An East Marion man, angered by the sight of a Confederate flag being flown from the pickup truck operated by a local resident, is asking town leaders to speak out against extremism.
Matthew Bloch said the truck, with the flag on display, was parked at the town beach in Southold.
“We’re not in Tennessee,” he said. “This is the North Fork of Long Island. The message is pretty unambiguous in terms of what that flag stands for here.”
Bloch attended an informal meeting of the Anti-Bias Task Force this morning at Southold Town Hall. (The group lacked a quorum to hold the official meeting scheduled for today at 10 a.m.)
Anti-Bias Task Force co-chairperson Sonia Spar said there have been sightings of the truck flying the Confederate flag across town. Other vehicles bearing Confederate flag decals have been seen on local roads as well.
Bloch said the town should make some “expression of distaste to let everyone in the community know that the town doesn’t endorse the flying of a Confederate flag.”
“I don’t believe the First Amendment protects people flying a flag on public property,” Bloch said. “Under town code, people are not permitted to make speeches or have parades on recreational property,” he said. “I don’t know if the town has done anything to stop it.”
Bloch said he intends to go to the next town board meeting to ask the board to speak out as a body.
Anti-Bias Task Force member David Schultz suggested the Southold task force join with others on the East End as well as the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission to issue a joint statement against extremism. He said the East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Force has already issued a statement of its own in conjunction with the county human rights commission.
“I think we should do everything we can to speak out against hatred, speak up for unity and respect,” said Southold task force co-chair Val Shelby.
Shelby and Spar both said ABTF members should attend upcoming events being planned to promote unity, respect and civility, including the Sept. 7 gathering in Greenport and a Sept. 9 interfaith dialogue and vigil at Orient Congregational Church. The members of the task force present this morning also discussed having another unity gathering on the Sunday before Election Day, like the one held last year at Silversmith’s Corner in Southold.
Rabbi Steven Moss, chairman of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, said today the commission and a coalition of anti-bias task forces, nonprofit groups and the Center for Social Justice at Suffolk County Community College are going to launch a “stop the hate” initiative. He said he expected details to be announced later this week.
“Rallies are important for expression,” Moss said, “but after they’re over, that’s it. We want to formulate an initiative, a coalition of agencies and non-profits that will last a long time — to focus on education and prevention programs.”
