"In fiction, the principles are given, to find the facts: in history, the facts are given, to find the principles; and the writer who does not explain the phenomena as well as state them performs only one half of his office."
Thomas Babington Macaulay, "History," Edinburgh Review, 1828
Members of the Amherst Select Board have few ceremonial duties, none of them obligatory. Still, I do relish the ones that have both historical and civic meaning. Participating in this commemoration, like those held on Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and the 9-11 anniversary, is among such quasi-obligations that I value most. The others are held in spring or summer weather. This one, by contrast, is the most universal in significance but the least well attended, held on what invariably proves to be one of the most frigid days in December, as we remind ourselves that winter has not even begun. The fact that the event usually takes place after dark, by electric candle light, only adds to the sense that we are doing something important, keeping something very important alive.
"Many of the assumptions about who wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are wrong"
Attendance is also low, however, because, whereas the other dates are established US holidays, this one is not. Few of us know of the Declaration, and even among those who are familiar with it, few are aware of the real story. At best, we "know" that Eleanor Roosevelt had something to do with it. Well, not that much, and she certainly was not the only one. I always refer people to an admirable article by the equally admirable and courageous Gita Sahgal, a founder of the Centre for Secular Space. She reminds us of two crucial points:
(1) "Many of the assumptions about who wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are wrong. The less known story of the men and women who wrote this foundational, emancipatory and anti-colonial document must be told in today's world."
(2) That in turn should serve as a rebuke to those on both right and left who dismiss the notion of human rights as, respectively, a sign of liberal elitist weakness or a reactionary bourgeois affectation, not to mention those who claim an exemption from these universal standards for a particular culture or faith.
Universal Human Rights--and now, more than ever, the rights of immigrants
This year's ceremony was a little bit different. Because the anniversary fell on a weekend, Human Resources and Human Rights Director Deborah Radway and the Human Rights Commission decided to begin in the afternoon and daylight, at 4:00 p.m.
And, given the toxic climate surrounding the recent presidential campaign and the rise of new nativist, anti-immigrant sentiment, the Select Board proclamation of the holiday explicitly reaffirmed the Town's decision (represented by a Town Meeting vote of 2012) to do the utmost to protect the rights of immigrants, including the undocumented, from what was regarded as unnecessary and excessively aggressive government intervention:
Key excerpt:
Then THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Amherst and its officials and employees,
to the extent permissible by law, shall not participate in federal law
enforcement programs relating to immigration enforcement, including but
not limited to, Secure Communities, and cooperative agreements with the
federal government under which town personnel participate in the
enforcement of immigration laws, such as those authorized by Section
287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Should the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts enter into an agreement or Memorandum of Agreement
regarding Secure Communities, the Town of Amherst shall opt out if
legally and practically permissible. To the extent permissible by law,
immigration detainer requests will not be honored by the Amherst Police
Department. Municipal employees of the Town of Amherst, including law
enforcement employees, shall not monitor, stop, detain, question,
interrogate, or search a person for the purpose of determining that
individual’s immigration status. Officers shall not inquire about the
immigration status of any crime victim, witness, or suspect, unless such
information is directly relevant to the investigation, nor shall they
refer such information to federal immigration enforcement authorities
unless that information developed is directly relevant. The use of a
criminal investigation or arrest shall not be used as a basis to
ascertain information about an individual’s immigration status unless
directly relevant to the offenses charged.”
Above: Amherst political notables take part in the reading of the Declaration. At left: Select Board Member Andy Steinberg, State-Representative-elect Solomon Goldstein-Rose, Town Manager Paul Bockelman.
For the record, this is the first time that I (or anyone else, as far as I can tell) can recall a Town Manager taking part in this event: big props to Paul, who doesn't even live here yet on a permanent basis and is still commuting from Somerville.
Human Rights Day in Amherst: the 2015 post, describing the origins of the Declaration, with still and video footage from Amherst commemorations, 2011-2014.
It shouldn't be news, but it is. Controversy over the special additional commemorative flags --for we always commemorate the anniversary of the September 11 attacks--ends as we now fly them annually from utility poles in downtown Amherst.
Tired of this controversy, glad it is over. Maybe I'll write about it, maybe not.
Since we have so many flag controversies here in Amherst, let me make clear that Hampshire College, like other major institutions in town, lowers the flag to half-staff on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
That said, the main commemorative event in recent years actually memorializes something totally different: what the organizers call "the other September 11," namely the coup that toppled the socialist regime of Salvador Allende in Chile on that date in 1971.
The organizers generally issue a disclaimer explaining that the purpose is not to minimize the tragedy of the September 11 attacks of 2001, although the juxtaposition certainly serves to contradict the simplistic notion of an "exceptionalist" United States as unalloyed force for good--and, on 9-11, innocent victim. In any case, on a practical level, the programs serve as a way of getting students interested in Latin American studies as the fall semester begins.
I mention all this because it underscores the fact that a given date is often the occasion for many anniversaries, which one momentous event tends to eclipse.
A few years ago, I posted a list of these other 9-11's, and they include some events that were arguably of equal or greater world-historical significance: from the victory of William Wallace at Stirling Bridge (1297), and the opening of the battle in which the Turks were stopped at the gates of Vienna (1683), to the British victory at Brandywine in the American Revolution (1777) and the American victory at Plattsburgh (Lake Champlain) over the British in the War of 1812 (1814).
Not the least of the many strengths of the National Museum of American History in Washington is that its scale allows it to house and display some immense objects from its collection of some three million items--from the Star Spangled Banner (originally 30 x 42 feet; now 30 x 34) to an entire Ipswich, Massachusetts house.
