-YANKEE TEA NEWS - 

DATELINE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

DANCING IN NEW LONDON
by Cort Wrotnowski, Editor

The New London City  Council faced a polite but insistent crowd of people not only from Connecticut, but out of state as well who gathered on the plea of Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh to testify before the council on the need to both restore Columbus Day and reject any proposals to take down the city's statue of Christopher Columbus.  Monday night, Sept. 18th, became a marathon session for the council.

There we were, some dozen strong, ready to send the message to the council, over and over again in 3 minute sound bites.  It was remarkable to see how each person had a different take on the same subject.  Equally remarkable was how bored and disengaged the council members seemed to be.  But we soldiered on nonetheless.

Last year, the New London Board of Education had unilaterally decided to eliminate Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day.  There was no public discussion, no consulting with parent's of any kind.  The school board went ahead on it's own to make this decision.

This action, no better than a backroom deal, caught the attention of radio talk show host, Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh.  She decided to make a battle out of this for various reasons.  The lack of public engagement, the assault on American values, the disrespect shown to the Italian and Latino communities, and the anti-Catholic undertones all contributed the her decision to make a public issue out of this matter.

Also, the recent pressure by cultural marxists to take down statues of historically important figures in American history they deemed racists and worse has raised increased concerns among citizens around the country - including in Connecticut.

A quick look at several school systems shows a mixed picture for Columbus Day

New London  -    Gone
East Hartford -    Still there
Hartford -            Gone
Bridgeport -        Gone - replaced with Italian Heritage Day
Southington -      Still there
Cheshire -           Still there
Norwich -           Still there

The "star witness" was a gentleman working on a new book on Christopher Columbus.  His research challenges the revisionist accounts of what Columbus did in his journeys.  He traveled 12 hours to get to this meeting in order to make the case for restoring Columbus Day in New London.

Efforts to get him more than 3 minutes to speak were thwarted by the chairman of the council.  He got into a duel with Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh over whether or not Robert's Rules of Order could be used for speakers.  The chairman was concerned with establishing what he saw as a bad precedent.  Lori stood her ground, and the tension level in the room was rising.  The parliamentarian there ruled in favor of the chairman.  But Lori kept looking for a solution.  She ultimately went back and sat down frustrated.

From there the people who had signed up to speak took their turns.  For the next hour or so, the author and others addressed a range of issues meant to support preservation of Columbus Day.  There were cultural arguments based on the heritage of the New London communities of Italians and Latinos.  There was the argument that Columbus represents the spirit of exploration that is part of America's very DNA.  There were arguments that any culture needs positive messages and images that define a nation's identity.  It was asserted that calls around the nation to get rid of the statue of Christopher Columbus were nothing more than attempts to denigrate America.  The point was made that no historical figure is without warts; that you really cannot separate the good from the bad if you are being honest.

Then one of the council members called for a recess of five minutes.  But he could not get a second to go ahead with his proposal.  Then other members of the public got up and made various comments.  After that, as the chairman was speaking, Lori spoke up in an effort correct something the chairman was saying about the presentations.  He told her not to interrupt.  She kept interrupting.  At this point, the council  DID call a five minute recess in order to stop the growing acrimony.  During the recess, Lori and the chairman continued their discussion while other people milled about.

Lori became upset and decided to leave.  Others left with her.  Some stayed longer.  The upshot was that the council refused to consider the issue.  However, Lori's group will not let this issue lay.  So, dear reader, stayed tuned for updates.

It is not out of place to suggest that cultural marxists and others are pushing harder and harder to pull down the foundations of America.  We see too many examples around the country, and some cases right here in Connecticut.  Make sure you join in this fight to save our history.