immigration/deportation – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Lee Zeldin’s Record

David Posnett — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 17:00:39 +0000

No matter where you live — Montauk or Manorville, Smithtown or Shirley, Patchogue or Port Jefferson — we all want our communities to thrive. To do that, we need a representative who puts our needs first: safe drinking water and well-paying jobs. Affordable healthcare and prescription drugs. A tax plan that works for working families. And decisions based on science, not donations. Although Zeldin says he’s fighting for us, his voting record says otherwise. Zeldin serves the needs of big business and the powerful few, not the working families in his district.

Check out the issues here. For example healthcare.

NY-01 deserves a representative who puts us first.

Photo Courtesy of Sean P. Mills Photography

VOTES DON’T LIE. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL.

Facebook: @LeeZeldinRecord | Twitter: @ZeldinRecord

Website: https://www.leezeldinrecord.com/

Baby Jesus in a Cage

David Posnett — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 01:00:43 +0000

Church Puts Baby Jesus In Cage For Immigration-Themed Nativity Scene

St. Susanna’s Rev. Steve Josoma said the Massachusetts church’s Nativity display puts a “mirror image of the world into the stable.”

from the Huff Post

A Massachusetts church is mixing faith and politics in its nativity display this year ― placing a baby Jesus figurine in a cage to provoke conversations about America’s immigration policies.

Leaders at St. Susanna Parish, a Roman Catholic congregation in Dedham, hope the display puts a Christian perspective on controversial actions toward migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and around the world.

“We wanted to put a mirror image of the world into the stable,” parish priest Steve Josoma told HuffPost.

The traditional Nativity scene that Christians have become familiar with over the centuries features shepherds, wise men and animals huddled around Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a stable. The classic image demonstrates how people from different countries and social classes can come together in a “perfect symbol of peace on Earth,” Josoma said.

St. Susanna’s Nativity scene shows what happens when people find ways to build walls between each other, the priest said. The scene shows baby Jesus in a black metal cage, separated from Mary and Joseph. The image of Jesus behind bars is meant to represent the plight of migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border because of White House policies.

In St. Susanna Parish’s Nativity display, Jesus is placed in a metal cage while the wise men are blocked by a fence.

To the right of the scene, a fence creates a barrier between the Holy Family and the three wise men. A sign attached to the fence reads, “Deportation.” Josoma said the wall is supposed to represent the southern border and other physical and metaphorical walls that Western countries have created to keep refugees out.

Above the stable, a blue banner reads, “Peace on Earth?”

Josoma said that the sign is meant to get viewers to ask, “Is this what peace on Earth looks like?” St. Susanna’s alternative Nativity scene is the brainchild of the parish’s Pax Christi committee, a group that does outreach and education on nonviolence and peacemaking. Josoma said the Nativity scene is an “affirmation of gospel values” and not just an attack on President Donald Trump and his administration. But, he added, some of the administration’s policies are “at odds” with the message of the gospel. “Soldiers firing tear gas at the border doesn’t seem to be the way to go to bring out healing and reconciliation,” the priest said.

The display, which was set up over the weekend in time for the first Sunday of Advent, has sparked criticism from some corners. Fox News host Sean Hannity discussed the display on his show Wednesday and claimed on Twitter that Christmas is “under siege.”

ON #HANNITY NOW: CHRISTMAS IS UNDER SIEGE. A Massachusetts church puts baby Jesus in a cage to make a political statement. Watch NOW!

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) December 6, 2018

Josoma said that after the “Hannity” segment, he got calls from around the country accusing him of blasphemy and claiming that the parish’s take on the Nativity is inappropriate. Some of his own church members weren’t enthusiastic about the display, he said, and two people emailed him indicating that they’d decided to leave St. Susanna because of the Nativity scene.

The priest said he agreed that a cage and a wall have no place in the Nativity scene ― in fact, he says, that was his point.

“People think children in diapers getting tear-gassed is OK, but this [Nativity scene] is totally sacrilegious?” Josoma said in response to the criticism. “All we’re trying to do is put the two together.”

“What you do to somebody else is what you do to Christ,” he said, referring to a Bible passage that claims those who welcome strangers are in effect welcoming Christ himself. “You can’t separate the two.”

