protests – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Protest in Commack drawing criticism

David Posnett — Sun, 31 May 2020 20:29:29 +0000

The behavior of a few unruly demonstrators at the recent Commack protest was shameful [“Trump cheers LI protesters,” News, May 17]. If these few were, say, 4% of the
demonstrators, the other 96% could have and should have shouted them down. That
small group was aggressive, inconsiderate of others, and shameful. They think guns
and shouting and flags and MAGA hats combine to show they are correct. Where were the others with similar opinions who could discredit the shameful actions of those few? Why aren’t President Donald Trump and Fox News condemning what those few did? I hope other readers will react the same way, and I hope Newsday publishes their condemnation of those few.
Jan Huml, Bohemia

Friends from out of state were calling me and asking what’s wrong with the people here who harassed a TV reporter at a rally in Commack. I’m embarrassed by the sheer ignorance and arrogance of these people who don’t care about the coronavirus or who dies from it. Salons, gyms and nonessential business closings were the only thing that kept this virus from even more tragic consequences. These screaming people need to get a clue. As for me, I don’t care if you’re not smart enough to do the right thing. Go catch
the virus but keep it in your own circle. You shouldn’t be allowed to spread it to those
of us who abide by the state mandates.
Carol Galati, Ridge

We read how President Donald Trump worked his magic and people who had apologized for their appalling behavior were suddenly not at all sorry. That’s the president’s special sauce -— bring out the worst in people. On May 15, Trump tweeted, “Fake news is not essential,” with a video retweet of the ‘Setauket Patriots’ protest. The next day, he
tweeted that the TV reporter was an “enemy of the people.” Although the group had
apologized two days before, blaming a “few idiots” and “outsiders unaffiliated with the group” for harassing him, once they got the presidential nod, they reverted back to form, tweeting, “Thank You President Trump.” In November, it’s up to us to send Trump and his enablers packing.
Carol Deistler, Springs

The protesters who want to rush into opening Long Island with no precautions are like Typhoid Mary, who argued she should be free to live her life even if she infected others because she wasn’t sick herself [“We’re all Typhoid Mary now,” News, May 17]. We all want to resume a normal life, but most of us want to proceed with caution to lower the risk for the vulnerable. You can’t do that if you have a herd of people who don’t care if they are infected or if they infect others. Some, egged on by the Rush Limbaughs of the world, think it is no big deal if we cull the herd of the elderly, the sick and the poor. I am
most appalled by those protesters who call themselves Christians. Jesus did not tell his followers to turn their backs on the vulnerable. It is the exact opposite of what he said.
Bill Bence, East Meadow

Newsday’s editorial about the protesters who harassed that News 12 reporter got me
angry all over again [“Protesters behaving badly,” May 19]. To me, this small band of
haters in no way represents the larger majority of Long Islanders, and yet we now
seem to be singled out by President Donald Trump as being his supporters. I’m even
more upset by my local Republican representatives who now choose to just stand by
and do nothing to admonish the president or the protesters for their actions. I need to
remind them that we, the voting public, have very long memories and come November
will hold them accountable for their actions. I was and had been a conservative
Republican for 50 years — but not anymore.
Frank Socci, West Babylon

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in “Trump cheers LI protesters” [News,
May 17], responding to the president’s tweets, that he did not want “to get into any
kind of back and forth on what the president may be saying.” We understand Bellone’s
position as a politician in a county hard hit by COVID-19. President Donald Trump’s remarks aren’t overtly subversive, but I see them that way. He is really calling those who harassed News 12 Long Island reporter Kevin Vesey “great people,” showing Trump supports a fanatical base, the more fanatical the better. When he tweets, “Fake news is not essential,” he shows he understands the power of a free press and will actively undermine it at every turn. We must conclude that his concept of governing is antithetical to our representative, democratic ideals. I have only one question: President Trump, have you read the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to peaceably assemble — and a free press? It’s only 45 words, Mr. President, and it’s a good read.
Katherine Curcio-Payne, Seaford

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

Zeldin’s Anti-Vaxxer Donor

David Posnett — Mon, 11 May 2020 20:40:05 +0000

Zeldin’s Anti-Vaxxer Donor Joins Reopen Protests, Opposes Any Future COVID-19 Vaccine

Does Lee Zeldin agree with risking New Yorkers lives?

