HEY, PAL: GET A GRIP!
By Patricia Wild

Somerville Journal, MA
GateHouse News Service
Thu Sep 13, 2007, 05:47 AM EDT

Watertown, which proclaimed itself a community where there was "No
Place for Hate," underwent an open, emotional and painful examination
of that statement recently. When questioning the Anti-Defamation
League’s position on the Armenian Genocide, the citizens of Watertown
were compelled to ask themselves, "Is this really true? Is Watertown,
indeed, a place where there is no place for hate?" I wish Somerville,
especially certain SpeakOut callers, would ask the same question. Is
Somerville a place where there’s no room for hate?

Sure, we all harbor nasty thoughts, we all secretly wish someone ill,
we’re anxious and upset and, all too often, feel powerless to change
what seem gross injustices, blatant unfairness. There have been and
will be times in our lives when we "feel angry all the time," like
Harry Potter in "The Order of the Phoenix." What matters, however,
as the young wizard-in-training’s mentor reminded Potter, is what we
decide to act upon.

When you pick up a phone, dial the SpeakOut number and leave a
hate-filled, nasty message, that’s evil talking, pal. That’s going
over to the Dark Side.

That’s you making a deliberate contribution to an already hate-filled,
war-torn world. Isn’t there enough violence, enough suffering, enough
tragedy in the world already? Why do you want to consciously and with
malice add to an already festering heap of hatred and cruelty? Huh?

"The illegals, the illegals." Get over it, pal.

They’re here, all right? They live here, they go to school, here,
they pay taxes, too. That’s right, pal.

"Illegals" pay taxes, too. So enough with the "my tax dollars"
nonsense. Do yourself and the rest of us a huge favor: Reread the
Gospels. Pay special attention to Matthew 25:35-36. "I was hungry
and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, etc." And then take a good long look
at yourself in the mirror. Will you do that before you’re tempted to
dial SpeakOut again?

Please!

Your rants about the day workers standing next to Foss Park? Those
men are standing there to get work, OK?

They’re standing there because contractors offer them jobs,
under-the-table jobs, under- union-scale jobs.

So if you’re so high and mighty, pal, why aren’t you calling those
employers, clearly making a profit off this Foss Park arrangement,
the same kind of nasty names you apparently enjoy calling people from
other countries? Somerville’s a staunchly union city, right?

So why aren’t you screaming about employers ripping off people because
they know they can get away with it? News flash: racism is not OK.

And, please, don’t think for one minute that men standing around
hoping to earn some money "make Somerville look bad." The only thing
that makes this city bad, pal, is that, somehow, you and your SpeakOut
buddies think that making your vile remarks is acceptable. You make
all of us look ignorant.

And cowardly. C’mon, what kind of courage does it take to anonymously
leave a hateful message on a tape recorder, huh? If you really had
the courage of your convictions, pal, you’d tell everybody who you are.

You’d write a letter. You’d call 311. This hit-and-run stuff? Bush
league.

A word to elderly SpeakOut callers: Did you see the article about
the 94-year-old Spanish woman who has her own blog? Her grandson
helped her set it up. She’s telling about her life and how things
have changed in her country and thousands of people read what she has
to say. Listen up, retirees: I’m sure many readers would appreciate
learning who you are and what you have experienced. Clearly, many of
you have literary talent. Why not put it to good use?

I found this quote somewhere; I don’t know who wrote it: "Children,
everybody, here’s what to do during war: In a time of destruction,
create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A school. A vow. A
moral principle. One peaceful moment."

Think it over, pal.

Patricia Wild is a resident of Somerville and the author of "Swimming
In It," a novel set in the city.