In the late spring and early summer of 2022, racist leaflets were left in Bristol by a white supremacist group. The incident was reported to the police department, the mayor made predictable remarks and everyone moved on.
Thirteen months later, racist white supremacist propaganda is posted on telephone poles in several different locations across the city. The posters are reported to the police department, the mayor makes predictable remarks and everyone moves on.
Shortly afterwards, a white supremacist rally takes place on Rt. 72, the police make a statement, this time without the mayor piping in.
Due to the presence of white supremacists in the city and recent racist Facebook posts by the former member of the Bristol Rotary and manager of the Bristol Farmers Market, a portion of the Bristol community no longer feels safe or welcome. This is alarming and should be a call to action.
In announcing the resignation of the farmers market manager from both his position with the farmers market and Bristol Rotary Club, Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano expressed his “displeasure” over the situation.
Discovering that the only parking available is metered is displeasing. Discovering racism is alive and well in your hometown is offensive and troubling, not displeasing.
Granted, Caggiano is Bristol’s best cheerleader. However, when it comes to issues of race, he appears incapable of deploring this activity or even calling it by its proper name–racism and white supremacy. He appears to prefer “hate.”
Despite some people wanting to label him as a racist, TBE chooses to draw the line and give the mayor the benefit of the doubt. It is true, he lends credence to those accusations with inaction, when he cannot or refuses to consistently and strongly condemn racism or even listen to those who experience it daily.
By not doing so, he not only invites more accusations, but more importantly he invites more acceptance of racism, more white supremacist leaflets and more vile postings.
Consequently, it will take more than pedestrian remarks and standing before a sign letting readers of the Mayor’s Office Facebook page know that hate has no home in Bristol. It is a something of a start, but it is not a profile in courage.
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