder of George Floyd right here in Bridgehampton

David Posnett — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:05:58 +0000

PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE IN ITS ENTIRETY

We are moved to action after the vicious and callous murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters all over the country who demand an end to racist policing. We call on all appropriate agencies to arrest the other three officers who watched former officer Derek Chauvin kneel on Mr. Floyd’s neck and ignored his cries for help. We also remember two other recent victims of deadly racism Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and the sadly all too long list of other victims.

On Tuesday, June 2nd at 5pm, we will meet at the Bridgehampton Community House (2368 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, 11932). Please wear masks and social distance as possible. Bring signs.

We will then march from the community house to the monument. We will either do this once or twice depending on how many of us there are.

During the final part of the march, for those who are able, we will lay in the road on our stomachs with our hands behind our backs and repeat I can’t breathe for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time George Floyd had a knee crushing his neck.

We know this is a difficult time and realize some would like to participate, but are at a higher risk for coronavirus….don’t worry, we got you! Please park your car on Montauk highway in Bridgehampton between the community house and the monument in either direction and put your sign outside your car facing the road. We would also ask marchers to do the same!
Black Lives Matter!

Note from Lisa Votino – All are welcome. Yes I am bringing my child. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at LMVotino@gmail.com.

George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper

David Posnett — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:05:16 +0000

The contract between society and black America, explained by Trevor Noah. Great stuff:

Click on the image and listen to the YouTube video – it is well worth your while.