On a recent sunny November day, three local residents treated themselves to a walk on Mount Sugarloaf. One is a respected local professional and homeowner, one a business owner. One has lived in our area for more than 30 years, another for more than 15; the third moved here quite recently.
They were walking along, accompanied by a small dog, chatting happily, taking pictures, when an angry woman accosted them, using foul language that I won’t include here. “You don’t belong here!” she shouted. “This is America! Go back to where you came from!” One of those she accosted, who told me, “I could see the hate in her face,” tried to take a video of the confrontation, but when the phone came out, the woman walked rapidly past them, up the road.
Clarification: The three had been chatting happily in Spanish. Although the two who have lived here for years conduct most of their daily lives in English, it can be a pleasure for them to speak their native tongue.
One hundred or so years ago, all four of my grandparents were hopeful young immigrants to Western Massachusetts. As Jews, they too experienced hatefulness in their new home. They too were hardworking, honest, earnest. My parents, born in the 1920s, also heard their share of hate speech.
Friends and neighbors, until recently we could indulge in the thought that those days are past. “It can’t happen here,” we think, not in our sweet little area. But it does, every day. Racism and xenophobia have not gone away. We are not “post-racial.” For a few decades, after the Civil Rights movement of the past century, the hatefulness was partially stuffed underground, but the white nationalist rhetoric emanating from the White House has emboldened many people to act out the racism and xenophobia that they have been suppressing these last few decades.
Friends and neighbors, we have to do better. Right at home, we can start conversations with even our youngest children, in age-appropriate ways of course, about serious topics. It will do them, and you, good. At a systemic level, our schools can do a better job teaching history and civics. They can ensure that all children, from whichever side of the tracks, have the opportunity and tools to learn. Our police and criminal justice systems can do better. Many people don’t vote, they think it won’t make a difference. But isn’t it worth spending a few minutes, just in case it does?
We know that, unless you are Native American/Indigenous, you too are an immigrant. And we can remember that golden rule that we all learned as children, described by Jesus as the “greatest commandment”: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Ready to learn more or take action? Here are a couple of ideas, both right here in Franklin County:
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Greenfield Community College and the Interfaith Council of Franklin County are hosting Come For Supper! A Culture and Community Celebration. See online announcement at https://www.gcc.mass.edu/marketing/2019/11/06/come-for-supper-a-culture-and-community-celebration
The Center for New Americans hosts English classes, job trainings, and other activities to help immigrants find their way in their new homes. They welcome both volunteers and donations. https://cnam.org/
Sharin Alpert, of Shelburne Falls, is a lifelong resident of Western Massachusetts and has lived in Franklin County for almost 40 years.