Discrimination – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

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”

Lee Zeldin’s Confederate Statues

David Posnett — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 18:25:29 +0000

Deeply Concerned
Springs
August 9, 2020

Dear David:

To excuse his vote against the removal of statues of Confederate soldiers from the Capitol, Rep. Lee Zeldin claims, “never to have heard from a constituent that they were concerned about statues in the Capitol”— statues honoring the men who fought to protect slavery. Well, Mr. Zeldin, I am a constituent, and I am deeply concerned.

Those eight statues were sent to Washington by Southern states between 1908 and 1931, decades after the Confederate defeat, to honor “the Lost Cause” and to celebrate the triumph of white supremacy through the Jim Crow laws that oppressed and terrorized Blacks in the backlash to Reconstruction. They were installed despite a public outcry by, among others, Union Army veterans and a congressman from Kansas who refused to “sanction an official honor for a traitor.”

Mr. Zeldin is evidently okay with honoring traitors because, he says, “The war is over and the Union won.” Imagine if Germany were to sanction statues honoring Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels in public squares because, “Hey! World War II is over and the allies won!”

We can, and we should choose which parts of our nation’s history to remember with pride. The statues Mr. Zeldin has chosen to protect represent the worst of America’s history. I hope others of his constituents will join me in choosing to stop being represented in Congress by Lee Zeldin.

ANN DAVISON

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.

Virtual Forum: 8 hours and 46 minutes

David Posnett — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 14:32:44 +0000

Dear Friends,

Over the past week, there have been thousands of people gathering together across the country to protest and rally against injustices against the black and brown community. There have been renewed calls for accountability, transparency and reform of a system that that only protects some. We have much work to do in this Country and in this State!

Right now, as a country and as a people, we should all be feeling some form of intense emotion as a result of the murder of George Floyd. Personally, I am beyond outraged. I can’t tell you the amount of times that I replayed that video in total disgust and then again in sorrow, but never in disbelief. This is not the first time and it, unfortunately, will not be the last if we don’t force change. George Floyd’s senseless death is the culmination of a long list of modern day lynchings and abuse of black and brown people.

It is time to have a real, raw and unfiltered conversation about what is happening in our country, why it continues to happen and how we on Long Island all can be a part of changing it. In my role as an Elected Official and a Civil Rights Attorney, I will be bringing together Civil Rights leaders, Civil Rights attorneys Social Justice advocates, and Police Reform experts for “Exploring the Blue Line: A Real Discussion on The Reality of Race” (Thursday, June 11th @ 6pm). More information will be available soon but please Save the Date and time and come ready to be part of creating the change that is long overdue.

Today (June 1st) from 12pm – 8:46pm, I will be hosting a Youth Speak Out to give the youth an opportunity to be heard! This is for the YOUTH! Their voices are important!

This is a virtual forum and will allow for their voices to be heard while still protecting their health and safety during this pandemic. The forum will be open to youth participants for 8 hours and 46 minutes (representative of the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that the Officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck) and youth participants can join anytime throughout the day and stay as long as they’d like.

If you know of any youth that would like to join, please have them register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIsde-gqTMsHd0QylsD0yDlx2thMmM47ELk?fbclid=IwAR1j0_w3epIkuqum1WRpWXMNhIFoMDcIRajpVEUVic2z4_equNybUg1ChHQ

Best,

Valerie Cartright (Cartright for Senate, Port Jefferson Station)

“I Can’t Breathe”

David Posnett — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 02:56:16 +0000

“I Can’t Breathe”
The Murder of George Floyd

“The time for endless conversation has passed. We are a nation of differences and this is our greatest strength. It is a time for action in a way that cannot be ignored or denied.”

“I like millions of other Americans watched in horror as the life of George Floyd was taken from him and his loved ones. I watched as those sworn to protect stood idly by and ignored his desperate pleas that he could not breathe. The video depicts police brutality and those images are indelibly imprinted in my mind. The murder of George Floyd seen live by America is another dark episode in our nation’s longstanding history of systemic racism that is still alive and well in our society today.

I found hope and inspiration today in the words of President Obama who commented: It’s natural to wish for life “to just get back to normal” as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly “normal” — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.

This shouldn’t be “normal” in 2020 America. It can’t be “normal.” If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better. It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done. But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station — including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day — to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.”

My hope was short-lived as I read the words of President Trump. With his usual lack of basic humanity, compassion, and understanding, and in keeping with his moronic tweets, he broadcast that the protesters in Minneapolis could be shot: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The Divider in Chief continues to divert attention from systematic racism in America, which he has done nothing to eradicate, and continues to try to shift the focus and blame on those victimized by it.

