When the meeting was essentially over, and Council president Tom DePietro was entertaining public comment, Quintin Cross said he wanted to know "where the aldermen stand on the incident of abuse in the Bengali community." The reference, of course, was to the recent indictment of a member of the Bengali community on multiple counts of predatory sexual assault. As soon as Cross made his statement, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said, "I think the men should go first."
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| Photo: Jabin Ahmed|Facebook |
Alderman John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward) said he supported women speaking out. Alderman Malachi Walker (Fourth Ward) said it was time for the "whole rape culture" to be exposed. Alderman Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward), who identified himself as the father of a daughter, said of the victims, "It takes courage to tell their story, and we need to listen." Alderman Calvin Lewis (Third Ward), who said he was first exposed to "rape culture" at college and he comes from a matriarchal household, declared, "I do not support anyone who neglects women or children."
Garriga then demanded that they hear from aldermen Shershah Mizan (Third Ward) and Dewan Sarowar (Second Ward), the two Bangladeshi members of the Council. Both were present at the meeting but remained silent. DePietro told Garriga, "I can't force them to speak."
Claire Cousin then commented, "The first step is believing the victim," and went on to say, presumably directing her comments to Mizan and Sarowar, "People are paying attention, and people will not support you in the future." Garriga added, apparently also addressing Mizan and Sarowar, "You cannot make comments to the newspaper and not speak on the Council."
DePietro then reiterated that he could not force anyone to speak but added, "My heart goes out to the victims. I hope they are served by the justice system. If they feel they are not, that is the time to speak out."
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Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteHundreds, maybe even a thousand, comments about Stewart's (at the speed of light, I might add) - that evil empire of gasoline and ice cream (note I listed gasoline first, so as to not "minimize" the fact that they sell it), and more gratuitous shots at their representative than I can count. . . yet not a SINGLE post recognizing the strength and bravery of these young women.
Really glad as a community, we have our priorities in order.
Susan
This Susan person really gets it spot on.
ReplyDeleteYes, the strength and bravery of these young women is remarkable, particularly in light of the attempts of the patriarchy of their community to suppress their voices, and the silence of their elected representatives, which speaks louder than words.
ReplyDeleteHow unfortunate that anyone would choose this moment to sideline a truly significant social issue into yet another screed in defense of a convenience store.
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteSimple girl that I am, I had to look up the word "screed". My post was under eighty words, including the "and"s, "the"s and "a"s, so according to the dictionary, it doesn't qualify as a screed.
Always happy though, to expand my vocabulary.
As for me "sidelining" this issue, I thought, and apparently I am mistaken, that Hudson was brimming full of feminists, who would rush to support these young women. Take a stand. Raise their voices.
My second comment, will be only the fourth one, on what would seem to be an urgent community issue.
Susan
(98 words)