Lexington C.A.R.E.S.Hate Group Visit
Lexington C.A.R.E.S.In June of 2005, an out-of-state hate group, Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church, came to Lexington as a result of David Parker's actions. The following articles about their visit appeared in the Lexington Minuteman.
We, the undersigned members of the clergy of Lexington, wish to state our deep concerns about recent expressions of intolerance in our community, and our strong commitment to an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance that continues to be the hallmark of this town and its citizens.
Good people may and will disagree. There is divergence among us on a host of issues, theological and social. Yet we are united in our opposition to and deep distress over the expressions of hate and invective that we have witnessed, and some in our community have experienced, in recent weeks.
One incident involved the Day of Silence at Lexington High School. Unfortunately, adult protesters and some students engaged in contentious and even physical encounters. Though we represent a host of very different views about homosexuality and transgender identity, and even disagree about the appropriateness of such an event, we are one in our disdain for and deploration of those who would threaten or harm others over such disagreement.
A group calling itself White Revolution passed through Lexington recently. Whether it was the rain that fell all that day long or the shallowness of both their message and their commitment to spewing their vile screed, their brief stop in Lexington was a non-event. We are especially grateful to the Lexington Police Department for their leadership and careful planning, which ensured that even if they had spent more time in our town, they would have had little impact.
And now, another group from out of town, this time from Topeka, Kansas, is planning to visit Lexington and spout its vitriol. Their rhetoric is breathtaking in its unbounded scurrilousness, and as with White Revolution the best response is to ignore them. It is an embarrassment to us, as representatives of many different faith communities, that this group calls itself a church.
The place of Lexington in our nation's history and so, our nation's consciousness accounts for the tens of thousands of visitors who come here each year. It also contributes to the occasional presence of those who wish to utilize the substantial symbolism of our town as a backdrop to their own particular dramas. They often do not, of course, represent us or our community. Fortunately, ours is a community that reflects the values for which those who fought for American liberty gave their lives: freedom, tolerance, and respect. Let us continue to be proud not only to live in this town, but to embody the principles with which Lexington is properly associated.
Rabbi Stephanie Alexander, Temple Isaiah; Rev. Laurie J. Auffant, Follen Community Church; Narain Bhatia, Hindu Community; Rev. Judy Brain, Pilgrim United Church of Christ; Rev. William Clark, First Parish Unitarian-Universalist; Rev. Arnold Colletti, Sacred Heart Parish; Rev. Lucinda Duncan, Follen Community Church; Rev. Gay Godfrey, Hancock United Church of Christ; Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe, Temple Isaiah; Rabbi David Lerner, Temple Emunah; Rev. Andrew Mahaleres, Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church; Dilip Mathur, Hindu Community; Rev. Dr. Peter H. Meek, Hancock United Church of Christ; Rev. Susan Morrison, Lexington United Methodist Church; Rev. Richard Rhodes, Grace Chapel; Rev. Jed Snyder, Countryside Bible Chapel; The Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Swenson, First Baptist Church; Rev. Bryan Wilkerson, Grace ChapelOn June 4-6, many of our faith communities, our high school's graduation ceremony and one elementary school will be picketed by a small group of vitriolic protesters from Kansas as a result of recent national publicity around Lexington's inclusive schools. This small group of 15 to 20 people travels around the country staging protests that are anti-gay, anti-Semitic and racist, among other things. They hold offensive signs and shout at passers-by, but are said to be scrupulous in not breaking the law. This is the second time in a month that Lexington has had hate groups come to town. We will again be prepared.
The Lexington Police Department and School Department, along with many Lexington-based organizations and individuals, are working together to carefully plan for these events to ensure public safety, minimize disruption to our town and mitigate the potential fear, anger and shock that comes in the wake of such hate.
In the recent past when hate arrived on our doorstep, we urged townspeople not to engage in face-to-face confrontations with these people. We strongly support this approach again for three reasons: you will not win any arguments with these people your presence could present public safety problems for you and others around you, and most importantly, you will be giving the hate group exactly what they want, which is an audience, confrontation and increased media coverage.
Not engaging will be difficult for some of us - the hate group's standard operating procedure to spew invective and crude hateful comments in order to upset passersby and goad them into confrontation. But choosing to not respond on their terms and timeline is actually choosing a powerful response. We support the police and the entire cross section of town organizations and communities that have come together to plan around this "visit" in this call for no-engagement. Please, stay away from the picketers. If you do need to pass them to go to your house of worship or school event, do not talk with them, do not stop to argue, and do not bring signs and try to counter protest. The "visit" will bring hurt, fear and shock to many people in our community. As upsetting as this will be, however, it also provides an opportunity to build bridges of understanding between members of the affected communities, those individuals who are direct targets of the group's hatred, and the rest of our town. Creating our own response as a community will underscore the welcoming culture which currently exists in our town and schools. This culture is not new. It is the product of decades of dialogue among townspeople, civic groups, communities of faith, and town leadership. We will reaffirm our legacy of inclusion and our tradition of public respect and dignity for each member of our community; including our faith communities, public institutions and individuals who live, work, pray, study and respectfully visit within our borders.
The welcoming culture in our town and schools is the product of years of dialogue among townspeople, civic groups, communities of faith, and town leadership. We will not sit by and let hate take root. We will reaffirm our legacy of inclusion and our tradition of public respect and dignity for all us who live in Lexington, our faith communities and our public institutions.
Please, join the No Place For Hate Steering Committee, the Respecting Differences Coalition and all the communities that have been affected at a community meeting Tuesday, June 7, 8 to 9:30 a.m. after the hate group has left, to share ideas and plan our next response as we did with the CommUNITY Gathering held in the wake of the white supremacists who came to town a few weeks ago. Join us as we reaffirm that Lexington is a town which respects differences and has no place for hate.
