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The Star-Ledger
N.J. Voices
Just say no to
discrimination
wherever it exists
by Senator Raymond
Lesniak, nj.com from the Web, April 4, 2008
Senator Lesniak sent the following
letter to the Polish Parliament and the Polish Consulate in New York City:
My four grandparents emigrated from Poland to the United States in the early
1900s. My father, a brilliant man, had to quit school when he was 12 to do
manual work to support his family. There were no opportunities for recent
immigrant families from Poland. And to keep his job, he had to endure the
"Polack" put downs so common in those days.
His strength and endurance instilled in me the pride I have in my Polish
heritage.
That pride was manifest to the world when I was selected as Grand Marshall of
the Pulaski Day Parade in 2004 and proudly marched up Fifth Avenue in New York
City with tens of thousands of Polish-Americans along side.
That pride causes me to speak out now against Poland's President Lech
Kaczynski's campaign against incorporating into Polish law the prohibition of
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
President Kaczynski recently spoke out against the ratification of the European
Union's Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty includes the European Union's Charter of
Fundamental Rights which prohibits such discrimination. In his speech,
Poland's President linked the marriage of a gay couple living in New York City
with Polish anxieties about German occupation, a bizarre and shameful
comparison.
Immediately coming into my mind was what occurred a year ago, when the host of a
talk show on a New Jersey radio station said, "Half the Polacks joined the
Nazis. Why? To kill Jews."
I started a protest against this hate filled untruth and formed the Coalition
Against Bigotry and Hate which effectively stopped the hate speech against all
targets of the show.
Garden State Equality, New Jersey's gay rights organization was among the
members.
At the Coalition's initial press conference, its President Steven Goldstein
eloquently spoke about the bond between Polish people and Jewish people borne
out of our common suffering during World War II. Mr. Goldstein said, "Our
peoples understand, as Elie Wiesel has said, that 'to remain silent and
indifferent is the greatest sin of all.'
Gays weren't being attacked; Poles were the target of the bigotry and hate.
That didn't matter to Garden State Equality and Steve Goldstein.
To the gay community which stood up, on behalf of Poles and Polish-Americans
against bigotry and hate, I thank you. The best thanks will come, however,
when the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights is incorporated into
Polish Law.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has no basis to exist
anywhere, let alone in Poland which has encountered discrimination countless
times at the hands of neighboring countries and alliances.
"To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all."
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