New wave of hate leaflets turns up on Grand Island, NY

GI LeafletsRacist? hate-filled leaflets turned up on Grand Island this week

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) – Racist hate-filled leaflets turned up on Grand Island this week, and they seem to be similar, if not, identical to fliers that were dropped off in Lewiston two weeks ago. Just as Lewiston townsfolk rejected the offensive messages, Grand Island residents who came across the hateful pamphlets in their neighborhood also took action.

The leaflets were found scattered throughout the Woodstream Meadows sub-division on the north end of Grand Island, mostly in driveways, and Town Supervisor Nathan McMurray said they seemed to be the work of a national group, “that has affiliations with radical hate groups, racist organizations, and that was the nature of the fliers.”

The pamphlets were described as similar–if not identical to–the leaflets that turned up in Lewiston, enclosed in clear plastic Ziploc bags, spouting hateful, anti-immigrant messages.

But McMurray concedes this kind of speech is not against the law, “In America, we believe in freedom of speech, and people have freedom to say stupid things, too, and one person can make a lot of noise.”

Some residents found the leaflets so offensive, they went through the neighborhood, collected as many as they could, and threw them in the trash McMurray said, “People offered to bring them to town hall. I said I am not interested in seeing it. I have seen the photographs, you can do with the fliers what you feel you should do with them.”

The supervisor said his initial reaction was to ignore the racist leaflets, but he decided there is too much at stake, especially for Grand Island.

“If you don’t address these things and say that is wrong, it normalizes them. What we don’t want to do is let this become normalized behavior.”

Town officials believe they know who is circulating those offensive flyers and suspect they were also responsible for the leaflets in Lewiston. McMurray added, they are not from Grand Island.

Post your thoughts below in the comment section.

SOURCE: WIVB

Loading