Jill Smilow is the chairman of the No Place For Hate Steering Committee. Meg Soens is the chairman of the Respecting Differences Coalition.She didn't look or speak differently than any other 17-year-old.
Long, wavy, blonde hair tied back in a pony tail, in jeans and a T-shirt, Rebekah Phelps-Roper is one of the dozen or so members of the Westboro Baptist Church who visited Lexington over the weekend.
The WBC made stops at several Lexington houses of worship and high school graduation in Lowell on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Estabrook Elementary School on Monday morning.
Phelps-Roper's immediate response on the Boston area was a common tone from most visitors to the area.
"People in Boston can't drive," she said, laughing.
Standing outside in the cool of early morning, Phelps-Roper stood her ground outside the Estabrook school with a sign condemning homosexuality, her foot on an upside-down American flag.
"We're going to spread this message as far as we can," she said, indicating with her head to the other signs graphic signs decrying Gay/Straight Alliances in schools and the nation itself. "This whole country is corrupt."
While Phelps-Roper's message was strong and, to many, upsetting, the town did not take the offensive during the several demonstrations, but rather respected the call of non-response from town officials.
"Everyone concluded to do the right thing," said Lt. Detective Joseph O'Leary, who was a key member of the planning process.
The Lexington Police were a visible presence throughout the weekend of demonstrations, including at Lexington High School graduation at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, where they worked in tandem with Lowell authorities.
"We were very pleased with the results," said O'Leary.
At a community meeting on Tuesday morning, O'Leary's expression of relief and happiness at the relatively uneventful weekend was echoed by all parties.
Joni Jay, principal of the Estabrook School, said Monday was a pretty normal day but teachers were prepared with age-appropriate information if students should ask questions. In an effort to limit student exposure to the WBC, Jay sent home a letter to all Estabrook parents last week informing them of the planned protest. School buses entered the school on Monday through a rear access way rather than the main drive on Grove Street where the WBC picketers were located. Jay also said students who were late to school on Monday would not be penalized.
The Estabrook School was picketed by the WBC after the arrest of kindergarten parent David Parker over the teaching of homosexual material in school made national headlines. Parker has stated he does not align himself with the WBC or their belief system.
School Committee member Olga Guttag praised the police in both Lowell and Lexington for making Sunday's afternoon graduation in Lowell a smooth success. "Graduation was what it ought to have been," said Guttag, adding the presence of Lexington officers in Lowell was reassuring for many as there was "a police force who understood our values."
LHS was a target after the students staged a "Day of Silence" in April, designed to make a physical statement about the silencing gay and transgendered people feel in mainstream society.
In Lowell, the WBC members were contained in a free-speech zone across the traffic circle from the Tsongas Arena. Counter protesters from Lowell's No Place For Hate group, Lowell High School and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School held signs welcoming Lexington graduates and families to Lowell and rejecting the WBC, who sang "God hates America" to the tune of the more traditional "God Bless America," by Irving Berlin. At Tuesday night's School Committee meeting, Guttag suggested the School Committee write a letter to the Lowell papers, thanking the police and people of Lowell for a warm reception.
The Interfaith Clergy Association was the only organization to have a planned response to the WBC, creating a team trained in non-violence to act as a shield of "love and kindness," separating the parishioners of the picketed churches from the WBC protesters. The group of approximately 25 held hands and wore white shirts with the name of their community on their backs, which faced the WBC, and stood in silence. "The clergy had a vision of what we could do together," said Meg Soens, a member of the Lexington chapter of No Place For Hate. "It was wonderful to see this community come out."
The WBC picketed at St. Brigid's, a Roman Catholic church on Saturday afternoon and then visited the United Methodist Church, the Hancock Church of Christ, the First Baptist Church, the Church of Our Redeemer Episcopal and St. Brigid's again on Sunday morning, before heading to Brookline High School and then LHS graduation.
Rabbi Howard Jaffe of Temple Isaiah and co-chairman of the Interfaith Clergy Association said the silent demonstration is proof of "what the clergy can do together." He added that while the different faith communities may have separate views on homosexuality, all were united in acting positively against the hateful messages of the WBC.
"The events were unwanted but led us to a better place," he said.
With the WBC now gone from the community, leaders took time on Tuesday morning to try and address what the next steps inn Lexington should be.
"This is a very important moment for us in the community," said Jill Smilow of Lexington's NPFH.
The group toyed with ideas surrounding planting a tree which flowers in late spring to always serve as a reminder to the community of the issues overcome.
"I like the idea of planting something and five years from now ... we can say 'I remember that,'" said Guttag, adding the tree would be "something the community needs."
Community members also urged the Historical Society to enter the weekend events into the town archives so as not to forget Smilow discussed how NPFH with the LexingtonREADS program have selected "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri which profiles the immigrant experience as the fall book selection with the hope of bringing the community together through potluck dinners and a name quilt which celebrates diversity.
Brain said the Interfaith Clergy Association has partnered with a Buddhist organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to raise funds to rebuild houses destroyed by the Dec. 26,2004, tsunami. Brain said each faith community will raise $1,200 for a home with the community at large looking to raise $4,000 for a community center.
But not all issues have passed.
Jay commented that students use the word "gay" as an insult between each other without fully understanding the implications of the word.
"We still have issues in our own town and with our own children," she said. "We should direct the energy in town in how we interact with each other and how we teach our kids to interact with each other."
Guttag said kids often pick up and interpret conversations from home and more emphasis must be placed on civil discourse on every level.
O'Leary reminded the group of the most important element to any town, the network of community and neighborlyness.
"Before we decide to fix the problems, let's get to know each other," he said.