Another of the largest was just a temporary guest: the great garrison flag that hung from the façade of the Pentagon from September 12 to October 11, 2001. Fittingly, the installation was in Flag Hall, where the Star Spangled Banner was formerly displayed.
It was a striking sight whose power the photo can barely convey, though the visitor's head and top of the Christmas tree at lower right give you some sense of the scale.
It is now back home in storage at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair.
It's hard to recall exactly how I first learned of the "Japanese internment." That is, I know I first learned of it from my parents when I was a schoolchild, but it is the context that escapes me.
On the one hand, my parents told me of Quaker friends in the Twin Cities who had been conscientious objectors and somehow assisted Japanese Americans in that era. On the other hand, my clearest memory is of my parents' conversations with Japanese-American friends in Madison who had been interned, in the Manzanar and Jerome (Arkansas) camps, respectively.
Paul Kusuda, later the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Juvenile Services for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, became one of my father's first colleagues and closest friends when we moved to Madison. Early on, he and his wife Atsuko invited us over to dinner (for some reason, I recall that it was the first time I encountered zucchini). It was a perfect pairing: both husbands worked for State social services, and both wives were librarians--and their son (also named Jim) and I discovered a common interest in hiking, fishing, and the outdoors. In addition, it turned out that Paul and my father had much to share with one another as they compared their experiences of discrimination in the US and Europe during the wartime years.
Especially after retirement, Paul dedicated his time to groups working on behalf of Asian Americans and civil rights, and in particular to the quest for US acknowledgement of the wrongs done by the internment. He served as Chair of the Wisconsin Organization of Asian Americans and at age 92 is still a regular columnist for Asian Wisconzine.
Among the things that impressed me most about Paul were his even temperament, relentlessly calm and thoughtful approach to all aspects of life, and sense of humor (which not only extended to but in fact began with himself). He was the recipient of multiple awards for his activism on behalf of civil rights as well as for his professional work. The citation accompanying his 2006 Dane County Martin Luther King, Jr. Award read:
Mr. Kusuda was in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. Instead of allowing that unfortunate and painful experience to make him bitter, Paul Kusuda has worked hard to heal those wounds by working very hard with the Japanese American Citizens League of Wisconsin and other organizations - - a labor of strength, dedication to the highest ideals of this country, and forgiveness that is consistent with Martin Luther King’s insistence that we must not succumb to the poison of hate.
His utter refusal to become bitter is indeed one of the hallmarks of his character. During his internment and afterward, he was never one of the radicals. As he later explained, as a loyal citizen and believer in the rule of law, he saw it as his duty not to resist the internment order, but to challenge it through peaceful remonstrance and questioning.
Still, his quiet anger at the injustice came through at the time and in his recollections. Fighting poverty in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood, he had managed to start taking college courses in engineering. Ironically, he received his acceptance as a naval ordnance inspector for the San Francisco shipyards at the beginning of December 1941. A week later, it was rescinded without explanation, though none was needed. In February came the notorious Executive Order 9066, but he was certain that, as a loyal American, he would not be rounded up. In April, the family was given a week's notice for relocation to Manzanar. The disappointment was harsh.
We were at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan (Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941). Yet, only persons of
Japanese ancestry were uprooted as a group and forcibly evacuated from the west coasts of California,
Oregon, and Washington. Of the approximately 120,000 persons involved, two-thirds were American citizens, euphemistically called non-aliens. Only persons of Japanese ancestry were summarily, without trial or allegation, removed from the West Coast. Persons of German or Italian ancestry were individually identified, and if determined to be of possible danger to our country, sent to internment camps.
My morale isn’t really low. From now on, I’m not going to trust anyone when it comes to governmental affairs. To think that I got faily [sic] good grades in civics, American History, Political Science, etc., makes me laugh because Ireall [sic] believed in all that I studied. Maybe this darn bitterness will work off – I hope so. Anyway, I’m waiting for something so that I can again cling to to all that America means to me. I guess that at the present time, I’m in the throes of meloncholia [sic] or something. Perhaps that may be changed. Ihope [sic] that it will change for the better soon.
Here is something to think about --- it made me think for quite a bit. A sentry shot a kid of about 17 or 18 for crossing a line when the former soldier on watch gave the youngster permission to cross the sentry line. What kind of a deal is it when even kids are shot for such a minor infraction of rules. Darn it all, I’m really disgusted with it all.
Time and time again, I have argued that America is not a democracy for white people only. Was I wrong? God help us all if I am or was because what a future is in store for everyone in a false democracy!
Angered that the draft classifications of all Japanese Americans had been changed from 1-A to 4-C, he also wrote to President Roosevelt, asking why the Japanese Americans were singled out as untrustworthy, and insisting on the right to be allowed to fight:
Dear Mr. President:
As you know, persons of Japanese parentage have been
evacuated from the western coastal regions of the United States.
Many of us do not know exactly why we were sent out of those
areas, although numerous attempts have been made to justify such
action. However, we are anxious to comply with all the govern-
mental regulations which may be established.
The greater majority of the Japanese people in the
United States are whole-heartedly for ultimate victory of the
Allied Nations, and yet, we are referred to as "Japs." That term
used in scorn is very hateful to us; many of us deem it an insult.
Not many people think enough to call us Americans.
In schools, everyone is taught that in the eyes of the
law, all persons are considered innocent until proven to be guilty.
But, why was it that we were branded as potential spies we were
singled out as threatening democracy, we were and are considered
dangerous? That hurt! What cases of sabotage promoted by us can
be said to justify the up-rooting of our hard-earned way of living?