As Governor Cuomo prepares a statewide plan to reopen safely, Lee Zeldin donor and staunch anti-vaccine advocate Rita Palma joined calls to press Governor Cuomo to end the state’s stay-at-home order early. This comes as COVID continues to ravage New York and especially Long Island where the death toll now exceeds 3,000 with over 70,000 positive cases and rising.

Zeldin’s donor not only attended the dangerous, unpopular protests, but she expressed her total opposition to any future COVID-19 vaccine. In a recent feature, the New York Times pointed out that Palma’s anti-public health rhetoric “could further harm the country’s response to the pandemic.”

Zeldin received $2,000 in contributions from Palma last year alone. And it’s clear why: Zeldin voted against supporting efforts to fight vaccine misinformation last year. And he has not disowned the anti-vaccination movement nor the protests to reopen the state against the advice of health experts.

“While Long Islanders grapple with the ongoing public health and economic crisis, Lee Zeldin’s donor was busy ignoring social distancing guidelines and encouraging New Yorkers to take dangerous public health risks,” said DCCC Spokesperson Christine Bennett. “Given the Congressman’s vote against fighting vaccine misinformation, constituents deserve to know where Zeldin stands on risking New Yorkers lives.”

For Immediate Release: May 11, 2020. Christine Bennett.

See previous posts on anti-vaxxers:

https://resistancesuffolk.blog/2020/01/05/anti-science-movements/

https://resistancesuffolk.blog/2020/01/18/debunking-anti-vaxxers/

Remove Lee Zeldin from the US Holocaust Memorial Council

David Posnett — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 07:38:32 +0000

Charlottesville protests

August 17, 2017

We are writing to publicly demand the removal of Congressman Lee Zeldin from the US Holocaust Memorial Council (USHMC) in Washington, D.C.. As a member of the USHMC, as a steward of our collective memory of atrocity, Lee Zeldin has a responsibility to work towards ensuring that identity-based hatred has no place in our society.

Lee Zeldin is failing in this primary responsibility. His official, tepid statement¹ about the hate rally this weekend in Charlottesville is unacceptable in its failure to call out Nazi and white nationalist movements as the cause of the violence. Instead, he effectively put Nazis and those opposing Nazis on equal footing, calling them both “ extremes that try to tear us all apart.” Most recently, Rep Zeldin has come out to support Trump’s defense of the white supremacist mob². While elected officials from both parties reacted immediately to condemn the president’s false equivalency as logically and morally reprehensible, as dangerous for our country, and a threat to democracy, Rep Zeldin placed himself on the wrong side of history. In Zeldin’s willingness to spread blame across white supremacist groups and those who oppose them, he gives outright license to the white supremacist cause and actions.

The Nazis are hearing these messages loud and clear. David Duke praised the president’s reaction. Neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer said: “Trump comments were good… He said he loves us all. Also refused to answer a question about white nationalists supporting him. No condemnation at all. When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him.”

Americans all over the country are relying on our leaders to name and condemn identity-based hate immediately and in no uncertain terms. We are relying as well on institutions like the US Holocaust Memorial to uphold its mission to remind us of what happens to a democratic country when hate is used as the fastest route to power. It is unacceptable to condone—implicitly, through silence, omission, inaction, delayed action, or false equivalencies—acts of hate, while sitting on a board committed to protecting against them. Representative Zeldin should be removed from the US Holocaust Memorial Council until he acts with the integrity that the office demands by

1) demanding that Trump disavow Neo-Nazis, skinheads, the KKK, white nationalism, and fire White House staff who are allies to the alt-right,

2) demanding funding to fight white nationalism,

3) defunding Trump’s anti-immigrant budget proposals, and

4) protecting our immigrant friends and neighbors from deportation.

¹ https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-statement-condemning-violence-charlottesville-va

² https://www.facebook.com/RepLeeZeldin/posts/816798751822244

Please sign the following petition: https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/remove-congressman-lee?source=c.em&r_by=18002441

Mara Gerstein, Show Up Long Island

Amy Turner, Zeldin Watch (PEER NYPAN)

Eileen M. Duffy, Let’s Visit Lee Zeldin

David Posnett MD, Resist and Replace

Chris Cangeleri, Organize, Plan, Act

Shoshana Hershkowitz, Suffolk Progressives

Julia Z. Fenster, ATLI, Action Together Long Island

Vincent Geary, Indivisible Patriots of Long Island

Susan Perretti, NCPG, North Country Peace Group

Rebecca Dolber, EEAN, East End Action Network