My penpal, the Mayor of Rochester

Many of you may have heard about the anti-queer hate crime that took place in Rochester at the beginning of June. Following my efforts at raising awareness and my call for people to email Mayor Duffy, I receved the following email 2 days ago. Below it is my reply from this morning. [I should probably also add that yesterday, the RPD--who had originally let the attackers go--is now calling for citizens' assistance in locating/identifying them. Blatant irresponsibility, if you ask me...]

From Mayor Duffy:
On 6/11/07, Robert Duffy wrote:
** High Priority **

Ms. Messinger:

I did receive an e-mail indicating that you have distributed my e-mail to lists of people asking them to e-mail me and to express their outrage regarding the incident on S. Goodman Street. I have received dozens of e-mails which I have attempted to respond to personally, but I would prefer to keep my time focused on my duties, which includes insuring the city vigorously investigate this assault and the circumstances surrounding the response to it.

If you knew me you would know that the allegations surrounding this incident strike at the heart of our entire community and what I expect our city to stand for. The Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Moore and with the direct help of Officer Jim Hall, who is the RPD's liaison to the GLBT community, is in the midst of an intensive investigation to gather all of the facts/evidence surrounding this incident.

I, along with the Chief and Officer Hall met with a number of the leadership of the GLBT community to brief them on the city's position and efforts to date, and there is no doubt where we stand if these allegation are proven to be accurate. We will be joining these leaders for a joint press conference this week.

I have learned not to pre-judge until all of the facts are in- so I will not. I have confidence in Chief Moore, Officer Hall, and the investigators- that they will in fact get to the truth.

I absolutely detest discrimination of any kind and there will never be any ambiguity where I and the city stand if the facts support the allegations.
I have always enjoyed an outstanding relationship with the GLBT community which has been based upon trust, respect, and friendship, and I have no intention of letting that relationship be fractured in any way.

Thank you for allowing me to clarify my position but please have faith that a lot of people are working very hard to get to the truth.

And my reply:
6/13/07

Dear Mayor Duffy:

Thank you for the personal reply re: my concerns about the anti-queer attacks at the beginning of the month. I have already spoken with City Councilpersons Bill Pritchard and Carolee Conklin regarding this matter, thanking them for their concern, and applaud the openness and approachability with which they occupy their offices. I appreciate your efforts to resolve this issue, not only swiftly, but with the utmost quality and scrunity as this particular situation is both an injurious assault and an anti-queer hate crime. I have no doubt that your office, as well as the RPD, has been and will remain to, engage the local GLBTQ leadership, in speaking out against this heinous incident; I would expect no less from the mayor of a city where 25-40% of the adult population identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or queer.

Because two of the survivors are personal acquaintances of mine, I have and will continue to follow this story quite closely; regardless of my personal ties, however, I am above all an activist and proud member of Rochester's queer community and will not encourage those around me to remain silent. I take issue with your seeming annoyance at being contacted by the very members of the city who got you elected. Imagine US Senators Charles Schumer or Hillary Clinton taking this stance; they would surely not remain as our Washington representatives.

I watched footage of yesterday's press conference on Channel 7 Fox News last night and was appalled at the lightness with which it seems the police department is handling this situation. True, there is an investigation--to find assailants who the police could have taken into custody or at least reported as the attackers--but how helpful was your call for assistance?? I would gladly join the community in identifying the group of assailants if I had been given more information on how to identify them. Why is it that when the RPD is searching for perpetrators of color, they spare no detail when describing physical characteristics, but in this case--because the assailants are majority Caucasian--there is not even a mention of possible identifying traits??

I do hope that as this case continues to unfold, that more thought and effort is given to how the assailants will be identified and taken into custody. I also hope that the details of this case--the anti-queer hate crime, the officers' irresponsibility and homophobia--are not seen as isolated incidents, but as a product of the pervasive anti-queer sentiment perpetuated here and around the country by an ever increasing conservative political climate. I will try to have faith in the very auspices of city government, who it seems, could have resolved this issue the night of the attack, but please understand why that may remain difficult for me and other members of the community.

As a social worker working with urban youth and HIV-positive individuals, I want to see nothing but the best for Rochester, a city with so much potential. I know that you feel the same, and hope that in this case, your rhetoric produces results.

Sincerely,
Joy Messinger

Source: http://blog.myspace.com/seoulsister
Posted with permission.