St. Susanna Parish’s alternative Christmas display is meant to spark conversations about the biblical call to welcome the stranger.

St. Susanna’s activism around refugees isn’t limited to its Nativity scene. Two years ago, the parish started working with Catholic Charities and two other local Christian congregations to sponsor a refugee family seeking to resettle in the U.S.

In September, the parishioners welcomed a family from Burundi to the community. Josoma said 75 volunteers are helping the family navigate their first few months in America ― doing things such as helping the family register children for school, go to doctors’ appointments and practice English.

The experience has been a “blessing” to his parish, Josoma said, and has helped his congregants feel like they can make at least a small difference in the global refugee crisis. Many volunteers are now eager to welcome a second refugee family to the neighborhood, he said.

“We don’t pretend to have the answers, but we believe working together in small communities, we can begin to address the problem,” Josoma said.

Let’s not forget the kids at the border!

The Children in the Camps

David Posnett — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 14:12:19 +0000

Submitted by Shoshana Hershkowitz

Picture drawn by child in our border camps.

I am haunted every day by the images of children in the camps. I am haunted by the pictures they draw, which bear a frightening resemblance to those in the book, “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”, drawn by the 15,000 children who were imprisoned in Terezin before dying at Auschwitz.

Mostly, I’m haunted as I go through the tasks of everyday life with my own children. As I put lotion on my son’s mosquito bites, as I go and lay down with my daughter when she wakes up from a nightmare. As I take them to swim lessons, to play dates, as they play on the street. I’m haunted by the normalcy of our lives in these abnormal times, where #NeverAgain is now.

My mind is constantly in conflict. On the outside, I am trying to give my children the life they and all children deserve, one where they feel loved, secure, and joyful. When they cry, I hold them. When they want to talk about their feelings, I listen. When they want me to notice what they’re doing, I enthusiastically cheer them on. It’s what parents do. And as I do it, I think about those kids in the camps. Those kids who haven’t had a shower, a change of clothes, a warm blanket, a hug, an adult to care for them. And as I look at my own children, I am haunted. There are tears in my eyes as I hug them, listen to them, put band aids on their scrapes, because I know that this crime against humanity is happening in my country, and here I am, relatively unscathed, privileged.

I don’t know how we end this madness. I write, I call, I protest, I donate, I organize, I vote. It doesn’t feel like enough. It’s not enough. I think we need sustained collective outrage, the kind that ended the Vietnam War, the kind that happened during the Civil Rights Movement. Those families deserve our collective outrage. Our democratic experiment requires that outrage. It’s failing, and I think we are failing it.

I think this will only end when each of us who still has a conscience that transcends our political affiliations tunes in to that twinge we’re feeling when we see those pictures. Too often, we push those feelings down, shove the discomfort away to focus on what’s in front of us. Don’t ignore the twinge. Don’t look away. Be haunted. That’s your humanity speaking to you. It’s asking you to care and to act. Because #NeverAgain is now.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

The Psychology of Trump Supporters

David Posnett — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 01:09:20 +0000

Bobby Azarian Ph.D. posted several months ago “A Complete Psychological Analysis of Trump’s Support” to help make sense of Trump’s apparent invincibility.

We should try and understand the emotinal underpinnings of those that we find difficult to rationally speak to or correspond with. For example, if volunteers are to engage in “deep canvassing” as discussed elsewhere on this blog, they need to understand what motivates the people they are talking with.

Azarian’s piece in the respectable journal Psychology Today is itself a summary of many publications in the psychology literature. It is interesting. It lists 14 categories which Trump supporters may fall in to. Here is a brief version, but feel free to read the full text and look at a video on Terror Management Theory by Azarian.

1. Practicality Trumps Morality

For some wealthy people, it’s simply a financial matter. Trump offers tax cuts for the rich and wants to do away with government regulation that gets in the way of businessmen making money, even when that regulation exists for the purpose of protecting the environment. Others, like blue-collared workers, like the fact that the president is trying to bring jobs back to America from places like China. Some people who genuinely are not racist (those who are will be discussed later) simply want stronger immigration laws because they know that a country with open borders is not sustainable. These people have put their practical concerns above their moral ones. To them, it does not make a difference if he’s a vagina-grabber, or if his campaign team colluded with Russia to help him defeat his political opponent. It is unknown whether these people are eternally bound to Trump in the way others are, but we may soon find…

2. The Brain’s Attention System Is More Strongly Engaged by Trump

According to a study that monitored brain activity while participants watched 40 minutes of political ads and debate clips from the presidential candidates, Donald Trump is unique in his ability to keep the brain engaged. While Hillary Clinton could only hold attention for so long, Trump kept both attention and emotional arousal high throughout the viewing session. This pattern of activity was seen even when Trump made remarks that individuals didn’t necessarily agree with. His showmanship and simple language clearly resonate with some at a visceral level.

