Yarmouth’s shame, Martha’s Vineyard’s honor
As spawn of immigrants, how dare any of us judge and try to expel?
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
--- The message on the Statue of Liberty
Harborside Suites, the old Brentwood motel in South Yarmouth now housing migrant families, does not have a lamp beside a golden door, let alone a welcoming lady statue. But that doesn’t matter.
What matters is that the town allowed itself to be disgraced by a small, ugly group of people who would deny compassion, try to destroy the promise of our nation, and use any argument as thin veils to disguise racism.
Such people exist. But when they emerge, and they will continue to do so, our civic leaders must make sure everyone understands just how repulsive they are.
That didn’t happen in Yarmouth. At least not yet.
Meanwhile, the same week Yarmouth was allowing migrants to be targeted and vilified, Martha’s Vineyard was celebrating the one-year anniversary of the day 49 migrants arrived unannounced, exploited by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as pawns on a national political board. The Vineyard rose to the challenge last September, raised a metaphorical lamp, supported those people, then last week welcomed three-quarters of them back to the island for a joyous weekend reunion.
One town’s shame, one island’s honor.
Things got so bad in Yarmouth on Tuesday, September 12, that Selectman Daniel Horgan had to say these words to a crowd intent on expelling migrants:
“We’re talking about people here … I don’t want to lose sight of that.”
Then he decided he needed to cover his political ass by telling this wannabe mob, “I applaud your efforts. I know it takes time (to attend a public meeting); I know it takes dedication, organization.”
Yarmouth officials fell back on platitudes rather than taking a moral stand, focusing on the Commonwealth’s “poor communication and planning.”
So what? We don’t need “communication” and “planning” to treat people with respect and compassion. We just need to be human.
Here’s how outrageous the proceedings became:
Someone had the gall to suggest that these families could well be disease-ridden vectors for plague that would spread among us disease-free Americans.
Suppose those migrants had been white-skinned Ukrainians rather than black-skinned Haitians. Who would have dared say that? Would there even have been protests?
I have used an expletive only one time in this column’s years. This makes twice:
Racist bullshit.
That no one loudly, immediately called that out is a deep stain on Yarmouth’s so-called “leadership.” Here’s hoping they will try to scrub it out going forward.
During this public hearing, there also were calls from the crowd to “Send them back!”
I have first-hand understanding of what sending people back to Haiti would likely mean:
Death.
But that ultimate truth aside, here’s what I wish someone had said to those shouting:
Your ancestors surely came here from someplace else. Let’s research and see if they had all their legal papers before they arrived, or whether they faced an uncertain, dangerous trip in hopes of being granted permission to stay -- their bravery making your privileged, protected life possible.
If the latter is so, then start packing because by your reckoning you too should be “sent back” to wherever they came from.
How dare you, spawn of immigrants, judge and try to expel?
I wonder that question with such fervor that I will ask it one more time:
How dare anyone judge and try to expel these homeless, tossed souls?
A statue expressed our better selves far better than Yarmouth’s leadership. Perhaps a replica of the lady holding the torch should be planted in front of town hall, the Harborside Suites, and every busy intersection for that matter, so she can offer her welcome while silently gazing down on “protestors” who besmirch the American flags they hold.
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Cape Cod is many things that are good and decent and beautiful, but anti-racist or decolonized are not one of them, and has not been all the years my family and my family’s family has been lucky enough to live on these unceded shores. Outside of the partisan political ruck a mucks protesting in Yarmouth, are spoiled white children who think nothing of trying to drown a Black child, police department’s that racially profile and school districts who have no idea what is or why BLM exists. We are a white centered community at the end of world, who continues to perpetuate stories of natives vs. wash ashores vs. tourists. We are all on unceded land here and we are all immigrants. From Bourne to Provincetown. We should all just be thanking our geographical luck and reminding each other that we are better together - always.
What happened in Yarmouth is truly bigoted and unfortunate. I'm grateful that you wrote about it and compared it to what happened on the Vineyard. Somehow I hadn't heard of the one year anniversary reunion for the migrants to reconnect, and how all 49 of them had replied that they wanted to be there. The folks on the Vineyard secured host families for all the guests and enough private donations to cover all their travel expenses. They were welcomed back with love and there was a real sense of community. That's how it should be.