An African American family living on Long Island, New York, received a threatening and frightening anonymous letter in their mailbox that let it be known they didn't belong there and "should move as soon as you can" because of the color of their skin.
Ronica Copes lives with her family in Lindenhurst, a suburban enclave located a little more than one hour away from Manhattan. Copes, 37, has lived in her two-family home with several relatives since 2013 and says she was shocked when she opened up her mailbox to find a letter with her address written on the envelope. The coward(s) who wrote the note signed it "community" because they didn't have the guts to identify themselves and own up to their hate.
The letter reportedly read: "Lindenhurst is 84% white population. You don't belong here!!! Please leave Lindenhurst as soon as you can. It will be better for all of us. Find the town where there are more people like you."
The note even ended with a sorrynotsorry line: "Sorry if this is rude, but it's the truth."
Horrific. Thankfully, police are taking this letter seriously and have even posted a statement about it, letting the "coward who committed a hate crime against an innocent family" know that the police department was doing everything possible to find out his/her identity and dole out an appropriate consequence.
It's sickening to think that, even though Copes says the letter has had zero effect on her feelings about living in her neighborhood and won't result in her changing a damn thing, she and her family have to go to the grocery store or post office and never know whether the person next to them penned that asinine letter.
More from The Stir: Racism Reports Won't Change Ferguson Self Defense Charges
Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised by the racist attitude. I live in a predominantly Caucasian suburb on Long Island and, when one day after we purchased our home, my husband had the "pleasure" of meeting a male neighbor who, within five minutes of their conversation, felt it appropriate to assure him there are few people of different races living in our community. As you can imagine, we aren't exactly borrowing sugar from one another these days.
Racism is alive and well and can be found just minutes away from one of the world's largest cities. The good news is that this letter was likely written — let's hope — by one incredibly angry person who didn't have anything better to do with his/her day. Because, surely, more than one or two people can't be this cruel and myopic in their thinking.
What do you think about this anonymous letter? Does it surprise you?
Image via libby rosof/Flickr