3. America’s Obsession with Entertainment and Celebrities

Essentially, the loyalty of Trump supporters may in part be explained by America’s addiction to entertainment and reality TV. To some, it doesn’t matter what Trump actually says because he’s so amusing to watch. With the Donald, you are always left wondering what outrageous thing he is going to say or do next. He keeps us on the edge of our seat, and for that reason, some Trump supporters will forgive anything he says. They are happy as long as they are kept entertained.

4. “Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn.”

Some people are supporting Trump simply to be rebellious or to introduce chaos into the political system. They may have such distaste for the establishment and democrats like Hillary Clinton that their support for Trump is a symbolic middle finger directed at Washington. These people may have other issues, like an innate desire to troll others or an obsession with schadenfreude.

5. The Fear Factor: Conservatives Are More Sensitive to Threat

Science has shown that the conservative brain has an exaggerated fear response when faced with stimuli that may be perceived as threatening. A 2008 study in the prestigious journal Science found that conservatives have a stronger physiological reaction to startling noises and graphic images compared to liberals. A brain-imaging study published in Current Biology revealed that those who lean right politically tend to have a larger amygdala — a structure that is electrically active during states of fear and anxiety. And a 2014 fMRI study found that it is possible to predict whether someone is a liberal or conservative simply by looking at their brain activity while they view threatening or disgusting images, such as mutilated bodies. Specifically, the brains of self-identified conservatives generated more activity overall in response to the disturbing images.

These brain responses are automatic and not influenced by logic or reason. As long as Trump continues to portray Muslims and Hispanic immigrants as imminent threats, many conservative brains will involuntarily light up like light bulbs being controlled by a switch. Fear keeps his followers energized and focused on safety. And when you think you’ve found your protector, you become less concerned with offensive and divisive remarks.

6. The Power of Mortality Reminders and Perceived Existential Threat

A well-supported theory from social psychology, known as Terror Management Theory, explains why Trump’s fear mongering is doubly effective. The theory is based on the fact that humans have a unique awareness of their own mortality. The inevitably of one’s death creates existential terror and anxiety that is always residing below the surface. In order to manage this terror, humans adopt cultural worldviews — like religions, political ideologies, and national identities — that act as a buffer by instilling life with meaning and value.

Terror Management Theory predicts that when people are reminded of their own mortality, which happens with fear mongering, they will more strongly defend those who share their worldviews and national or ethnic identity, and act out more aggressively towards those who do not. Hundreds of studies have supported this hypothesis, and some have specifically shown that triggering thoughts of death tends to shift people towards the right.

Not only do death reminders increase nationalism, they may influence voting habits in favor of more conservative candidates. And more disturbingly, in a study with American students, scientists found that making mortality salient increased support for extreme military interventions by American forces that could kill thousands of civilians overseas. Interestingly, the effect was present only in conservatives.

By constantly emphasizing existential threat, Trump may be creating a psychological condition that makes the brain respond positively rather than negatively to bigoted statements and divisive rhetoric.

In the video, the author expands and offers a potential solution to the problem.

7. The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Humans Often Overestimate Their Political Expertise

Some who support Donald Trump are under-informed or misinformed about the issues at hand. When Trump tells them that crime is skyrocketing in the United States, or that the economy is the worst it’s ever been, they simply take his word for it.

The Dunning-Kruger effect explains that the problem isn’t just that they are misinformed; it’s that they are completely unaware that they are misinformed, which creates a double burden.