What can justify the fact that we Americans are not allowed to aid
in the war effort? What can justify the fact that many students
are cut off from education without reason? Is that at all fair?
Try as we may, the reasons cannot be found to answer such questions.
Now, it is too late to undo the harm created by the forced
evacuation, but we want you to realize that we are not saboteurs, we
are not axis [sic] agents, we are not "Japs." But, we are Americans.
Give us a real chance to prove ourselves.
Sincerely yours,
Paual H. Kusuda
B 19-9-2
Manzanar Reception Center
Manzanar, California
Paul Kusuda was lucky in that he spent only a year in the camp. At the beginning of 1943, the government changed its policy and decided to recruit Japanese Americans for the war effort. He was unsuccessful in enlisting, but he was allowed to go to Chicago to study social work, which he had in the meantime chosen over engineering as his future profession. (How he doggedly tried to get into the Army before and after moving to Chicago makes for both sad and humorous reading.)
His continuing faith in the American system has not prevented him from criticizing subsequent government policy--from overreactions in the wake of the 9-11 attacks to the invasion of Iraq--for he saw no contradiction in being as concerned for civil liberties as security. As a profile in the Madison Times put it:
Paul Kusuda is a law-abiding, Made in the USA, U.S. citizen. And Kusuda, a long-time Madison activist and retiree from the WI Division of Corrections, has some grave concerns about parts of the USA Patriot Act. He wonders about the two U.S. citizens who are currently being detained indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay without access to a lawyer or the courts. Theoretically speaking, they could be incarcerated there for the rest of their lives without ever having been charged with or convicted of a crime.
Kusuda wonders and is concerned because he's been there before. Kusuda is one of 120,000 Japanese Americans who were detained during World War II in relocation camps on the desert fringe in California without due process or having been accused of a crime. Kusuda knows how it feels.
Footnote
However I first learned of the internment, I soon read all I could on the subject, which in that day was not a great deal--e.g. America's Concentration Camps, Farewell to Manzanar, and Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps--the topic was not nearly as well known as it is now. To give you a sense of how things have changed: when I was growing up, few children or adults knew about this shameful episode. Today, by contrast, and thankfully, it is so well known that, when I ask students what they first associate with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it is as likely to be the Japanese internment as the New Deal or the US to victory in World War II. An illustration of the mixed blessings of progress, if ever there was one.
A selection of Paul's columns on his life and issues of diversity:
"Congressional Gold Medal awarded to long-time Madisonian": one of the Japanese-American veterans honored in 2011 for his service in World War II. He went from Minidoka to military intelligence (his brothers served in the the 442nd Regimental Combat Team) to studies at MIT (under Mies van der Rohe) and an architectural practice in Madison. (I went to high school with his daughters)
"Patriotism is Not Just a Word": from Manzanar to the present, believing in the American system, opposing the war in Iraq (Part 1; Part 2)
"Are racial minority groups truly accepted in the Midwest?": includes first encounters with African Americans, and how residents of Madison protected the only Japanese-American family (Part 1; Part 2)
Take any given date, and lots of important things are bound to have happened on it since we began recording history.
For most of us in this time and place, September 11 has become synonymous with the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks in the United States.
Fairly or not, it crowds out all the other September 11ths, some of which were quite important in their day and perhaps even remain so in ours. Among those others, I naturally gravitate to the events that helped to shape European and US history, e.g. (culled from WIkipedia's convenient listing for the date):
• 1297: the victory of the Scots, under William Wallace and Andrew Moray, over the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
• 1549: Ottoman forces occupy Buda, following their defeat of the Hungarians and the death of the Hungarian king at the Battle of Mohács
• 1649: the still-controversial bloody end of the Siege of Drogheda, in which Cromwell and the Parliamentarian forces capture the Irish town and execute the defenders
• 1683: beginning of the Battle of Vienna, in which the Turks for the last time threaten the heart of Christian Central Europe. A Polish relief army under Jan Sobieski turns the tide of battle on the 12th
• 1777: Battle of Brandywine in the American Revolution. A large and influential battle of the Revolutionary war: a defeat that leads to the loss of Philadelphia, but the persistence of the Americans in its aftermath boosted their morale and helped to secure vital French support for the rebellion.
• 1989: Hungary allows East Germans who had taken temporary refuge there to leave for West Germany: one of the key practical steps that leads to the Fall of the Wall. It subsequently became clear that the Hungarian politicians were indeed aware of the possible consequences.
1941-2001; 1978
There are some ironies associated with the historical date, in the context of the 2001 attacks. Although it is not often noted, it was on September 11, 1941 that the US government broke ground for the construction of the Pentagon, exactly 60 years before American Airlines Flight 77 hit the building.
On September 12, 2001, recovery workers hung a huge garrison flag from the façade of the Pentagon on the occasion of the visit by President Bush. From September 2002 to September 2006, it was on exhibit in the National Museum of American History, in the same space where the "Star-Spangled Banner" used to be displayed. In September 2006, when the Museum was undergoing renovations, the Pentagon flag was returned to its regular home at the U.S Army Center of Military History.
the Pentagon flag in the National Museum of American History, 2006
And on September 11, 1978, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, and Menachem Begin agreed on the basic framework for the Camp David peace Accords, which they announced a week later, raising unprecedented hopes of regional peace.
1973 and 1814
I'll close with just two more.