I in no way condone the violence and destruction that took place in Minneapolis and other cities after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. It does nothing to improve police behavior or help the African American community. It is impossible to justify, but for me as a Social Worker it is not impossible to understand or to predict. When peaceful protests fail to effectuate meaningful change and people of color continue to die at the hands of racists and police, we as a people cannot expect endless patience from the victims and the community.

The time for endless conversation has passed. We are a nation of differences and this is our greatest strength. It is a time for action in a way that cannot be ignored or denied. The problem is obvious and the solution in our hands. Your power as a voter can elect and hold responsible leaders who will be responsive to the communities they serve and can work toward implementing educational programs to teach our youngsters and adults to embrace our differences.

Trump and those who would hold us back rather than lifting us up must go. We must work together to make sure no person endures economic, healthcare, educational, criminal justice or any other inequity based upon their race. We must enlist men and women of every color and creed to serve together and fight together to ensure every American enjoys equal rights, liberty and opportunity. I firmly subscribe to Dr. King’s vision when he said, “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality” and I will fight with every fiber of my being until it is so.”

Laura Ahearn, STATE SENATE CANDIDATE (SD-1)

The $20 Murder

David Posnett — Sun, 31 May 2020 04:47:38 +0000

George Floyd was arrested over possibly attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.

I once went to make a deposit at the Chase Bank at the corner of Little Neck Parkway and Northern Boulevard in Queens, NY. After a long delay, I was informed that a $20 bill was being confiscated and sent to the Mint in DC for verification because it appeared to be counterfeit. This large bank could not distinguish between real and fake money. Several months later I was credited with $20 because the bill turned out to be genuine.

What if I had been black George Floyd instead of white Ruth Cohen? Would the police have been called? Would I be dead?

Ruth A Cohen

Lake Grove, NY

My recent Letter to The Editor (above) appeared in the current smithtownmatters.com.

See the latest here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/minneapolis-floyd-protests.html

Child Abuse (Human Rights Violation)

David Posnett — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 16:15:26 +0000

Submitted by James Ewing (Watermill):

IMAGES
We want you to imagine for a moment what this might be like for a child: to flee the place you have called your home because it is not safe to stay and then embark on a dangerous journey to an unknown destination, only to be ripped apart from your sole sense of security with no understanding of what just happened to you or if you will ever see your family again. And that the only thing you have done to deserve this, is to do what children do: stay close to the adults in their lives for security.

The zero-tolerance policy was announced on April 6.
Nationwide, nearly 2,000 minors were taken from their parents from April 19 through May 31, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security.
“…the children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.”
Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.

“At minimum, forced separation will cause these children extreme emotional distress…the sadness is not the thing that really matters here. What matters is this is a trauma to the developing nervous system.”
Nim Tottenham of Columbia University.
“Extreme emotional responses to separation from parents is part of evolution’s plan to keep those parents close — to break any parent’s heart, because throughout human evolution, an absent caregiver has meant almost certain death.
Megan Gunnar University of Minnesota.…

When faced with separation from loved ones, “we fight as if it’s a matter of life and death, because it is.”
Jude Cassidy University of Maryland.
“…little minds and hearts can maintain that level of distress only for so long before the children face a horrifying decision: Continue, through severe emotional pain, to call out for their parents, or proceed on the assumption that their parents are gone…
James Coan University of Virginia

We are all being made complicit in child abuse by this administration.

Comments added by David Posnett:

Here is Zeldin’s response:

(UAC: Unaccompanied Alien Children)

Lee Zeldin contact info: (202) 225 3826, (631) 289 1097. Congressmanzeldin1@mail.house.gov

I am sure he would like to hear from you!

Perry Gershon for Congress

𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐙𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐎𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝

Zeldin finally took a position on family separation at the border. As expected, he is supporting the cruel Trump policy. We need to replace Zeldin this November. Taking children away from their parents does not just apply to people attempting to cross the border without documentation. Our government is separating the children of asylum seekers too – these people with zero purported criminal activity. We cannot allow this to happen and be silent. And Zeldin cheers the policy. I pledge to fight this policy to all my ability if elected in November, and ask for your support on June 26 to help me get there.

If you want more color on the trump policy, this link describes it better. https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17443198/children-immigrant-families-separated-parents

Local Economy Dependent on Immigrants

David Posnett — Fri, 25 May 2018 14:24:38 +0000

Recent reports describe increased round up of latinos. Along with suspected “bad guys” ICE is sweeping up many more innocent undocumented workers. This was highlighted by the latest Trump visit to Long Island and Lee Zeldin’s cheer leading. Read more here and here.