Studies have shown that people who lack expertise in some area of knowledge often have a cognitive bias that prevents them from realizing that they lack expertise. As psychologist David Dunning puts it in an op-ed for Politico, “The knowledge and intelligence that are required to be good at a task are often the same qualities needed to recognize that one is not good at that task — and if one lacks such knowledge and intelligence, one remains ignorant that one is not good at the task. This includes political judgment.” These people cannot be reached because they mistakenly believe they are the ones who should be reaching others.

8. Relative Deprivation — A Misguided Sense of Entitlement

Relative deprivation refers to the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes they are entitled. It is the discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them.

Common explanations for Trump’s popularity among non-bigoted voters involve economics. There is no doubt that some Trump supporters are simply angry that American jobs are being lost to Mexico and China, which is certainly understandable, although these loyalists often ignore the fact that some of these careers are actually being lost due to the accelerating pace of automation.

These Trump supporters are experiencing relative deprivation, and are common among the swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This kind of deprivation is specifically referred to as “relative,” as opposed to “absolute,” because the feeling is often based on a skewed perception of what one is entitled to.

9. Lack of Exposure to Dissimilar Others

Intergroup contact refers to contact with members of groups that are outside one’s own, which has been experimentally shown to reduce prejudice. As such, it’s important to note that there is growing evidence that Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This correlation persisted while controlling for dozens of other variables. In agreement with this finding, the same researchers found that support for Trump increased with the voters’ physical distance from the Mexican border. These racial biases might be more implicit than explicit, the latter which is addressed in #14.

10. Trump’s Conspiracy Theories Target the Mentally Vulnerable

While the conspiracy theory crowd — who predominantly support Donald Trump and crackpot allies like Alex Jones and the shadowy QAnon — may appear to just be an odd quirk of modern society, some of them may suffer from psychological illnesses that involve paranoia and delusions, such as schizophrenia, or are at least vulnerable to them, like those with schizotypy personalities.

The link between schizotypy and belief in conspiracy theories is well-established, and a recent study published in the journal Psychiatry Research has demonstrated that it is still very prevalent in the population. The researchers found that those who were more likely to believe in outlandish conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the U.S. government created the AIDS epidemic, consistently scored high on measures of “odd beliefs and magical thinking.” One feature of magical thinking is a tendency to make connections between things that are actually unrelated in reality.

Donald Trump and media allies target these people directly. All one has to do is visit alt-right websites and discussion boards to see the evidence for such manipulation.

11. Trump Taps into the Nation’s Collective Narcissism

Collective narcissism is an unrealistic shared belief in the greatness of one’s national group. It often occurs when a group who believes it represents the ‘true identity’ of a nation — the ‘ingroup,’ in this case White Americans — perceives itself as being disadvantaged compared to outgroups who are getting ahead of them ‘unrightfully.’ This psychological phenomenon is related to relative deprivation (#6).

A study published last year in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found a direct link between national collective narcissism and support for Donald Trump. This correlation was discovered by researchers at the University of Warsaw, who surveyed over 400 Americans with a series of questionnaires about political and social beliefs. Where individual narcissism causes aggressiveness toward other individuals, collective narcissism involves negative attitudes and aggression toward ‘outsider’ groups (outgroups), who are perceived as threats.

Donald Trump exacerbates collective narcissism with his anti-immigrant, anti-elitist, and strongly nationalistic rhetoric. By referring to his supporters, an overwhelmingly white group, as being “true patriots” or “real Americans,” he promotes a brand of populism that is the epitome of “identity politics,” a term that is usually associated with the political left. Left-wing identity politics, as misguided as they may sometimes be, are generally aimed at achieving equality, while the right-wing brand is based on a belief that one nationality or race is superior or entitled to success and wealth for no other reason than identity.

12. The Desire to Want to Dominate Others

Social dominance orientation (SDO) — which is distinct from but related to authoritarian personality (#13) — refers to people who have a preference for the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups have dominance over the low-status ones. Those with SDO are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest.

In Trump’s speeches, he appeals to those with SDO by repeatedly making a clear distinction between groups that have a generally higher status in society (White), and those groups that are typically thought of as belonging to a lower status (immigrants and minorities). A 2016 survey study of 406 American adults published last year in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that those who scored high on both SDO and authoritarianism were more likely to vote for Trump in the election.

