What Charlottesville Means to Me

Dear Friends and Neighbors in Needham, Dover and Medfield,

I am writing to you because I want you to know what is in my head, heart and actions in this most difficult time.

I have always wanted to believe in the inherent good in people, but this past weekend, when I saw individuals bearing torches, dressed in KKK regalia, carrying white supremacist shields, flanked by individuals equipped with long guns and a car driven by a person with the goal of mayhem and murder in the streets of my country, I knew that I was witnessing evil.

It is an evil that sabotages the values of my country, that harms my community, and that causes pain in my family and in me.

I am anguishing over the many emotions I feel: anger, anxiety, confusion and outrage.

I am struggling to find the ways that I can fight this evil because I cannot and will not accept it. I believe in the truth of the words of Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (people) to do nothing."

I want to ensure that you know there is no ambiguity in my reaction to recent events or in my sense of responsibility as an elected individual to be committed to do what I can, and feel I must, to fight this evil.

As your State Representative, this morning, I joined with Speaker DeLeo, Senate President Rosenberg and Governor Baker by signing and bearing witness to the resolution that follows below which will be delivered to the Mayor of Charlottesville, the Governor of Virginia, and the President of the United States.

As a member of our community, I am dedicated and re-dedicate myself to the work of concerned individuals and groups including the Needham Diversity Initiative, the Human Rights Committee, the Interfaith Clergy and the Human Rights statement of the Board of Selectmen, and I will promote and support the Human Rights Speakers Series in Needham this fall.

In my personal relationships, I will strive to more deeply understand the pain and harmful impacts of hatred on individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. I will stand in solidarity and support with them. I will engage anyone who explicitly or implicitly acts as if any person is not deserving of respect.

I will hold my anguish and not dismiss it for a more comfortable feeling.

I will hold my family, my community, and my country in love.

Text of resolution and proclamation:

ADDRESSING NEO-NAZI AND WHITE NATIONALIST HATE ORGANIZATIONS

WHEREAS, white nationalist organizations in our country have consistently promoted values that are overtly racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant, and these poisonous ideologies continue to promote hatred, bigotry, and violence specifically against individuals solely onthe basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and immigration status; and

WHEREAS, today, white nationalism and neo-Nazism remain very real threats to the values for which the Commonwealth stands, and their reinvention as the “Alt-Right,” should not mitigate their hateful ideologies; and

WHEREAS, while free speech is a bedrock value for the citizens in our Commonwealth and Country, white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups promote a message that is the antithesis of Massachusetts’ dedication to civil rights for all, and is in irreconcilable conflict with our foundational principles of liberty and justice for all; and

WHEREAS, white nationalism and neo-Nazism are continuing to grow as menaces to societal order as they seek to reignite social animosities, reverse improvements in race relations, divide the nation, and foment hatred, classism, and ethnic eradication; and

WHEREAS, the white nationalist and neo-Nazi message of racial and social intolerance has led to senseless acts of violence that continue to terrorize members of ethnic and religious communities; Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that we strongly denounce and oppose the totalitarian impulses, violence, xenophobic biases, and bigoted ideologies that are promoted by white nationalists and neo-Nazis; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we urge law enforcement agencies and elected officials at every level of government to condemn white nationalist and neo-Nazi ideology, to vigorously pursue justice in response to hate-fueled violence and work to ensure the protection of the marginalized and targeted communities.

RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of Charlottesville, Governor of Virginia and President of the United States.