East Bronx History Forum highlights and events
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PRIL 12-18, 2019 73
Action
Association
(Right) Book Cover - Do Not Give
Way to Evil: Photographs of the
South Bronx, 1979–1987
Courtesy of the East Bronx History Forum
BY THOMAS X. CASEY
The Huntington Free Library
and Reading Room announces
the East Bronx History
Forum will hold its 138th
meeting on Wednesday, April
17 at 7:30 p.m. All meetings are
free and open to the public.
“Ladies and gentleman,
the Bronx is burning”. These
words were never said on TV
by Howard Cosell during the
1977 World Series, but they
were imprinted in our minds
by local reporters. The Bronx
had almost stopped burning
by 1979. The intensity and extent
of the devastation permeated
the landscape. The Bronx
came undone in a confl uence
of unfortunate circumstances:
the life cycle of community,
rampant city planning, economic
change, racism, poverty,
failed hopes, drugs,
crime, abandonment, counterproductive
government response.
The entire story has
yet to be told.
Lisa Kahane was encouraged
to photograph it for a
time when it would be a memory,
which was then impossible
to imagine. Ironically,
Kahane had a good time in
the Bronx. People smiled and
said, “Throw me a photo!”
they wanted their story told.
The result, Do Not Give
Way to Evil: Photographs of
the South Bronx, 1979–1987, is
an extraordinary document
of devastation and rejuvenation,
as Kahane recorded the
fi rst seeds of rebuilding. Kahane
will led a presentation of
her photographic work at the
Huntington Free Library, 9
Westchester Square.
BY FRANK V. VERNUCCIO, JR.
The familiar American
political landscape of Democrats
and Republicans, liberals
and conservatives has
been dramatically altered.
Concepts once considered
completely foreign and unacceptable
are now openly and
vigorously competing in the
marketplace of ideas.
This newly empowered
radical movement consists of
socialists, environmental extremists,
and dissenters from
the Judeo-Christian ethic
that has essentially formed
the underpinnings of western
thought. Although disparate
in many of their beliefs,
they share a common enmity
for American culture, the
U.S. Constitution, and free
enterprise. This unites them,
at least until the existing order
is overturned. They also
have in common a particular
disdain for the First Amendment,
and the rejection of the
supremacy of facts over ideology.
A hallmark of the radical
left is a constant trend to censor
and outcast any comment
they disagree with. Their
infl uence is not to be taken
lightly, and their success rate
is alarming.
This was rather dramatically
illustrated recently by
separate incidents affecting
conservative commentator
Jeanine Pirro and Chelsea
Clinton, the liberal daughter
of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Pirro questioned whether
Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-Minn.),
who has made aggressively
anti-Semitic comments and
has also accused the U.S.
of planning a coup in Venezuela,
placed her personal
beliefs above the Constitution,
allegedly symbolized by
her clothing. Her FOX program
was subsequently suspended.
Clinton’s comments were
so innocuous as to seem not
even worthy of attention.
While attending a vigil for
the Muslims killed at a New
Zealand Mosque, the former
First Daughter was sharply
criticized and absurdly accused
of being the cause of
the massacre simply because
she disagreed with an anti-
Semitic tweet by the same
Rep. Omar.
The fact that a commentator
was suspended for merely
raising a question is noteworthy,
another example in
a growing list of successful
censorship activities engineered
by a vigorous radical
left. The fact that many students
agreed with the criticism
of Clinton is indicative
of the success that the left’s
anti-fact drive has enjoyed.
The radicals also differ
from traditional politics in
their condonation and actual
employment of force and the
threat of violence, particularly
in their assault on the
First Amendment. Conservative
commentator Tucker
Carlson’s home was assaulted
by an ANTIFA mob,
a group which is, essentially,
the equivalent of the Nazi
(National Socialist) Party’s
‘Brownshirts’ who terrorized
Jews and other dissenters
of Hitler’s rise to absolute
power. A Breitbart studydescribed
over 600 acts of violence
against Trump supporters.
Reports of individuals
being assaulted for merely
wearing a ‘Make America
Great Again’ cap are a regular
occurrence.
Universities are a key
power center of the radical
left. The descent of American
colleges was fi rst significantly
noted in 1987, when
author Allan Bloom published
his landmark book,
‘The closing of the American
Mind.’ He reported that the
curriculum rejected rationality
and reality. The situation
has since grown worse.
Throughout the nation,
professors, students, and
guest speakers alike who
challenge the leftist orthodoxy
are harassed and marginalized.
Insane policies
that defy the very foundation
of the First Amendment have
been enacted to prevent the
free exchange of ideas. Political
correctness—which in
practice can include the rejection
of anything that challenges
left wing biases—has
replaced open discourse.
Clear examples of an increasingly
totalitarian bent
can be seen in the treatment
of teachers and guest lecturers
who refuse to kowtow to
the Leftist academic establishment.
The radical’s anti-fact emphasis
has attained sacredcow
status. Environmental
extremists insist that there
is no dissent from the manman
climate change mantra.
Completely ignored are the
31,072 American scientists,
including 9,029 with PH.D’s,
who signed a petition opposing
the views of those who
claim human factors have altered
the climate.
Yet anyone even acknowledging
contrary views is labelled
a ‘denier’ with the
same hostile vigor reserved
for alleged heretics during
the Inquisition, despite clear
example of intentionally altered
data.
The push to employ the
same socialist policies that
have consistently failed in
nations as diverse as the Soviet
Union, East Germany,
North Korea and Venezuela
is in and of itself a clear example
of the radical’s rejection
of facts.
The unprecedented mainstreaming
of violence, suppression
of free speech, and
the rejection of facts is a dangerous
new reality in American
politics can no longer be
ignored.
Hope our Support the
Troops Tupperware Party
was successful.
Thank you the Throggs
Neck Memorial Post 1456 for
hosting.
Don’t forget Friday, May
17 we will have our Annual
Support the Troops Bingo
Night fundraiser, courtesy of
Sam Young Post 620.
Great time, great cause,
get tickets now from the ladies.
It’s a popular event and
sells out fast!
April’s regular post meeting
for us at the Turmer Club
will be Sunday, April 28.
Nominations time. Won’t you
step up and give a position
a try. You will have a great
team behind you.
The Van Nest Monument
will have their grand reopening
this Memorial Day weekend.
I think we should make
them a special stop this year.
They even changed their time
so we could make it.
Until next time: Fear
makes the wolf bigger than he
is. - German proverb