13. Authoritarian Personality

Authoritarianism refers to the advocacy or enforcement of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, and is commonly associated with a lack of concern for the opinions or needs of others. Authoritarian personality is characterized by belief in total and complete obedience to authority. Those with this personality often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid hierarchical view of society. Authoritarianism is often triggered by fear, making it easy for leaders who exaggerate threat or fear monger to gain their allegiance.

Although authoritarian personality is found among liberals, it is more common among the right-wing around the world. President Trump’s speeches, which are laced with absolutist terms like “losers” and “complete disasters,” are naturally appealing to those with such a personality.

While research showed that Republican voters in the U.S. scored higher than Democrats on measures of authoritarianism before Trump emerged on the political scene, a 2016 Politico survey found that high authoritarians greatly favored then-candidate Trump, which led to a correct prediction that he would win the election, despite the polls saying otherwise.

14. Racism and Bigotry

It would be grossly unfair and inaccurate to say that every one of Trump’s supporters have prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally inaccurate to say that few do. The Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” has historically used tactics that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles” — code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.

While the dog whistles of the past were subtler, Trump’s signaling is sometimes shockingly direct. There’s no denying that he routinely appeals to racist and bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “murderers,” often in a blanketed fashion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a recent study has shown that support for Trump is correlated with a standard scale of modern racism.

Save the Children

David Posnett — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 19:18:26 +0000

Contributed by James Ewing (Watermill, NY).

Watch this powerful video from the border where Alyssa Milano is broadcasting live:

Over the past year approximately 400,000 migrants have been detained by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).They are primarily from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders recently said that the Border Patrol is holding 15,000 people, and the agency considers 4,000 to be at capacity.

On any given day, 2,000 children are in Border Patrol custody, and the problems are hardly confined to one facility…Legally, they’re not supposed to be held by border agents for more than 72 hours before being sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for finding their nearest relative in the US to house them while their immigration cases are adjudicated.

Almost all of these children have family members, including parents, in the United States, who are able to and want to take care of their children.

At the Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, some of the children are going weeks without enough food, water, or hygienic sanitation. Researchers report that kids are sick, caring for each other, and lack baths and diapers.

These kids and teens are being forcibly separated from their families. Which, in spite of Trump’s repeated claims to the contrary, has not been the norm in previous administrations.

Unlike privately contracted child detention facilities (which charge the US taxpayer up to $750 a day per child), Border Patrol stations like the Clint Detention Facilty, are federal facilities, exempt from state health and safety standards, according to Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokesman John Reynolds. Child abuse and neglect investigators are not allowed to investigate the stations because they not licensed by the state.

Law professor Warren Binford, saw a 4-year-old with hair so matted and dirty she thought it would have to be cut off. The child had not bathed in more than a week, she said. She witnessed a 14-year-old caring for a 2-year-old without a diaper, shrugging as the baby urinated as they sat at a table because she did not know what to do. Here, in a warehouse filled with filthy kids who had not bathed in days, some with lice and influenza, it was kids taking care of kids. There was no soap. And when she tried to find baby food, there was none of that, either. All they had was instant oatmeal for breakfast, instant soup for lunch and a frozen burrito for dinner, “every single day,”

The Trump administration argued before a Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday that the government is not required to give soap or toothbrushes to children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border and can have them sleep on concrete floors in frigid, overcrowded cells, despite a settlement agreement that requires detainees be kept in “safe and sanitary” facilities.

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala said she had been holding two little girls in her lap.
“I need comfort, too. I am bigger than they are, but I am a child, too,” she said.

“She’s suffering very much because she’s never been alone. She doesn’t know these other children,” said her father.

“Try to imagine what it’s like for these children, not as a parent, but as one of the children. To be hungry, without anyone to help you, to be abandoned to filth with no way to get clean, to be trying to take care of yourself and children who are even younger that you are, to be confused about what might happen next and to be terrified that you will never be loved or cared for by anyone again.” (Unknown Field notes)

“In my 22 years of doing visits with children I have never heard of this level of inhumanity”— Holly Cooper—UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic

While existing aid levels to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras will not be reduced this year, the Trump administration “will not provide new funds for programs in those countries until we are satisfied that the Northern Triangle governments are taking concrete actions to reduce the number of migrants coming to the U.S. border, said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. ‘This is consistent with the president’s direction and with the recognition that it is critical that there be sufficient political will in these countries to address the problem at its source.’ ” Washington AP 6/18/1

At least 24 adults and 6 children have died in US custody under Trump’s border policies.