On September 11, 1973, elements of the Chilean military, led by General Augusto Pinochet, staged a coup against socialist Salvador Allende, ushering in nearly two decades of brutal right-wing dictatorship. Although the United States government certainly tried to prevent an Allende regime and then to destabilize it, it did not (contrary to some
widely held beliefs) stage or actively participate in the coup.
In Latin American studies, events organized around this so-called "Other 9/11" have become almost de rigueur as a means of focusing attention on their region and the complex legacy of US involvement there, as well as recruiting new students at the start of the fall term. (And at least some faculty, one suspects, appreciate the opportunity to offer critical perspectives about the United States on a date normally devoted to the portrayal of the country as pure and innocent victim.)
Hampshire College faculty have for some years held what they call an "alternative 9/11" event. From the description of this year's program, which included a film and a discussion of political music:
The Other Sept. 11th Remembrance: CHILE 1973
On Sept. 11, 1973 the United States government participated in the overthrow of a democratically elected Chilean government and this coup led to a lengthy dictatorship that committed innumerable human rights abuses. As we mark another anniversary of the Sept. 11th tragedy on U.S. soil, we invite you to consider the significance of this date from a Latin American perspective . . . You will have an opportunity meet students and faculty who have an interest in Latin American studies, Latin@ studies, and Las Américas.
The other "other 9/11" that I have come to think about ever more in recent years dates from the obscure War of 1812, whose bicentennial we now mark (sort of): the unjustly neglected Battle of Plattsburgh, New York, on September 11, 1814.
Having just defeated Napoleon, the British were free to deploy additional forces to the New World. In an attempt to improve their bargaining position in the peace talks at Ghent, they launched new campaigns in New York and the Chesapeake. The naval victory of the outnumbered Americans at Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain, coupled with the successful defense of Baltimore on September 13-14 (made famous by "The Star-Spangled Banner") foiled that plan. They solidified wavering support for the war. Above all, by repelling the British invasions, they guaranteed United States territorial integrity—keeping the northern states and former Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota) under American control—and thus success in the treaty negotiations.
Those two dates—1814 and 1973—in some ways seem to represent polar opposites: a new democracy heroically defends itself against an imperial power interfering in the affairs of another region, only to commit the same sin itself once it has become a power to be reckoned with.
Yet, even in that first case, things prove to be more complicated. Upon closer examination, the War of 1812 starts to look messier, and, well, more "modern" and familiar. To begin with, it is worth remembering that it was long unpopular (Amherst, along with much of the Federalist northeast, opposed it, for example). That was in part because it was as much about domestic as foreign politics; not everyone perceived a mortal threat to the national interest. And even though it originated as a response to British aggression, it began with an ill-considered and bungled invasion of Canada. The Canadians, as we discovered to our surprise, were not particularly keen on being "liberated" by us. In fact, one of the consequences of the war was arguably to solidify a sense of a distinct Canadian identity. And, speaking of Canada, it was the American sack of the capital of York (Toronto)—including the burning of the legislature and the plundering of the town—that prompted the British to attack Washington, burning the Capitol, White House, and other public buildings (unlike the Americans, they left the private ones untouched). Nowadays, we'd call that "blowback."
None of this is to say that the war was entirely unjustified. Yet to say that it could be justified is not to say that it was unavoidable or could not have been conducted in another way. The past isn't always "a foreign country."
The normal venue is the central Fire Station, where our first responders mark the loss of both their brethren and the ordinary citizens who perished on that day.
bell readied for the memorial ceremony
Among those of us associated with local or state government and administration were four members of the Select Board, Town Manager John Musante, State Representative Ellen Story, Planning Director Jonathan Tucker, and Director of Conservation and Development Dave Ziomek, as well as other members of Town staff.
residents assemble prior to the ceremony
Town residents also marked the anniversary in their own way.
One here displayed a flag with the names of 9-11 victims.
After the ceremony, blogger and tireless 9-11 commemoration advocate Larry Kelley stood with his flag at the corner in the center of town and then trudged down the street to the intersection of Routes 9 and 116.
at the Fire Station
An unidentified mourner parked a large construction vehicle adorned with multiple flags in front of Town Hall.
And as always, Amherst Town flags flew at half-staff.
Why do they hate us? (douchebags, turds, socialists, Muslims, libtards, Democrats)
Even though, as the previous post explained and the following one shows, Amherst annually marks the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks by lowering its flags to half-staff and holding a ceremony at the Fire Station, people persist in believing that we ignore the date or even that we never fly the American flag.
Strictly speaking, I suppose, Part 1 already explained why they hate us.
Here the question is, rather: How do they hate us?
Let me count the ways.
Along
with those who simply disagreed with the Town's policy were those who
expressed more hostile feelings. Many emphasized the strength of these
emotions by threatening to boycott the town. (How many of them actually
have shopped here as they claim is anyone's guess. I want to see
receipts.) Many called us names. Some suspected we were trying to
establish Sharia (or the Gulag). Some wanted us to move somewhere else
(whether expressed as a general desire, or with reference to specific
destinations, from just south of the border to the infernal regions). Some wished us bodily harm.
When I arrived at Monday's Select Board meeting, I saw uniformed police officers outside the Town Room and thought I had perhaps missed an earlier ceremony or failed to notice a public-safety topic on the agenda. As I later found out, the police were there for our protection: it was September 10, and we were to hear more public comment on the flag controversy. We never felt unsafe, but that gives you a sense of how high the tensions had risen.
The following is a little selection of the angry talkbacks and emails directed at us.
