A bogus Black Lives Matter march.
Incendiary t-shirts.
Why Dobbs?
A bogus Black Lives Matter march.
This week, a graphic started circulating about a Black Lives Matter march planned for Dobbs Ferry, NY this coming Saturday, September 12 at noon. On the surface that sounds entirely plausible. Over the past few months, there have been several BLM marches in Westchester's river towns and nearby villages and towns. So, what's the problem here?
The march is fake. Do not repost. Let others know and encourage them not to repost.
The purpose is to divide and cause chaos.
Here is the graphic:
Much gratitude goes to a wise community member who discovered the origins of the graphic, saw the clues, alerted neighbors and summarized these points. Here is how we know this is suspect:
The Mayor is not aware of such a march being planned. No permits have been requested.
The graphic was seen on the Facebook feeds of people who are opposed to BLM.
The graphic addresses BLM Chapters. There are no BLM "chapters."
The bullet hole graphic is not something that an actual BLM group would include.
The graphic includes inflammatory, divisive language - "White Privilege is Black Oppression", "We take Main Street"
This is not what Black Lives Matter does. This is what the Trump, Barr and Fox News would have you believe Black Lives Matter does.
Incendiary t-shirts.
While this bogus march was being planned, t-shirts were also being left in the driveways of people's homes in Dobbs Ferry. Yes, left in people's driveways.
The message on the shirts is clear as can be: "Welcome to Dobbs Ferry... Don't make here like there. Leave it the way you found it." While the t-shirt distributors claim "we are not racist"- read it through. Only the opposite could be true.
Yes, someone spent money creating t-shirts. And planned a march. So, the next question you might ask is this, what's all the commotion about Dobbs Ferry?
Why Dobbs Ferry?
Dobbs Ferry is a traditional Westchester river town. There are many in Dobbs Ferry who are life-long residents. There are also many residents who have moved in from New York City to escape escalating rents. There is also a small cross section of diversity, currently 6.7% Black, 7.2% Asian. 79.3% Caucasian.
Overall, this is an affluent Westchester suburb where the average household income is $203,781.
And it is a perfect model city in which to stoke division and chaos. In recent speeches, Trump has been pointing to Westchester as an example of Democratic politics gone wild. True, the Democrats have had a string of wins here since Trump was elected. Democratic County Legislators far outnumber Republican/Conservatives. The County also has a history of non-compliance with Fair Housing legislation which was a flash point with the prior Republican County Executive, Rob Astorino. Who happens to be running for a State Senator position representing Westchester.
The New York Times article," How Trump is Using Westchester to Stir Up Suburban Fears" examines a topic that has started surfacing in Trump speeches over the past few weeks, as he tries to switch the nation's attention from COVID deaths to what he would like us to believe are the now-scary suburbs.
“Westchester was ground zero, OK, for what they were trying to do,” he said on Monday, in an interview on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, referring to Mr. Biden and his fellow Democrats. “They were trying to destroy the suburban, beautiful place. The American dream, really. They want low-income housing, and with that comes a lot of other problems, including crime.”
Astorino is a self-proclaimed "Trump Translator" who has has a history of fighting Fair Housing legislation. It should come as no surprise that "The Translator" is pitching law and order platform. In a recent Facebook post, he describes protesters as "goons and troublemakers that use intimidation and violence to silence people they disagree with." In lock step with Trump's talking points.
Coincidence? Maybe.
But we do need to ask: Who benefits when chaos is manufactured in Westchester? Why would someone go to the trouble of creating t-shirts and leaving them in family's driveways?
We'll probably never know.
What we do know is this:
No matter what. Do not repost the above graphic. And ask your friends not to post it.
It's dangerous disinformation.
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