“The death of a child is always a terrible thing, but here is a situation where, because there is not enough funding they can’t move the people out of our custody,” says outgoing CPB Commissioner John Sanders.

The victims from upper left (clockwise): Wilmer(2), Darlyn (10), Carlos (16) ,Mariee (20 mos), Felipe (8), and Juan (16)

By the way, Perry Gershon has it right regarding potential solutions.

Lee Zeldin parrots the Trump and FOX line. What a disaster. Think about it in November 2020.

Here is what one Candaian thinks:

and here is what you can do right now:

President’s Day Protest

David Posnett — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:57:35 +0000

Today there were protests all across America.

Donald Trump declared a #FakeNationalEmergency, an illegal power grab from an unhinged man to push his racist, dangerous policies and his vanity wall. After his announcement of a “national emergency” Donald left for Mar-a-lago to play some golf.

Together with about 50 protesters, I attended a rally in Bridgehampton in the rain. Many cars passing by, honked their horns and gave us a thumbs up sign.

Take a look at this great video https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=747733232276274

Here are some pictures:

East Hampton Holocaust Survivor At School Fighting Anti-Semitism

David Posnett — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 15:08:17 +0000

Photos courtesy of the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District.

MATTITUCK, NY — A school district that has pledged to take a strong stand in the fight against anti-Semitism welcomed a Holocaust survivor to speak to students.

As part of the district’s ongoing efforts to expand students’ awareness of cultural diversity and the importance of acceptance and inclusion, students from Mattituck Jr./Sr. High School participated in the Springs School Cultural Diversity Institute.

Students had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of cultural diversity and to engage in a meaningful dialogue on the negative impact of bias, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping with a diverse group of community members, the district said.

Holocaust survivor Judy Sleed, who lives in East Hampton, shared the “moving and memorable” story of her past and encouraged the students to be accepting of all cultures in schools, the community and the world. Sleed lived under German occupation in Budapest, Hungary, in March, 1944, with the worst of her ordeal taking place on Oct. 20 to 24, 1944, she has said.

The Springs Union Free School District’s Diversity Institute was formed for sixth graders and their families with an eye toward focusing on tolerance and inclusion, something the Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District administrators have pledged to put an increased focus upon.

Mattituck Junior-Senior High School Principal Shawn Petretti sent a letter home to parents in January discussing concerns over “several incidents that have occurred this year in regards to individual students joking about their support and admiration of Nazism and Adolf Hitler.”

There have also been incidents involving “language and acts” associated with anti-Semitism, he said, which have taken place primarily in the 7th to 10th grade population.

“We take all of these situations very seriously and have handled them as acts of bias, resulting in a combination of discipline and counseling,” he said.

With an eye toward proactive solutions, the Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District has also invited the Holocaust Memorial and Education Center of Glen Cove to come to Mattituck High School later in the month to speak to students, Petretti said.

He added that he would begin immediately to have grade-level discussions with students to discuss the “impact and severity of any acts of bias” and said that any such future acts would be dealt with swiftly and in compliance with school code.

“As educators, when we see trends in negative behaviors and habits, we look to find the cause as a means of addressing the issue,” Petretti said. “One of the things we have discovered is that the recent increase in incidents of anti-Semitism is not isolated to Mattituck but is happening in junior and senior high schools across New York. Another thing we have discovered is that an app, very popular with adolescents, called TikTok, is littered with videos containing messages of pro-Nazism as well as anti-Semitism. Much of the content is targeted to children and teens and is delivered through comedic videos clearly sending the wrong message to our children,” Petretti said.

Petretti asked parents to speak to their children and explain the “harmful impact and severity of words,” so that they and the district can work together to put an end to the behavior and ensure the Mattituck Junior-Senior High School is a respectful and safe environment.

Parent Lauren Gilbert said she was happy that parents had been notified. “I think that this generation is highly unaware of the severity of these things. Whether they are learning it at home or from some social media app, I don’t believe for a second that in 2019 our middle and high school students are making foul remarks about the Holocaust and supporting Hitler while also knowing all the facts, as well as being aware of what their words and actions have the power of doing,” she said. “It’s extremely unfortunate to see some students take such a large step back in time. I hope that the disciplinary actions as well as counseling and educational actions the school is taking will have a lasting impact on the ones who need to hear it most.”