Impeach, hang, or exile the Prius-driving, weed-smoking hippie terrorist sympathizers
•
Maybe the officials of this town secretly believe that the attacks were
false and actually government created...as I have heard from some
people who also feel the government is poisoning us secretly and moving
towards a new world order
• Only figures from a town
named after a genocidal maniac Amherst who by the way infected local
Indians with small pox to steal their land , keep up the good work.....
•I've
stopped doing any business with anybody connected to or in Amherst . . .
. it's just a typical college town full of people full of themselves. I
love all those Prius, Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus owners trying to
portray themselves as Americans.
• Maybe Northampton
[sic] is taking it's cues from the DNC. The convention is starting with 2
hours of muslim prayers... Our country is going to hell.
•
There is a perversion that patriotism, religious beliefs, marriage
between a man and a women, and respect for life at conception is some
how out of date and unpopular. Maybe in places like the people's
republic of Amherst Massachusetts they are. Please Amherst, secede from
the United States of America.
• Sounds like the town officials are oblivious to the pain of the country. May they should go live in Mexico.
•
Speaking for my ancestors who fought for our country dating back to the
Revolution, I am appalled that a minority of self serving small town
politicians would be allowed to dictate to the masses when our US flag
can fly on the town common. Impeach 'em!!
• Amherst is
one of the most disgusting and unpatriotic cities in the U.S. How can a
city not allow to fly the flag of its own country???? I just don't get
it. The city councilors who banned the flag display should all be put on
trial for treason. And then hanged in the city square in place of the
flag display.
• Remember all those hippies from the 60s
who were smoking weed, dropping acid, and denouncing everything that
had to do with the government? Well guess what? Those same hippies got
old and are now in positions of authority.
• HEY TERRORIST, please target Amherst, I'll supply you with a map.
Amherst: it's just un-American; Hell, it's not even in America
•
This is the SAME community that said, pre 9-11, that the red in the
American flag stood for "all of the blood of the innocent victims of
American terrorism all over the world."
Can we really expect anything different from them?
• Thank God I don't live in Amherst.... It is questionable if it is part of the USA
Love it or leave it, you limp-wristed, spineless,
namby-pamby, anti-American jackwagons, gay, Muslim-loving supporters of fluoridation and taxation
• Why would some one want to live in a
country that offends them? I'm not suggesting we run them out of town.
But, these people who find our flag "offensive" should ponder as to why
they want to be here, and whether or not they would be happier
elsewhere.
• I am so sick of the spineless people in
this country and our government who kowtow to every whiner who shows up
with a gripe..We are Americans and our Flag is a emblem of freedom and
pride--don't like that? Then go some where you do like
• GOOD
GRIEF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA. IF
SOMEBODY FINDS THE FLAG OPPRESSIVE THEN GET THE HECK OUT OF DODGE.
THERE ARE SO MANY STUPID PEOPLE WHO DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE IN THIS
WONDERFUL COUNTRY AND LORD HELP US THEY ARE ELECTED OFFICIALS. MAROULIS
[Chamber of Commerce Director, who actually wrote in favor of flying the
flags but happened to refer to opposing views]
YOU ARE A PUTZ AND DO NOT DESERVE TO CALL YOURSELF AN AMERICAN.
• I suggest any person or community in
America that finds the AMERICAN FLAG polarizing and a brazen symbol of
might and oppression to pick up, pack up, and head to a country with a
flag they find less polarizing and a brazen symbol of might and
oppression. Any communist country should do.
To think hundreds
of thousands of patriotic Americans died so that limp-wristed,
namby-pamby, anti-American jackwagons could occupy space and vote in
this, the best country ever to have been founded. Disgusting!
• It never fails to amaze me how stupid,
ignorant or naive some people can be. You don't want fly old glory, our
country's flag because you are embarrassed by it. Or is it because it
might offend some Islamic residents of what 9/11 really means to real
Americans. 3000 innocent Americans were murdered by Islamic radicals and
you are afraid to respect their loss to our country by displaying the
American flag. If you cannot respect what the American flag represents,
you should move to a country that agrees with your perspective. Some
suggestions: North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China,
Russia as well as half the United Nations who laugh at us and
disrespects what America has contributed to the world.
• This in the all "inclusive" town where the
flag of Puerto Rico was was torn down because it was mistaken for the
state flag of Texas, home of a republican president. I guess that means
you can be included, welcome, and vital to the community as long as you
agree with the view of the few. Well at least Amherst will be spared
Armageddon, as it was voted a nuclear free zone. No mushroom shaped
clouds, or American flags allowed. The sign at the town line should
read, "Welcome to Laughingstockville"
•Every city official who voted for this idiocy should be hit with a petition demanding they resign immediately.
Vote every single one of them out of office at the earliest opportunity
and replace them with true patriots.
• Do you even consider yourselves Americans? Please drive your
stereotypical green Subaru Legacy hippie wagons off a cliff while you
listen to NPR on full blast.
• Bet they still fly the Muslim flag on Ramadan
• No problem flying the gay pride fag...er...flag on any day of the year though
• what a dumb thing to do. There is a small country in northern south
america that wood love to have people like you. So move and let the flag
fly.I served my country and flag, many have given their lives for it. I
will never visit this town and hope others join me.
• The selectman should be removed from their positions for trying to dictate when and where the American Flag can be flown.
• can we just ban amherst from the states already
• What an abomination.....Amherst is a perfect example of everything wrong
with our Nation. Insane property taxes (to pay for all the welfare), a
police state, fluoride in the water and hippiecrities running around
destroying the Flag that represents our Republic. Shame on you town of
Amherst
• Amherst . . . you all should be ashamed to
call yourselves Americans!! This is why our Country is falling apart.
