Anyone who has been reading the news or watching television in the last few months might reasonably wonder if central Maine is a hotbed of hatred.
Swastikas were painted at Mill Park.
Nazis marched near the State Capitol.
People spewed hatred over Zoom during a Hallowell City Council meeting.
Someone scrawled an anti-Semitic message at Cony High School.
You can stop wondering.
Sure, a few misguided souls have been in the news lately — and there may be more of them in the future — but they do not represent the thousands of good, caring, welcoming and loving people who are proud to live here.
In Maine, Love is louder — much louder — than hatred.
Rabbi Erica Asch of Temple Beth El in Augusta speaks Sept. 30 during the Hallowell United Rally in Granite City Park in Hallowell. The rally was held in response to a City Council meeting Zoom bombing in which people spouted anti-Semitic, hateful language. A much larger “Love is Louder” rally is now planned Nov. 12 at Mill Park in Augusta in response to that incident and an earlier case of neo-Nazis rallying near the State House. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file
That’s why we have joined with several others to create the Greater Augusta Unity Committee, which will hold a rally at Mill Park next Sunday, Nov. 12, to celebrate the real Maine, where we care for and about each other.
The rally will be a joyful event, with music and speakers talking about love and unity. Unlike those who spew hatred, no one at the rally will act in darkness, use fake names, or hide behind masks. We will be open, happy, and welcoming to all.
By gathering together, we will make a statement to the community, to the state, to the world, that Mainers don’t hate and don’t have much regard for those who do.
We hope that hundreds of people join us.
We have asked local churches and the synagogue to encourage members to come. We’ve been working with civic organizations like the Elks Club and Le Club Calumet. Elected leaders from Augusta and Hallowell are helping plan the event.
But we have not been able to reach everyone to tell them that this rally is for you, for the every-day good people of the community to show that we really mean it: In Maine, love is louder.
When bad things happen, people often say “somebody should do something about that.” This rally is the chance for you to be that somebody who does something, to add your voice to your neighbor’s.
You may ask if a rally can change anything. We do not expect it will change the minds of those whose lives are filled with hatred. But it will show people who are targets of that hatred that the larger community rejects that message and that love, not prejudice and bigotry, is the standard we embrace.
On behalf of the Greater Augusta Unity Committee, we invite you — we urge you — to join us at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Mill Park. Make a sign declaring that In Maine Love is Louder. Wear something green, another way to show that we are unified.
Some may decide to march to the park. Others will drive. How you get there does not matter. Just come.
It’s November in Maine. It may rain; it will be cold. But we will be there to celebrate the real Maine. We hope hundreds of you will join us. For more information, find us on Facebook at “In Maine Love is Louder.”
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