The following was posted to those who cam to a fund raiser at our house on Thursday. I wanted to share it as a warning and a motivator. This occured in Delmar, NY, which is a quiet small town where people consider it safe for kids to be out after dark and women to walk their dogs or just take a walk at night.
Thank you so much for supporting our Obama fundraiser. The good news: Your generosity raised $1,700 on Thursday night. And we had a lot of fun.
Sadly our high did not last long. The bad news: A woman in our neighborhood who attended the fundraiser was assaulted on our street later that night.
Our neighbor left our house and went to Beff's, a local watering hole, to meet some friends. She was wearing an Obama button and told her friends about the fundraiser. She left around 11:30 and set off home. Not long after she passed Saint Thomas's, some big guy came up from behind her, called her a nigger lover, punched her in the face, and threw her to the ground. She was left unconscious. Her face is a picture of cuts and bruises. She is a short, slender woman; so this guy is not only a racist and a thug, he is also a coward.
Our neighbor reported the incident to the police that night. She came to tell us yesterday. We called the local Obama office and Jack Cunningham, the Bethlehem Town Supervisor. He stopped by last night and went to see our neighbor. She is naturally frightened and wants to wait until she can think more clearly before she decides what else she might do and how much publicity she wants.
We need to get the word out. Delmar/Bethlehem is considered a very safe neighborhood. Some locals think this is the work of an outsider. I rather suspect that this thug lives among us. You should all be careful, particularly if you are women wearing Obama buttons. This was a race-and-gender-based hate crime.
All the more reason to keep campaigning...
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