The Muck of Racism

The Muck of Racism

Modern day racists have grown sophisticated. They are able to hide their racism behind political correctness and the pretext of law. We have seen this in Worcester.

The mainly White dog park people are treated better than the mainly Hispanic dirt bike park people.

This type of so called color blind racism has reared its ugly head in Dudley MA where the Town has blocked the practice of a religion. It is, to almost everyone, clear that the underlying cause of the Town’s opposition to an Islamic cemetery is racism and anti-Islamic prejudice.

However, an activist in the Muslim community found it hard to accept that the people of Dudley could be as racist as the media depict them. She felt that the people of Dudley were actually concerned with traffic.

I mentioned to her that the traffic in a fairly large cemetery like Hope Cemetery had no issues and that a small cemetery such as is proposed for Dudley would likely have no traffic issues either.

She finally said that if the cemetery was for Swedes or Jews the Town was not likely to have opposed it.

The Islamic Society is suing the Town in Land Court, challenging the interpretation that a Special Permit is needed to change agricultural land to a cemetery. The Islamic Society is arguing that a Special permit is not required by the State statute,

The Town’s argument is that a Special Permit is required. However the Town is also arguing it has the right of first refusal for the sale of the property. For this reason it argues the Islamic Society has no “standing” and cannot even apply for the Special Permit.

The Town’s pretext has now become that it did NOT deny the Islamic Society a Special Permit. It only informed the Islamic Society it was not legal for the Islamic Society to apply for the Special Permit. The Town informed the Islamic Society of this technicality eight months AFTER it had made its application.

It took the Town lawyer that long to come up with its color blind regulation.

The ACLU has entered the case based on the First Amendment guarantees against government interference in the practice of religion. Although it is bringing its case to Federal Court. The right to religious freedom is also found in State statutes and ironically in the by-laws of Dudley MA.

When I was on the Board of Directors of the Civil Liberty Union of Massachusetts the ACLU lawyers brought a lot of resources to a case. Recently the ACLU defeated the Worcester ordinance against panhandling. It is unlikely Dudley will be able to match the forces amassing against it.

The Islamic Society proffered a settlement of a cemetery with reduced acreage of 12.5 acres. The Town rejected this offer and now the Town is in court.

It might make better sense for Dudley to take another look at this compromise. If it does not it will likely have to pay millions in legal fees. The lawyers who overturned Worcester’s panhandling ordinance sent the City a bill for one million dollars.

More importantly Dudley might be able wipe some of the muck that its racist actions have brought to it.