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September 5, 2007
Ignorance is Not Bliss... It's Dangerous
This past weekend, there was anti-semitic graffiti and vandalism in our area -- two incidents in Roslyn, two in Manhasset (at the same location) and one in Munsey Park.
In this post-9/11 world, when it is so difficult to convey an atmosphere of safety to our children, how do we even begin to explain what happened in our neighborhood last weekend? How is it possible that in 2007, living in an educated, intellectual, upper middle class, North Shore neighborhood that these types of incidents occur? Don't we know better? Don't we educate our children to know better? Scarily, no.
I had to explain to my own children that there are people right here in our own neighborhoods who hold these very ignorant beliefs. They belong to a white supremacist group that is worldwide. The group is called the National Alliance, and they "dehumanize both blacks and Jews, depicting them as threats to "Aryan culture" and "racial purity." What??!! And, not only do they maintain these beliefs, but they feel free to act upon them in a violent and destructive manner. This is not what we want to teach our children.
The good news is that the community jumped right on it, and the vandals were caught the very next day. And, everyone is taking the charges very seriously. Hopefully, parents are talking to their children, and the schools and religious institutions are doing their part to insure that our values are in the right place.
Here's the scary part... "Moreover, the NA [National Alliance] does not appear to be siphoning members from these declining groups but actually recruiting a fresh cast of educated, middle-class bigots and young, alienated racists." So, they're targeting our children and young adults. What can we do to protect them?
Let's begin the school year by redoubling our efforts at being kind and respectful of and to one another, and by talking to and educating our children.
Posted by Michele at September 5, 2007 9:51 AM
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