Putting the cart before the horse
This week has been very arduous for all of us at Rumbo. Too many events to cover, several meetings and in my case, three radio shows to prepare for. I missed the Brides March (I was planning to wear my wedding dress – if I can get into it this year).
I was most interested in attending the Day of Remembrance. Alberto said it was very emotional and meaningful. I would have liked to be there since that is the only support I could provide to those families.
The weather report told me that we had good weather but I didn’t see any of it.
Instead, there was a lot of work to do as you can see in these 32 pages; most of all, the coverage of Melix Bonilla’s trial. José Ayala must be commended for the work he did bringing us the details of what went on during last week in Salem. Unfortunately, as we went to print, no decision had been made by the jury as to Melix’s future.
Ayala took copious notes which have been excerpted here to give you an idea of the testimonies that were heard. All of them were translated into English for the benefit of our community and it was exhausting and time consuming. So, I’m telling you now, if you find errors in either language, don’t bother calling us – we know you’ll find them!
If you like Facebook…
Last week I presented examples of how much information can be acquired through the internet and particularly Facebook. Subscribers to that social media willingly reveal their most intimate problems, habits, desires, etc. along with plenty of personal information. That serves someone like me very well for when I need to find out about a particular individual, the first thing I do is go to their page. Not everything found will be used because I don’t write about people’s personal lives but it’s there.
The internet, social media and blogs gives people the false sense of security believing that they are writing to a close circle of acquaintances. Once it’s online, it spreads like wildfire.
Such is a case of a new site (new to me, at least) called www.lawrencemassachusetts.blogspot.com where people can vent expressing their opinions. The article entitled “Sputter…Cough…Gasp this is so wrong” was sent to me and it reveals the hypocrisy of some residents.
It reads in part that the writer read a post on Facebook regarding the homicide of a 20 year old woman on Springfield St. starting out with compassion:
CH 25 said the woman who was killed this morning had only moved into the neighborhood two weeks. That certainly is a hell of a welcome wagon for her, a hearse!
A very sad commentary on life in Lawrence! People die violently and for some, life goes on like nothing has happened.”
And soon goes wrong – and wrong on so many levels:
“I’m sure she did not check because Springfield St. is a bad drug area so I’m guessing she either did or sold drugs.”
That message was written by Sacred Heart Neighborhood Association president Brenda Rozzi.
The writer goes on to explain that this ignorant attitude is part of the problem here. A very young woman is dead, no one knows why. No one knows a thing about her. It’s her fault – blame her.
The blogger continues explaining that she lives in that neighborhood and generalizing like this should be a crime.
The writer ends with an advice: “If you think Facebook is private where you can post whatever you want and there are no consequences – THINK AGAIN!”
What really concerns me about this is that the presidents of neighborhood associations see themselves as leaders in the community. If true, what can we expect in race relations when these so-called leaders expose their deeply held fears when they think that “nobody’s watching?” I wonder what goes on in the privacy of their homes and in front of their children. As long as we have people generalizing like that, there won’t be peace in this world – let alone in Lawrence.
Elections are so far away!
I wonder how many residents follow the absentee record of members of the City Council in Lawrence. This past Monday, a Housing Committee meeting was to take place but there was no quorum. This is not just a get together with four members of the council; many people were inconvenienced only to find that nothing would be taking place. Embarrassing!
It’s not worth mentioning who was absent because I am not referring to anyone in particular. This is happening too often and the attendance record of some of the councilors dictates that we support someone to take them to task. Sometimes, if they show up, they leave half-way through the meeting. That is not the way to move the city’s business.
