An impromptu rally against hate, organized in response to the attack in Charlottesville Saturday afternoon, drew dozens of people to Mitchell Park in Greenport Sunday evening.
Chris McFall of Cutchogue, inspired by a social media post encouraging people to stand up to hate in their local communities, decided yesterday morning to try to organize something for later in the day.
McFall and her friend Jim Shaw were among the first to arrive, a scant 10 minutes before the stated 6 o’clock start. McFall surveyed park, where a typical late Sunday afternoon was underway: kids running around in play, two people sitting on the bandshell stage, strumming guitars and singing, families watching the boats return to the marina. There was no sign of anyone looking for a rally.
“Do you think anyone will show up?” McFall asked Shaw, who came with sign-making supplies.
“Even if not many people come, even if it’s just us and a few other people, we’ll make a statement against hate,” Shaw said. “You have to start somewhere.”
But they did come — by the dozens. Within moments, the area east of the carousel was filled with people, a crowd that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Some brought their own signs. Others used the poster board and markers Shaw supplied to make signs that expressed what was on their minds: freedom, love, diversity, respect and unity.
Former Southold councilman Bill Moore and his wife and law partner Patricia were early arrivals.
“Seeing some of the headlines and hearing the president’s comments, the way they did identify the cause and effect — there is cause and effect,” Moore said. “I knew I had to stand in opposition.”
Greenport Village Trustee Julia Robins said she was glad the rally was happening.
“I abhor fascism. My father was a Jew. He fought in World War II because he wanted to stop Nazism. I’ve been sick to my stomach — and it just keeps getting worse, she said.
“There has to be a free exchange of ideas without violence,” former Greenport mayor David Nyce said.
“As a business owner, I think it’s important for me to stand up for what I believe in,” said Jess Dunne of North Fork Roasting Company in Southold.
Jackie Dandelion of Beacon New York, who was visiting family on Shelter Island, held a sign that said “ONE LOVE.”
“I don’t want anybody to think that’s what this country stands for,” Dandelion said. “If you’re quiet when other people are loud with hate… It’s your responsibiliy to speak out.”
Henry Randall of Peconic spoke of the affront he’s felt when he sees people flying confederate flags around the North Fork. “That flag stands for division,” he said. “Particularly in the north, it stands for racism. My grandfather fought in the Civil War — He had my father when he was very old. Seeing that flag being flown here offends me.”
McFall, who’d never organized anything like this before, had no plan for the structure of the rally.
“I just hope people will speak from their hearts,” she said. A friend stood up on a bench and asked the sprawled-out crowd to gather up so all could hear — there were no bullhorns or loudspeakers.
And speak from the heart is what they did. One by one about a dozen people climbed up on the park bench to share their thoughts and feelings.
The first to speak was Samantha Payne-Merkel, who described herself as a “Southold local” and said she was very upset to see so many people of her generation gravitate toward hate groups.
“When there’s white supremacists in the White House and no one is saying anything about it, it’s not okay,” Payne-Merkel said.
Chris Muth of Port Washington, a Southerner by birth, said he looks like Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general whose statue the City of Charlottesville, Virginia plans to remove from Emancipation Park. The plan drew criticism and sparked the “Unite the Right” protest that attracted far-right extremists, including white supremacist groups, neo-Nazis and members of the Ku Klux Klan. On Friday night, they marched through Charlotte carrying lit torches. On Saturday they gathered in Emancipation Park, some carrying Confederate and Nazi flags.
Counter-protesters gathered in the Charlottesville park and violent clashes erupted, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency by the Virginia governor. After police broke up the demonstration and cleared the park, a Dodge Charger police said was operated by James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, sped down an empty street and rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters gathered in a large group at a distant end of the street, killing Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville and injuring many others, some critically. The mayhem was captured by multiple people on cell-phone video.
“There’s no place in this country for people like that,” Muth said. “That’s what Robert E. Lee would say if he were here today. So I represent him and all good Southern gentlemen.”
“Could this be the new normal?” asked Sherry Thirlby of Southold. “We’ve become so inured to things that are happening,” she said. After the events in Charlottesville, she said she woke up Sunday morning in despair. “I lost hope,” she said. Then she saw a social media post about the rally in Mitchell Park. ”My hope is renewed,” Thirlby said. “We stand for tolerance and love. I’m sorry if I’m a Pollyanna but I do believe that is what this country stands for.”
Five-year-old Jack McCormick of East Moriches, dressed in a Spider Man costume, climbed up for a turn on the bench. “I’m Jack. I’m five,” he said. “And America is for everyone.” The boy’s simple statement drew cheers from those gathered around him and he jumped into his mother Lizzie’s arms.
Jim Shaw who helped McFall spread the word about the rally, thanked the people who attended. “I have faith in us,” he said. “I have faith in why we’re here.”
The rally, taking place under the watchful eye of three Southold Town Police officers who stood on its periphery, went off without incident, save a brief interruption by a man who walked briskly through the park and shouted “Trump 2020!” and another man near the bandshell who shouted “Trump! Trump!”
McFall said afterward she was astonished by the turnout. “It’s awesome. It restores my faith in community.”
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti
