615 words
There Comes a Time
In these days of retribution and the assignment of individuals and populations to a list of enemies to be removed or punished, where fear of that retribution has impacted the decisions of the very pillars of our society, Oneonta has not lost its way. Not the people, and not its government.
We know who we are. And we are a community that celebrates its diversity. A community that reaches down and helps pull up those neighbors who would be marginalized and for whom there is decreasing support from Washington.
We are not homogenous, and we are not a ‘50’s country club vision of entitlement. We are not all white, straight, male. We are not all comfortable.
Oneonta is and continues to be a place where you will find the unquestioned support of neighbor for neighbor. The challenges of that relief are sometimes daunting but never dissuading.
In the face of an increasingly compromised VA, more than two hundred local veterans were shown the full measure of our community’s support this past Saturday at the Armory. Dozens of businesses and agencies and literally hundreds of volunteers and funders joined forces to assist those who’ve sacrificed years and often their health to military service.
Boots, blankets, coats, backpacks, and food will help sustain our unsheltered veterans through the long process of application and the securing of supportive services. And those veterans who’ve been able to navigate life more successfully but still hamstrung by red-tape and government labyrinth were given much-appreciated help, and reason to hope.
Too many members of our community are now routinely on high alert for fear of being arbitrarily stopped, their citizenship questioned, potentially stripped of their rights to due process, and “disappeared.” But in the community, voices have risen, and accountability to our constitution is being demanded.
Representatives of the Otsego Refugee Resettlement Coalition (which numbers over one hundred members) presented these concerns to the Oneonta Community Police Board on Monday, and although this column was submitted earlier that afternoon, I can report with confidence that our city’s police department is committed as a priority to the rights of its citizens. In Oneonta we are bound by oath to the constitution, and even as it may buck the national expectations we will always respect and facilitate its due process.
This past weekend, Oneonta’s reimagined Muller Plaza hosted a festival celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and the heart of our downtown beat loud and strong to a Latin rhythm. What a wonderful energy! The experience of Main Street was again enriched by the diversity of our population.
In Oneonta, we know who we are, and we embrace and celebrate our diversity. We strive for equity and inclusion because we are also Americans, and a perverted notion of what that means will not describe us.
Like many of you, I have friends who are quietly exploring options that would take them out of the country to preserve the legality of their marriages. The scenario seems unbelievable, but in this rollback of respect for the rights of our fellow citizens, it is far too likely.
Oneonta, I am proud to say, has never been more supportive of our LGBTQ+ neighbors but it’s likely that resolve will be tested in the days ahead.
The assaults keep coming. On our civil rights. On journalism and free speech. On education. On our history and our shared understanding of who we are, what we have overcome, and what we stand for.
On October 18th our community will join hundreds of others in rallies across the United States to say, “No.” This is not who we are.
Not as Americans, and not as Oneontans. I hope to see you there. https://www.nokings.org/