Sonia Spar, co-chair of the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force, said she feel it is troubling to see that disseminating hate has increasingly become mainstream and school children are using hateful and bigoted language.

“It is very important that school officials are clearly stepping up to denounce the hateful message, are bringing this situation to the attention to the entire school community and are sending the clear message that this kind of rhetoric and behavior is totally unacceptable,” Spar said. “Education and leadership are our best hope for eliminating hate. The rise in hate and anti-Semitism across New York State and in the country is of great concern. We — as a community — must do all we can to prevent that this kind of hateful language becomes normalized.”

Spar added that the ABTF, together with Greenport, Southold and Mattituck schools are coordinating a cross district peer to peer leadership anti-bias in-depth training for students in grades 7 to 11. “We believe this is a very important effort,” she said.

It’s not the first time schools on the East End have had to face anti-Semitism in recent months: In April, anti-Semitic graffiti was spray painted at Westhampton Beach High School.

A company spokesman for TikTok responded: “Hate speech is not permitted on TikTok. We make this very clear in our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, and we remove inappropriate content and terminate accounts that violate our policies. We are committed to promoting a safe and positive app environment for our global community and there is absolutely no place for discrimination, including hate speech, on this platform. For more, please visit our Safety Center.”

(Reprinted in it’s entirety). David P

First Hand Report on Immigrant Families in Tijuana

David Posnett — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 01:55:40 +0000

Friendship Park, along the United States-Mexico border in San Diego–Tijuana

By Lisa Votino Tarrant (Southampton)

Down in Tijuana, I befriended a 5yo little girl whose family was awaiting turning themselves over to US authorities to claim asylum. All I kept thinking was how much her and Lily would be besties. Her parents and little brother slowly grew to trust me. Me and my buddy played for hours. I waited with them every morning to see if their number was called. I was both happy and sad when it wasn’t. When my little buddy saw me she ran and hugged me as tight as she could. She was mischievous and probably one of the cutest kids I have ever seen.

Then one day their number was called. My little buddy was inconsolable and honestly if I didn’t have to convince her that this was good, I would have been a mess. I finally calmed her down and told her I needed to draw a picture on her back so she could remember me. What I was actually doing was writing her parents info and phone numbers as well as their contact in the US. She asked if I could draw a heart on her hand, so I did. And then she jumped in my arms and in English whispered in my ear “I love you Lisa.” Until that moment I had no idea she spoke any english and turned to look at her mom and saw tears in her eyes. I knew she taught her how to say it to me and we will share a bond for the rest of our lives because of that one beautiful moment. I stayed with them until they were loaded into the van to be taken away. My buddy held my hand through the fence until she had to be loaded in. Her mom ran over and asked if I would find my little buddy and help her if her and her husband are deported. All I could say was I would do my best and I loved them.

ICE has a locator website. I have the entire families’ info. You cannot look up minors under 18. I have yet to find the mother or father. As of tonight, I have no way to know where they are, if they are together or separated or how any of them are doing. It keeps me up at night. When I watch Lily fall asleep, I imagine my little buddy’s mama doing the same. We are both mothers that love our children. We both want our children to be happy and safe. I have to imagine it, because thinking of it being any other way has left me vomiting. I hope one day I find them and my little buddy and Lily can have a beach day or a city trip or anything as long as they are happy and safe.

Originally posted on FB on February 11 at 9:35 PM

Trump (and Zeldin) are creating MS13’s across America

David Posnett — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 16:22:08 +0000

On Feb 5, 2019, at 7:36 AM, Judith Hope wrote:

“It’s all about spotlighting MS13 to inflame support for his Wall. It needs to be said (often & loudly) that gang violence is largely a result of young people who have been separated from parental influence. Trump and the GOP have separated thousands of young children & youths from their families at the border, and LOST TRACK of them! They are responsible for creating future MS13’s all over America.”

