Sunday, January 15, 2006
Letter to the Editor...
.... of the Bristol ,Tennessee paper, January, 2006:
Dear Community:
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, so in my blood runs pride of place for the South.
When my husband and were asked to be part of the Barter Theatre Acting Company , the thrill of such a committment kept us in Abingdon for almost 4 years, and in my capacity as Associate Artistic Director there, I learned respect and love for the people of your region. Part of my heart is there still and always will be.
So, when we heard of the hate crime perpetrated in the lawn of our fiends in Bristol. a chill ran through me as I realized such a thing - such a horrible thing- coul dhappen in a place I call my own.
Make no mistake: the 3 boys who burned that Menorah flag on the Lnd's lawn may have been filled with glee and pride as they lit the match (and bragged about it to their friends) but what they were really filled with was hate, pure and unfortunately simple. The sort of hate learned from early on. A homegrown sort of hate.
To cloak this hideous crime behind any other label is to give lie to the fact that something evil is running in the blood of the community and unless appropriate and vigilant actioon is taken, the community will forever be weakened and unable to move forward.
THe jewish Community in the area must be brave and face facts: anti-semitism is alive and well in Bristol. The Christian COmmunity must make its ethic real: erdaticate whatever hate may be brewing for the "other" in your midst by educating your children with proper notions of love, fellowship and true respect for all who are unlike them.
The world is wide. Those 3 misguided boys who burned that flag just made Bristol a narrower place. HATE CRIMES MUST BE SEEN FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND NOT TOLERATED. Like the corporal illness it it, cure the hate with education, enlightenment and , yes, prayer: pray that such a thing never happen again.
Respectfully,
Evalyn Baron
Dear Community:
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, so in my blood runs pride of place for the South.
When my husband and were asked to be part of the Barter Theatre Acting Company , the thrill of such a committment kept us in Abingdon for almost 4 years, and in my capacity as Associate Artistic Director there, I learned respect and love for the people of your region. Part of my heart is there still and always will be.
So, when we heard of the hate crime perpetrated in the lawn of our fiends in Bristol. a chill ran through me as I realized such a thing - such a horrible thing- coul dhappen in a place I call my own.
Make no mistake: the 3 boys who burned that Menorah flag on the Lnd's lawn may have been filled with glee and pride as they lit the match (and bragged about it to their friends) but what they were really filled with was hate, pure and unfortunately simple. The sort of hate learned from early on. A homegrown sort of hate.
To cloak this hideous crime behind any other label is to give lie to the fact that something evil is running in the blood of the community and unless appropriate and vigilant actioon is taken, the community will forever be weakened and unable to move forward.
THe jewish Community in the area must be brave and face facts: anti-semitism is alive and well in Bristol. The Christian COmmunity must make its ethic real: erdaticate whatever hate may be brewing for the "other" in your midst by educating your children with proper notions of love, fellowship and true respect for all who are unlike them.
The world is wide. Those 3 misguided boys who burned that flag just made Bristol a narrower place. HATE CRIMES MUST BE SEEN FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND NOT TOLERATED. Like the corporal illness it it, cure the hate with education, enlightenment and , yes, prayer: pray that such a thing never happen again.
Respectfully,
Evalyn Baron
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