In going through the emails from the weekend, the following email just had us stop and shake our heads.
Please see below a statement from Everett Mayor, Carlo DeMaria, on comments made on a social media platform this past weekend.
“This past weekend I was disgusted and saddened to read prejudiced and hurtful comments on a social media platform made by certain individuals within our City. I condemn these statements in the strongest of terms. The City of Everett is truly a diverse community, and has been for generations. We are one of the fastest growing immigrant cities in Massachusetts and are proud of that. Many new Americans call the city home. That is our strength. By embracing and assisting all Americans, we flourish together. We simply cannot turn our backs and remain silent when we hear hurtful comments.”
The internet is a marvel of the modern age. But it is also a curse.
Whether one uses Facebook and is one of the 87 million whose personal information was used by Cambridge Analytica in the last election or whose credit information has been hacked, the internet has allowed nefarious and faceless individuals to invade our lives in ways that just a generation ago were unthinkable.
The internet is not to blame — it is those who seek to profit either monetarily or otherwise by espousing their own agenda at the expense of others in our society.
This is what happened over the weekend in Everett.
Comments were posted on a Facebook forum that singled out certain immigrant groups in our city.
As Americans, the comments are unacceptable. As human beings, these comments are reprehensible.
History has taught us that scapegoating some because of race or creed will lead to a society that fosters and condones actions of groups like the Nazis or Ku Klax Klan who spew their venom and hate.
As a society, residents and our leaders need to stand up and say that these words are unacceptable.
Mayor DeMaria and the hundreds of residents who filled the City Council Chamber to capacity on Monday night to add their voices to the repudiation of these posts are to be congratulated for taking a stand against this type of venom.
Today, let’s not forget the words of the Spanish philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”