Disrespectful, ignorant, naive people. They don’t fly our Flag but they
do have aPot Fest every year that forces the Police to let people smoke
Pot and do nothing about it.
Something is wrong here.
• Yup and they are always the first in line for welfare and food stamps
with the amount of people that qualify there. Figures they had [hate??] the
government except when they want that free hand out
• Only in the Socialist Republic of Amherst.
• What a bunch of pretentious d-bags.
• What a bunch of self righteous t*rds.
• Go to H3ll, Amherst.
Dear Assholes: You and your communist, Muslim-loving cesspool of liberals make us sick, you ingrateful spawn of elitist hypocrites
Oddly,
perhaps, some of the nastiest comments came not in anonymous newspaper
talkbacks, but in direct, signed letters to the Select Board. We
certainly cannot complain about reticence:
• I
am dismayed by the report that your town does not see fit to honor the
singly significant event and heroes of that infamous day when we were
viciously attacked by radical muslims. I believe that the 'politically
correct' Massachusetts beliefs have brought a disservice to all
involved.
• Any Board Member who votes not to raise the American
flag in memory of 911 should be sent to Siberia. You people are like
that idiot professor. Why do you liberal democrats have to appease a
few? Doesn't the majority rule?
You idiots should be ashamed. I will make it a point to
circumnavigate your cesspool of liberals the next time I need to pass
through.
• Ever wonder why a lot of our kids show little to no
respect for the flag,well, you sure show them the way.Bet you’d be happy
to fly a Muslim flag everyday.Thanks for ruining our country.
• ARE YOU GOING TO LET A COMMUNIST COLLEGE PROFESSOR
RUN YOUR TOWN?????----MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION FOR US AMERICANS-NOT THE
COMMUNISTS---HISTORY LESSON COMMUNISM HAS BEEN TRIED AND FAILED
(SOVIET UNION).
• It is a blatant and outright disrespectful
statement to this country and the men and women who have served in the
past and continue to serve presently. They are the ones that will
protect your pathetic, spineless self when the rubber hits the road
since all you have done is welcome terrorists and illegals into my
country.
I am personally deeply offended and will not support your personal
agendas....
I am ashamed of each of you, the select board as a whole and the town
that you are supposed to be assisting in managing; representing the town
as a whole and making decisions in the best interest of the community
is a sham. I am disappointed that you all fail to do the right thing,
time and time again.
You sicken me.
• I read your explanation on your ideas
of displaying the American flags every five years to commemorate 9-11.
As usual it's a ridiculous left wing argument....
I
think for the most part the people of Massachusetts are very unfriendly
and cynical. We visited there once and couldn't wait to leave, just the
traffic showed us what nasty people were behind the wheels of the cars
racing around cutting each other off.
I will be
forwarding this to help get the word out that picturesque little Amherst
is just another socialist city like Berkeley, Ca.
•
APPARENTLY THERE ARE ENOUGH COMMUNISTS WHO SIT ON YOUR COUNCIL WHO FEEL
THAT THE AMERICAN FLAG IS A SYMBOL OF OPPRESSION.... IF YOUR SITTING
COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE OFFENDED BY THE SIGHT OF THE AMERICAN FLAG THAN
MAYBE THEY SHOULD PACK UP THEIR SHIT AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS
COUNTRY. LET THEM GO LIVE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY SO THEY CAN LEARN FIRST
HAND WHAT OPPRESSION REALLY IS.
• Hi!
I would like to fly the American flag everyday at my home. Will I be arrested and fined? Is this true?
Thanks
•
You are a disgrace to your office. Your entire board is a disgrace to
the blood that has been spilled by those who have defended this country.
Of course we should not be surprised as it is once again Massachusetts
and the crazy loons on the left that are the disgrace of the nation.
•
your town is a DISGRACE to this country. If your little ''Mayberry'' is
that ashamed to fly the American Flag on 9/11, a symbol of hope and
courage to millions of people around the world, then I strongly suggest
you get the hell out of MY country. Leave it to a handful of hillbillies
in the bowels of the northeast to make waves by your disrespectful
actions.
• What country are you clowns from?.....,,You
are appearing as clowns, trying to be politically correct. I’m not sure
you are true Americans, especially in a state founded as one of the
original colonies, you should have a clearer understanding of the
symbols of this country and their meaning. Shame…
• If you don't fly the American flag every September the 11th it proves
you are communists, bent on the destruction of the remembrance of that
horrible day and wanting to undermine the destruction of America.
To even think of not flying the flag on September 11 of each year shows each of you are a communist.
You need to be proud of America, the greatest nation on earth and drop your communist principles.
We live in a republic form of democracy (just in case you were not taught that in school) and not in a commy country!
• Dear Assholes of Amherst, MA:
So
you think the American flag is a "sign of oppression." Having lived
through 9-11 in NYC -- I lived in Manhattan, I think there is nothing
quite like a hijacked boeing burning in the worlds tallest office
building with innocent people dying for not being deemed worthy to live
and in that to be murdered any less painfully, since they were not
Muslim.... Further, you may find that my US dollars to be derived from
the oppressive American government. So I will keep mine, and you commie
bastards can go fuck yourselves. I will further encourage all I know
and meet to also boycott your little wonderland of derision, utter
disrespect and to reject you, your town and ingrateful spawn of you
elitist hypocrites.
As we keep telling ourselves: 82 cents a day. That's what we earn. At times like this, we feel overtaxed as well as underpaid.
