Beacon Concordance on Combating the Politics of Hate
By Michael Boyajian
“What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding.” — Written by Nick Lowe and as performed by Elvis Costello
A group of elected officials, candidates, community leaders and concerned citizens gathered on the shores of the Hudson River at the BEAHIVE in Beacon, NY on August 25 to discuss how to combat the politics of hate and the inducement of fear. What came immediately to mind was the film Contact where the Jodie Foster character is told we begin with little steps that is how it has always been done.
And that is what the group in Beacon did. They took the first step towards ending this national disgrace we call hatred. But before we get to the concordance let us discuss events as they unfolded at the forum. First there were about 35 attendees among them were:
Dutchess County Minority Leader Sandy Goldberg
Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner
Senate Candidate Didi Barrett
Assembly Candidate Alyssa Kogon
Gwendolyn O. Davis of the Southern Dutchess NAACP
Anesta R. Vannoy-Kwame of the Tobijah Multifaith Center
Tracy Givens of the ACLU
Marilynn Vetrano of the Dutchess County Human Rights Commission
Elisa Sumner chairwoman of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee
Ozzy Albra chairman of the Fishkill Democratic Committee
Dr. David Eberle of the Beacon Sloop Club
Nancy Keenan-Rich of the Sierra Club
And hosts Michael Boyajian and Jeri Wagner. The press was represented by Mid Hudson News.
The forum opened with an unavoidable talk about the lower Manhattan Islamic Cultural Center and how the flames of hatred had been fanned to such a degree that an upstate white man violently stabbed a Muslim New York City cab driver the day before the forum. This is what the group came to end. The use of fear to breed hatred and even violence.
Joel Tyner talked about fear of immigrants but pointed out that they put more into the system than they take away, that Social Security is solvent because of their contributions and that crime is no higher among immigrants then the general population.
Didi Barrett gave a passionate plea for understanding marriage equality and intolerance in general. She said last year’s senate debacle over marriage equality taught us one thing and that was who stood against the measure.
Alyssa Kogon spoke on women’s rights and how there is hatred here that leads to domestic abuse. As she made her way back to her seat someone shouted out that we will not be satisfied until there is a 5-4 majority on the Supreme Court of women over men which was met with cheers.
Gwendolyn O. Davis talked about how she was called the N word during a childhood visit to the suburbs. Even after she returned home and talked to her father she could not understand why she had been called the N word.
Someone then pointed out that the bad economy was making people angry and maybe that is why they are so mad about the lower Manhattan Islamic Cultural Center even though a mosque has been in that area since the 1980s.
Marilynn Vetrano told how the county may be closing the Human Rights Commission leaving intolerance to go unchecked throughout the community. Sandy Goldberg responded by urging everyone to reach out the county legislators, both Democrat and Republican, when the budget comes out in October in order to save the Commission.
Dr. Eberle used advanced sociological analytical systems to explain the hate factor. He also asked how anyone could stand up and say anything other than I am against hate.
Nancy Keenan-Rich reported that they were having a book circle this winter in Poughkeepsie to discuss a new book that talks about how whites came to feel so superior to everyone else.
Then Anesta R. Vannoy-Kwame stood up and exclaimed enough with the talk when are we going to come up with an action plan. And suggestions poured in from the participants as Tracy Givens said if you do something on King Day or during Black History Month make it something to do with volunteerism and then Elisa Sumner shot out a lightning bolt of an idea suggesting that the group organize a diversity day on a future date to which the crowd responded with great enthusiasm with some calling out to take it to our schools to our children.
If small groups like this begin organizing around the country then a groundswell will rise up and swallow this demon we call hatred in America. But it all begins with little steps.
In the end Joel Tyner moved the crowd by reporting that an investor had been found who seemed ready to launch a progressive newspaper in the region that will give people like those gathered here a voice, a pipeline to the public. Those who walked into the forum carried with them great anxieties but they left full of optimism about the future thanks to their concordance. It was not a conclusion but a call to Carry On!
End