This is the picture of ethnic hatred in America:
A young white man in a hooded sweatshirt, sneaks up to a
small neighborhood store in the dead of night and spray-paints an obscenity and
racist message on it. When cars approach, he darts behind a shed to hide, then
runs back out to spray more words. Back to the shed.Back to the store. And then he scurries away.
Anonymous, hurtful hatred.Captured by a surveillance video camera.
This particular eruption of pestilence took place in the
Neighborhood of the Arts, home of this publication, three museums, a public
school, a theater, numerous galleries and studios, restaurants, apartments…. It
is a lively, welcoming place, where architects and auto repair specialists,
weavers and stylists, bakers and photographers, movers and actors and writers
work, where a craft brewery is putting down roots and a wonderful variety of
people live: young, old, affluent, low-income.
The urban, eclectic nature of our little piece of Rochester
is fostering tremendous growth. It is a great neighborhood, and it makes me
happy just to wander up and down its streets. And in the dark of night one
night last week, somebody lashed out at one of our neighbors, hurting him, and
shocking us all.
I can’t get the image of this young man out of my mind. And
I can’t help but think that he lives in the neighborhood. How else would he
even know the Corner Store exists, let alone that it’s run by men with Arab
names?
I wish I knew who this spray painter is, and why he did what
he did. Why he hates people he thinks are different from him. I’d love to know
where this hatred came from.
And I’d love to know what any of us could do to change his
mind.
Because this young man, spray-painting his hatred in our
neighborhood in the dark of night, scurrying away when he was satisfied with
what he had done, represents a part of this region and a part of this country
that we need to come to grips with. And I’m not sure we know how to do that.
We have two major efforts under way right now to address the
problem of ethnic hatred: The D&C’s Unite Rochester and the YWCA’s Stand Against Racism. Both are important,
educating us and encouraging us to try to reduce distrust and prejudice. But
how do we reach someone like the young man who sprayed hate onto the wall of
the Corner Store?
Some of us may be tempted to say that the attack on the Corner
Store is inspired by the vitriol Donald Trump is voicing in his campaign. But
this kind of hatred existed long before Donald Trump. It’s not a Republican
thing. It’s part of the American fabric – and the French fabric, the Norwegian
fabric, the African fabric. Tragically, it’s human nature.
Weirdly, as I was writing this on Saturday, my residential
neighborhood – a few blocks away from the Corner Store – was awash in young
white people wearing green, partying to celebrate… the Irish! Who not that many years ago were themselves the object of vicious
hatred.
We’ve put that behind us, I guess (at least enough to
celebrate this part of our melting pot one day a year). Maybe some day we’ll overcome the racism that continues to
thrive, in Rochester and around the country. But we have a really, really long
way to go.
You would think that by now, this nation of immigrants and
native people would be celebrating our diversity, not fearing it, and making
sure that everyone in the country is able to take advantage of the enormous
foundation our forebears created.
But as we saw in the Neighborhood of the Arts last week, and
as we’re seeing in the presidential campaign, many Americans want us to be a
nation populated only by white Western European immigrants’ descendants. And a
man who could very well become president is now their spokesman.
Rochester police ask that anyone with information on the suspect’s identity call 911 or Crimestoppers, (585) 423-9300.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2016.
First, let me condemn these hateful actions. As for the Irish, Italians, Polish and all the others who immigrated to this country in the past, there is a huge difference compared to today. Those people wanted to be Americans. They didn’t come over here, first, illegally, and then try to force their views on the people already here. There was no dial 1 for English. Hopefully I’m wrong, but the people settling here now seem to want to impose THEIR way of life, and force US to change. I’m all for the culture that diversity brings, but I’d prefer they integrate into our way of life and share their culture with us through authentic shops and restaurants and let American be the free nation it was intended to be.
And don’t forget. We have a president who promised to “fundamentally change” America. Still don’t understand the reasoning behind not just moving to a country you do like.
Interesting: Some readers think they know something about the immigration or citizenship status of the owners of the Corner Store, when in fact, they know nothing. I wonder why some people imagine that they know something when they actually do not.
That’s right, Johnny, this hateful incident at the Corner Store is Obama’s fault. Typical right-wing destructo.
I don’t believe there is much to analyze here. This has nothing to do with immigration, nor the current administration, not the president, etc. It is simply a case of a punk with a paint can thinking he is an intellectual. I believe this to be an isolated incident. Unfortunately it made the news. It should have been wiped clean upon first sight.
Don’t let this one ugly incident detract from one of our best neighborhoods in Rochester, truly a great place to live and hang out; a fine definition of “neighborly neighbors” and has been for generations – and only getting better!
At this point I may recommend that the picture be removed from the article. Lets not give this numbskull any more notoriety than he has already soaked up. I truly hate this kind of cowardly “art work”. Get a real job.
I can’t assume to know the depth of this guy’s ethnic and nationalistic hatred. Maybe a run-in with a store employee sparked a desire for retribution. Perhaps ruminating over some of the racist comments from Donald Trump caused this young man to commit this hateful act. Maybe he was primarily interested in an adrenaline rush. Who knows?
I like how Mary Anna Towler feels the need to insert “young WHITE people wearing green…” I was in attendance at St. Patty’s day parade and I mingled and visually noticed a crowd with strong diversity. Please refrain from inciting that only young white people drink and enjoy the festivities on parade day.
I find it curious that there was another attack on an immigrant, this time a violent physical attack, on a Nepalese refugee, and that City has not mentioned this. (At least I haven’t seen it covered.) Is it that the victim wasn’t a Muslim, or because the perpetrator wasn’t white, or some other reason? A violent physical attack certainly seems at least as significant as spray painting words on a wall, despite how disgusting those words indeed were.