I don’t know many gang members! But I know of one example (hear say info). They are a set of brothers. The younger one was born prematurely because his mother was beat up by his dad when she was 26 weeks pregnant. The mother later died of unknown causes and the father was essentially absentee, siring many children from different partners. He was a wife beater. The 2 boys (both born in this country) were picked up by the Latin Kings and taught how to become car thiefs. They both spent time in jail. They can be violent. They never had parents…

Relevant posts:

1) From Perry Gershon’s FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/perry4congress/posts/355618388366690?__tn__=-R

2) From the Dailly Beast: Mother and daughter separated at the border

3) Livestream congressional hearing “Examining the Failures of the Trump Administration’s Inhumane Family Separation Policy” – TODAY

4) Feb 10, Sunday at 12:30: Where Are The Children Protest Rally – Rt 110 and Jericho Tpke Huntington

What is Public Charge?

David Posnett — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:44:11 +0000

From Eve Krief MD

WHAT IS PUBLIC CHARGE? FULL EXPLAINER HERE:
A new proposal from DHHS expands the definition of what it means to be a “public charge,” making it harder for immigrants to enter the United States and advance through the immigration process. The proposal was officially published on October 10, 2018.
“Public charge” has long been a part of our country’s immigration laws. Currently, a “public charge” is defined as someone who is primarily dependent on the government for subsistence. A public charge determination is made when a person applies for a visa to enter the United States or to adjust status to obtain a green card (but not when applying for citizenship). In other words, someone who is found to be a public charge under this definition can be denied a visa or green card.

Under the new public charge proposal, an immigrant’s use, or likely use, of certain public benefits can now be considered to deny entry or permanent legal status in the United States. For the first time, the government will look at an immigrant’s use of Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance, and Medicare Part D low income subsidy. The administration is also contemplating adding use of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to the list of programs that would count toward a public charge determination.

Additionally, the proposal would consider family income as a factor in determining whether an immigrant is a public charge, putting low-income parents with children at a disadvantage compared to adults without children. To avoid scrutiny under the public charge test, a family of four would need to earn nearly $63,000 annually. And, the proposal would discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. Specifically, a low-income immigrant with a medical condition that may require extensive treatment who is unable to cover the cost of such treatment could be determined to be a public charge.

This is your last chance to raise your voice for the hundreds of thousands of children and families who are currently afraid to access public benefits like Medicaid, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Food and Nutrition Service) & SNAP, even though they are eligible.

Documented and undocumented children and families across the country are terrified that new rules, even though they are not yet implemented, will impact their ability to get citizenship, green cards, and to bring their family members to join them.

They are even afraid that they may be deported if the new rules are put in place, or if they apply for benefits today before the new rules take effect.

Although none of these fears are based on current facts, they are, right now, causing families to avoid vital public benefits like Medicaid, WIC & SNAP.

The changes to public charge will make the lives of children and families, whether documented or undocumented, more difficult, frightening, and stressful. This debate and the final outcome has enormous implications for the health and well-being of children and families across the country. Like all children, children in immigrant families benefit when they have access to programs and services that promote their health and development. The new public charge rule could restrict their access and harm their health. #ProtectFamilies, oppose public charge.

Please submit your public comments above by December 10th.

Here is what you can do immediately:

(1) The most urgent is to submit public comment against changes to public charge as this is due by 12/10. Here is a FB link explaining what the changes are and how they will impact immigrants: “Under the new public charge proposal, an immigrant’s use, or likely use, of certain public benefits can now be considered to deny entry or permanent legal status”

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DHS_FRDOC_0001-1706&fbclid=IwAR13SvyC-hwEQW7QU1gwRPxl-DHWkRkuvCydDS-p7cw6-SVyw4DtPi95MCk

(2) for those interested in helping more directly with migrants at the border I would refer them to a new sanctuary where they can donate money or services or get trained to help

https://www.sanctuarycaravan.org/take_action

(3) Call members of Congress to

express objection to holding unprecedented numbers of children in detention . Now that the Flores Agreement has been overturned despite tremendous public comment, children will be allowed to be held in detention indefinitely with no guarantees to their human rights . This is unacceptable
tell them we need to offer asylum hearings to people legally seeking it who are escaping life threatening situations for them and their children . We have to get more staffing at the border for those who oversee such proceedings because people are not getting the hearings they are entitled to and the back up of migrants has led to a humanitarian crisis at the border that is only going to get worse if we don’t intervene .

Nonprofits struggle to house migrants in San Diego