Let's just get a couple of misconceptions out of the way. Contrary to what has been reported in the press and widely believed (mainly, though not exclusively outside the borders of our quaint hamlet):
1) Amherst does not refuse to fly the American flag. It flies every day from the pole on the Common in front of our Town Hall, as well as from police and fire stations. Here's a picture from this afternoon.
Of late, we have also restored the small holder for the flags of the United States and the Commonwealth on the face of the Town Hall's west stair tower.
2) Amherst also marks the anniversary of the 9-11 jihadi terrorist attacks every year:
a) by lowering all flags on major public buildings to half-staff. Here's a photo of the Police Station from last year.
b) with a ceremony at the central Fire Station.
Last year, on the tenth anniversary, there was a larger official commemoration, involving police and firefighters as well as Town officials, on the Common.
Tomorrow, we solemnly mark the occasion at the Fire Station, as usual.
Those are the facts, and no one here denies them.
So why all the lies and misconceptions?
Although the local press for some reason basically ignored the 9-11 ceremony last year, every debate and deliberation about just how to mark the anniversary does seem to get covered. These are then sometimes picked up and distorted by the outside media. . . and thereby hangs a tale. For 11 years now, the question of 9-11 and flags has been the ugly scab that everyone likes to pick at.
The ugly scab that is never allowed to heal
Those who follow Amherst politics are all too familiar with the sequence of events, but to recap in brief:
Over a decade ago, the veterans' agent purchased a set of commemorative flags and proposed to fly them from downtown utility poles at the end of the summer, after the last of the holidays normally marked in this manner. Because, under our Town Government Act, the Select Board has control over the public ways (streets, in common parlance), the issue came before that august body one fine September evening.
Public comment turned not just on the question at hand, but also on attitudes toward "the flag" in general. Some residents spoke favorably of the flag. Some made some rather unfortunate remarks about their view of America and what the flag stood for. The Select Board, as was its right, voted against the additional display of flags. What was most unfortunate was that all this just happened to occur on the evening of September 10, 2001. In the coming days, the media were filled with stories not just about the terrorist attacks, but also about Amherst's alleged refusal to fly the flag, as such—this, at a time when flags became ubiquitous symbols of community and social solidarity.
In response to the catastrophe, residents put up the flags themselves. In fact, in October, the Select Board unanimously voted to leave the flags up till Veterans' Day and then return to the existing policy. Thereafter, the display became the subject of debate. (summary of flag policy, 2001-3) Fifth-generation Amherst native (as he describes himself) and blogger Larry Kelley has made commemoration of 9-11—in particular, through the flying of these flags—his cause célèbre. In 2007, Town Meeting voted down, by a margin of more than 2:1, his article proposing that the Town eternally mark the anniversary in this manner. In 2008, the Select Board approved a compromise policy of flying the flags only every third year, reflecting the split Town Meeting vote. Undaunted, Mr. Kelley has kept his promise to bring the issue up year after year.
Fast-forward to 2010 and the present Select Board, none of whose members, it should be stressed, was in office at the time of the 2001 controversy. Some of us were satisfied with the existing policy as a compromise reflecting the town's divided political opinion, some members found it illogical, and some found the raising of additional flags an inappropriate symbol of mourning. In the end, the only motion seconded and passed was one mandating the flying of the additional flags only on "milestone" anniversaries, that is, every five years. When Mr. Kelley again asked us to take up the issue last month, we held a sustained discussion, in the course of which it became clear that there was not enough support for a revision. No motion was made, so the existing policy remained in place.
Ironically, this year's calm and brief conversation, which simply allowed the previous policy to stand and did not even result in a debate or a vote, got much more attention than the policy under discussion when it was voted in.
It's hard to say exactly why this non-event became such big news, but it doesn't take much to start an avalanche of this sort once the snowball is rolling.
Full press court
Some people legitimately disagreed with the policy (as is their right), while others clearly misread the articles or read too much into what they saw, simply projecting all of their poison and prejudices onto Amherst, and its residents, and above all, its government (thanks; you have a nice day, too). Frankly, poor judgment and wording on the part of the press played a role in the debacle.
For example, local reporter Scott Merzbach's typically careful and balanced story in the Hampshire Gazette began with the accurate statement, "The anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be
marked in Amherst with a solemn ceremony at the central fire station and
the lowering of town flags," before turning to the latest deliberation on the additional flags. The equally careful Diane Lederman of the Springfield Republican offered a similarly nuanced piece.
But a casual reader who looked only at the titles of those pieces (usually the creation of the paper or editor, not the reporter)—"Amherst select board rejects September 11 flag display" and "Amherst officials offer perspectives on decision not to fly American flags on 9/11"—might easily leap to the wrong conclusion. And leap mightily many did.
Conor Berry's report in the Springfield Republicangave them a veritable springboard for just such a leap of logic. Taking the "inverted pyramid" model of journalism to its extreme conclusion, it led with the current deliberations (only fair), but left the explanation that Amherst did indeed commemorate 9-11 until the very last sentence. The in principle accurate but in practice entirely misleading headline was like a red flag to a bull (or a right-winger): "Amherst says 'No' to annual downtown flag display to commemorate 9/11 terrorist attacks on America."
It was downhill from there. A turning point was probably Mr. Kelley's interview on Fox News. Although he calmly presented his passionately held views, the interview revived the subject of the rather rancid comments about the American flag from 2001, which have nothing to with the current controversy or the current Select Board, none of whom held office at that time and none of whom holds those views. And the network, which boasts of its "fair and balanced" coverage, fanned the flames of popular anger with the (as Mr. Kelley, to his credit, acknowledged) misleading title, "Town won't fly American flags on 9/11," and equally manipulative subtitle, "Amherst: flags fly only 6 days of the year."