Here is the flip slide however: the Long Island Farm Bureau is begging Zeldin to help with temporary work visas to keep their farms open. Landscapers, pool companies, roofers, house cleaners, deck builders, construction crews are absolutely reliant on Latino workers. Here is a relevant article which was published in March 2018.

From: the Southampton Press

BY MICHAEL WRIGHT

For many business owners on the East End, immigrant workers from Central America and South America have become the indispensable backbone of their workforce.

Many firms employ immigrant labor, and some say it’s because of their work ethic.

Business owners across East End trades this week said that if newly aggressive federal deportation policies targeting undocumented immigrants overreach, the effect on the local workforce could threaten their businesses’ ability to operate—and could even drag down the local economy as a whole over time.

Owners and employees of a cross-section of medium-sized businesses in the residential development industry—construction, landscaping and residential painting companies with between 15 and 40 full-time employees—all of whom live in Southampton or East Hampton, spoke this week about their concerns.

None would speak on the record by name, for fear of both legal fallout and becoming the focus of public anger in such a volatile climate, but said that the view of the immigrant community’s importance to the local community is often misunderstood or underestimated by others.

Each of the business owners said that the bulk of their employees are Latino immigrants. Some acknowledged that they are often not certain about a worker’s status, since New York State does not require an employer to verify legal residency of an employee when they file W-2 or 1099 forms linked to a tax identification number. Others said they are aware the majority of their workforce are not legal residents.

But all said that every employee on their crew, documented or not, has a tax ID number or state-issued work permit and pays the full complement of state and federal taxes that any legal resident would pay, and are covered by workmen’s compensation insurance. They said that most other medium or large local companies like theirs have similar arrangements with their employees.

Each also said that, apart from the economic firestorm that would consume their industry if large numbers of immigrants were taken from, or left, the local community, they see most of their employees as upstanding members of the local community: family men, homeowners, devout church-goers and consumers.

Seeing The Need

Most, but not all, of the business owners spoken to said they support Donald Trump and his tough stance on immigration enforcement. They do so in large part because they say they see the impact of companies that, unlike theirs, employ undocumented workers off the booksmaking it difficult to compete with them in the marketplace.

Those who said they support the president’s approach are confident—or at least hopefulthat the administration’s policies would not cost them the most critical components to their business.

“As a business owner, I see both sides of it,” a Southampton-based painting company owner said. “I do the right thing in terms of taxes and insurance, so I have a certain amount of animus toward the guys I see who aren’t doing the right thing and are charging much less and taking business from me.

“But I also see the need,” he added, with a slight sigh. “We created what we have here, and now we need [immigrant workers] to sustain it. It’s hard for me to say what should be done. Except, I guess, I know what needs to be done: The guys who want to work and are paying their taxes and keeping out of trouble, they should be allowed to stay. But they should definitely go after the bad guys.”

Another business owner echoed the sentiment that tougher immigration enforcement should apply only to violent or repeat criminals, not law-abiding people, and said his immigrant employees do, too.

“These are honest, hard-working guys—that is not who they’re going to go after,” a Southampton landscape company owner said of his impression of federal immigration authorities. “They’re only going after the ones who are killing, and the gang members. My guys understand that what the president is talking about is the criminals. And they want the criminals out too.”

Business, Not Greed

Asked why their crews are made up of mostly, if not entirely, immigrant workers, every employer offered a slight variation of the same sentiment: Not because they are cheaper, but because they are the best workers. “White guys, especially the young ones, don’t really want to work all that hard, and when there’s waves they don’t want to work at all, so they just don’t show up,” said one. “I’ve had white guys, black guys, Spanish guys, Russian guys, Polish guys, Irish guys. The Spanish guys show up to work every day, and they work hard. They would work 60 or 70 hours a week, seven days, if they could.”

Each told a series of very similar anecdotes about their travails as employers in finding and hiring non-immigrant workers.

“I started banging nails as soon as I got out of college, and I’d hire my buddies from high school,” recalled a high-end construction company owner based in East Hampton Town. “They’d be smoking pot in the port-apotties, doing blow in the office trailer, or they wouldn’t show up. Then, one year, I hired two Colombian guys. They showed up for work, they didn’t drink—and eventually my all-American crew became an all-immigrant crew.” “I remember my dad’s workers when I was a kid: They were all white, and even then I could tell they were the bottom of the barrel—but that was all you could get back then,” said the painting company owner. “I’ve had two American guys work for me, and they weren’t worth a darn. I get five or 10 Spanish guys looking for jobs every day—nobody of any other race or color has even called for a job.”

