Mike Koplen drops from Ramapo race?

Good morning Ramapo,

A few minutes ago, someone posted a letter from Mike Koplen on the "Save our Schools" group on facebook which advocates for the students of East Ramapo.  The post suggested that the letter is a concession in disguise, what are your thoughts?

Vote Parietti

"'to rocknet
I have lived in Ramapo for thirty years, having grown up in a poor mill town in south- western Virginia. As a boy in the 1960's, I witnessed the advent of racial integration. In my youngest years, the town was racially segregated, with two high schools and two hospitals, one each for the white and black communities. George Wallace was the most popular politician. Martin Luther King came to town and said the racism there was the worst he had seen anywhere.

When the federal government forced integration my senior year in high school, there was upheaval, race riots, bigots running amok and violence on both sides.

But as bad as all that was, Ramapo seems worse to me today in some ways.

The level of acrimony, suspicion and resentment is beyond anything I have ever experienced in my 60 years. It is "us vs. them" with fear and resentment driving emotion.

And I am afraid it is only going to get worse. Everyone is digging in their heels for the next round once the votes are counted.

Ramapo is in dire need of political leadership. I don't see any leadership emerging. My words here are weak and will not count for much. The Preserve Ramapo crowd has managed to provoke fear in half the town, greatly exacerbating tensions, and ironically assuring by reactive politics that the political leadership they profess to loathe is invigorated and strengthened.

I ran this time because I thought there might be an opening for change. The FBI raid was a unique event; it may or may not lead to anything. It is not a good thing for the town and it is nothing to be happy about, but it happened and it could have changed the political landscape.

My hope for Ramapo is that it finds a way to heal itself. It has severe fiscal issues and severe civic strife. The problems are deep and are building towards a crescendo. They affect all of us. Let's hope the next Supervisor, whoever it is, has the character to roll up his sleeves and start the process of repair and renewal.

Michael A. Koplen' "