Further distortions followed, including a hopelessly addled piece of what passes for reporting by Anaridis Rodriguez of WWLP-TV. Although she proudly describes herself as a practitioner of "multi-platform journalism," she only managed, in the space of a very few lines, to make multiple errors, for example, claiming that Town Meeting rather than Select Board had crafted the current flag policy, and above all, quoting Mr. Kelley as impugning the patriotism of the Town Manager and Select Board (which he never did). The story has since been taken down and replaced with a cleaned-up version (though it still contains bizarrely irrelevant emphases in its coverage of the 2010 debate). In both cases, again, an inflammatory headline did neither the Town nor the truth a service: "Amherst won't fly flags this 9/11."
So, let's recap. Look at a sample of those headings:
• "Amherst select board rejects September 11 flag display"
• "Amherst says 'No' to annual downtown flag display to commemorate 9/11 terrorist attacks on America"
• "Amherst officials offer perspectives on decision not to fly American flags on 9/11"
• "Town won't fly American flags on 9/11"
• "Amherst: flags fly only 6 days of the year"
• "Amherst won't fly flags this 9/11"
Is it any wonder that people hate us? that so much of the commentary was hostile, even vicious?
To be sure, Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe issued a thorough explanation of the Town policy and moreover responded personally to every complaint or query that we received.
"Never mind!"
Surprisingly, perhaps, some of the outraged epistolarians, upon learning the truth, suddenly became more contrite versions of Gilda Radner's famed "Saturday Night Live" character Emily Litella, who would go off on a total rant based upon a complete misunderstanding, and upon being corrected, simply said: "Never mind." Others continued to disagree with the current policy (as is their right), but admitted that they now understood it better and had been hoodwinked by bad reporting or succumbed to sloppy reading.
For example:
Thank you for your kind attention to my “epistle” of the other day. I want to apologize to you and the Select Board, I very obviously “jumped the gun” on reading a report from a “rabble rouser” . Sadly, there are lots of so-called “journalists” who are taking advantage of our present tumultuous time, in order to sway the public’s opinion (and sell newspapers)
and
OMG!!! Stephanie I am so sorry I wrote that letter to you. Word was that you were not flying the American flag. After some research of which I should have done in the first place I now find that not to be the case.
Yep, same instructions I give to my students: do the careful research and reading in the first place—then tell me your opinion.
Clearly, the town remains divided over the issue of the—how many: 25? 26? 28? 29?—commemorative flags (the press can't even agree on the number). Yet I think almost all of us would agree with Larry Kelley's recent statement:
Now this flying-the-25-commemorative-flags-on-9/11-once-every-five-years
story has taken on a life of its own. And the real loser is the town.
All three institutions of higher learning in Amherst marked the tenth anniversary of 9-11, each in its own way.
The University of Massachusetts observed four moments of silence. Students placed flags on lawns and attended a vigil and interfaith service. Amherst College held an early-morning memorial service (at the hour at which the attacks began) as well as an evening discussion on how the world had changed in the intervening decade.
Hampshire College, as might be expected, marched to a different drummer (figuratively speaking of course. I don't think we are allowed to march: sounds too militaristic. African or Afro-Caribbean drumming is okay, though, In fact, students organized a "salsa parade" as part of their protest against admissions and construction policies last year. But I digress.)
Unlike the other two institutions, it did not (to the best of my knowledge) hold any sort of memorial for the victims. Like Amherst College, however, it sought to make the anniversary an academic and learning experience.
As has by now become the custom here, there was a screening of a film, "The Other Sept. 11," a commemoration of the 1973 coup in Chile, for which many hold the US responsible.
In addition, the Office of Spiritual Life, the Cultural Center, and the Center for Feminisms offered:
"Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire: a critical view of the Administration we elected after 9/11--conservative, reactionary, and dangerous,"
and a screening of
"Saint of 9/11," which "documents the journey of a queer Fire Dept Chaplain- his life, struggles and transformation."
The main event, though, was: "9/11 Plus 10: Islam the Middle East, and the Future of American Foreign Policy," a faculty panel featuring Professors Omar Dahi, Sayres Rudy, and Falguni Sheth, moderated by Professor Michael Klare (Peace and World Security Studies) and introduced by new President Jonathan Lash.
I wish I could have attended the panel, but it was Select Board night. Duty called.
One minor note on the commemorations: I noticed that the American flag at the center of campus was flying at half-staff. This had not been the case in previous years, as in this photo from 2008.
In fact, this year, it was in the lowered position for at least three days, through September 13. Perhaps they were trying to make up for the past three years.
As noted, the official commemorations of the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks were dignified and austere. An interesting contrast (or: complementarity) was created by the nearby presence of the traditional weekly Peace Vigil, a few yards away. Each group marked the day and expressed its values separately and simultaneously, at once close together and far apart.
There was, however, one lone protester, whose aim was more to confront and provoke. Carrying large placards, she paced back and forth behind the speakers in an attempt to capture the audience's attention. The passer-by here was clearly doing all she could to ignore her.
The reverse of the placards, displayed in alternation with these sides, was even more densely covered with writing. Although I was unable to get a photo, I recall that it included a denunciation of President Obama.
Not sure why she thinks removing Gadhafi from power is a bad thing. Spelling was not her strong suit, either.
In any case, the message seems to be that she is angry at people whom she holds responsible for killing, and thinks they should be . . . er . . . killed. Something like that.
Eventually, she walked across the street and just sat down on a bench in front of the bank, still glowering, still desperately hoping that someone was paying attention.