A Cottage Industry

Immigrant workers are more than just an expedient business solution to the need for more and more labor in the local economy, one of the businessmen said. They were the foundation that allowed it to rise to a new labor-intensive stratosphere of elegance, ornateness and complexity.

The painting company owner offered that, in the last two decades, the immigrant labor market, particularly among companies not following costly taxation and workman’s comp requirements, allowed the residential development market to grow at an exponentially faster rate and evolve in more labor-dependent ways than it would have otherwise.

“The spec house market was completely dependent on that,” he said of companies staffed by off-the-books immigrant employees. “You take the standard 6,000-square-foot spec house: I have to charge $100,000 to paint that house. But [a spec builder] gets them done for $40,000, because he uses the guys that are paying off the books. If that wasn’t there, all that spec building in Bridgehampton and Water Mill, and all over, that would never have happened.”

Going a step further, the painter said that if the robust supply of immigrant workers were removed or substantially diminished, the demands of the current market could not be met, and that attempts to keep up would likely, over the years, force economic contraction, as services like caring for intricately sculpted landscapes and seemingly endless renovations and expansions of existing homes become more and more expensive.

“Eventually,” he said, “even the rich people are going to say it’s not worth it.”

A Catch-22

The employers labored to cast aside a common misconception about undocumented workers: that they are paid substantially less than legal residents and citizens for the same jobs, and that they do not pay taxes.

Each said their immigrant workers typically make the standard wage for the jobs they do. They acknowledged that there are companies dodging the system but said that most of the recognizable names in the development-related trades in this region are following the letter of the law in regard to employees whose immigration status is clouded.

“These guys take deep pride in paying taxes,” a construction company owner said of his employees. “They want to play by the rules, desperately. If they could pay $10,000 or $15,000 to be able to apply [for legal residency] tomorrow, they would do it in a second. They would buy health insurance in a second—if they could. And they are strong and healthy, they eat well, they work hard and are in shape. They would be paying into the system, not taking from it.”

In 2013, the Social Security Administration issued a report on “unauthorized immigrants” that estimated undocumented but on-the-books workers were paying about $12 billion a year into the Social Security program alone. The report pointed out that the vast majority of those workers would never be eligible to receive the benefits of the program later in life like citizens who paid the same amount in taxes would. Additionally, undocumented residents get no tax refunds.

Three employees of one of the business owners who sat in the company’s office on a recent Friday to explain how they came to be part of the massive undocumented workforce, for their part, said that they are happy to pay taxes and would be willing to pay fines or fees for their past immigration violations if it would give them a path to legal residency. Two said they have already spent many thousands trying to find such a path, and in some cases lost tens of thousands more to unscrupulous attorneys who took their payments up front, in cash, and then vanished.

“I tried to come here legally first,” said Jose, a construction worker. “My brother got here by applying. My seven brothers, we all applied. Only one got a visa.” Jose, who is 29 and a native of Ecuador, said that in his hometown he could work for his father’s masonry businessmaking about $35 a month. “I make more than that in an hour now,” he said.

Another of the workers, an Ecuadorian immigrant named Gallo, said that he pays more than $20,000 a year in taxes and workman’s comp insurance. In 2006, after being arrested by immigration agents while visiting Niagara Falls, he paid an attorney $35,000 to help him apply for legal residency. The man simply never filed the application and vanished with his money.

Since then Gallo has reported annually to an immigration court judge to show that he is fully employed and paying taxes. He worries now, however, that if he reports to the court again, he could be seized and deported. “It’s a Catch-22,” said his boss, who said several employees fear they are in a similar bind. “They’re scared to go to the immigration court like they’ve been doing, to show that they’re doing things properly. But if they don’t go, then they’ll get a deportation warrant put on them. So they could get deported if they don’t go—but if they do go, they could still get deported.”

Two of the three men own homes and have young children who are U.S. citizens. They say that in recent weeks they have grown scared of their future in the United States, even though they have seen no actual evidence of deportations from the community.

One, named John, a former Colombian national soccer team member, said that he worries that if he or he and his wife were to be deported, their mortgage would go into default and be seized by a bank—the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars already invested in it simply lost.

His son is an American citizen. When he was 3 he was diagnosed with leukemia and relies on medicines now that he could likely not get if the family left the United States together.

“He has to stay here because he has to keep getting his medicine—if I had to leave, what would become of him,” John said. “My son, he is 10. He tells me all the time, ‘Daddy, be careful.’”

Comment:

If you want an emetic, take a look at the vitriol in the comments section of the original article, with comments by anonymous people with telling names like “SlimeAlive”. DP