BLM Protest - Words Make A Difference

By Pat Biancaniello

It began with an online flyer inviting people outside of Smithtown to participate in a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest that would take place on Sunday, June 7 in Smithtown. The flyer, according to people who know the person who posted it online, was an attempt to raise awareness of the issues and injustices people of color deal with on a daily basis.    

The flyer was meant to connect with the anger minorities feel and to capitalize on the outrage expressed by protests around the nation since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. To many Smithtown residents who saw the  flyer and the message attached to its social media posting it was a call to repeat the worst of the BLM protests. They envisioned a protest that would include looting and the destruction of anything within reach of the protesters.

The stage was set.

Rumors about the intent of the protesters were rampant on social media and it seems that everyone had a reliable source confirming the BLM plans for the destruction of Smithtown.  23-year-old Dylan Rice, a Smithtown resident and a Democrat running for NYS Assembly, saw the social media posting and worked to locate its source and to better understand what was happening. He reached out to Caitlin, the event coordinator, and worked to bring a peaceful rally/march to Smithtown. Dylon believed a peaceful rally would reflect his and other residents’ support for the BLM movement which promotes equality and respect for life.

photo by Dylan RiceThe protest, scheduled for 2 pm was changed to 4pm but crowds started gathering at 2pm. It began with a rally at Stop And Shop located on W. Main Street. When asked by a speaker, “Who here is from Smithtown?” around half of the attendees raised their hands. The crowd grew from 150 people at 2 pm to approximately 750 at 4:30. Amazingly, almost every attendee wore a face mask although social distancing was not practiced. The rally at Stop And Shop included protest chants “Say their names”, “I can’t breathe”* etc.  and ended with the protesters kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time the Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck causing him to die.   Protesters then began their march down towards Town Hall.

At this point the road was closed as marchers filled the streets.  Marchers chanted, “I can’t breathe”* and other chants, they were loud. When they reached the area near Katie’s on Main Street they encountered a small but also loud group of people with flags, a huge military style truck and at least one large Trump banner. The anti- BLM protesters (without masks) had positioned themselves to be visible, vocal and disruptive. The anti-BLM appears to have been comprised of mostly non-Smithtown people.

The scene became somewhat disruptive as disgusting insults, some racial some sexual were exchanged.

The march continued down Main Street turned around at Terry Road some participants continued to march to the statue of Whisper the Bull at the intersection of 25A and Rte. 25. SCPD officers were successful in keeping the marchers on the designated path and Smithtown’s Public Safety officers were effective in ensuring that there were no incidents involving damage to public property.

Smithtown’s Chief of Public Safety, Thomas Lohmann, in a phone interview expressed his satisfaction in a matter of fact manner, saying he was extremely pleased with the event and the way the SCPD, Fire Department and the Department of Public Safety coordinated their actions ensuring that people expressing their constitutional right to freedom of speech was protected. 

Many Smithtown residents have reached out to Smithtown Matters expressing support for the event. Some showed support by attending and marching others expressed frustration that the flyer made them fearful of participating. Many people are still isolated in their homes due to COVID-19 and could not participate. There seems to be unanimity in the belief that George Floyd’s death by police is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.  

At Monday’s press conference County Executive Bellone announced an investigation into an incident involving a protestor and an anti-BLM protestor. The incident is being investigated by Fourth Precinct Crime Section, Fourth Squad and Hate Crimes.

*Spell check correction.

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Comments

[Steve]

You make a point of saying "The anti-BLM appears to have been comprised of mostly non-Smithtown people.", but nothing about the fact that the BLM protesters, too, were mostly not from Smithtown. I believe the organizer is from West Islip.

Or do you believe those people were all from Smithtown?

[.]

I think I said the BLM protesters gathered at Stop And Shop were half Smithtown residents.

[Smithtown native]

There is a big net erroneously being cast as anti-BLM for those of us that did not join the march. I lived in Smithtown for most of my life, since the mid 1960s. I attended as an anti looter and an anti arsonist concerned citizen. Caitlin is to blame for most of the response she provoked - with the exclusion of the racist actors. She would have been responsible if the looters and arsonists attended. She set the stage She should publicly acknowledge her error and apologize for her huge blunder. Unless, of course, she really meant what she advertised. We will never know.

[Gregory Martinez]

These illegal demonstrations are a disgrace. Blocking roads and intersections, which happened on Tuesday June 9 are NOT peaceful assemblies. They violated all manner of traffic laws. They also violated all the virus social distancing decrees by the Governor. These criminals should have been ordered off the streets and if they refused should have been arrested. I have lived in Smithtown since 1965, I never thought I would see the day that our County Exec and SCPD would allow radical anti-Americans take over our streets.The County failed to protect the Town of Smithtown.

[John]

Many videos were posted on line on how the protestors were yelling. @$*# my #$%*, f*#& the police and f*#& Donald trump at the local residents at katies, they were 90 % Smithtown residents also stateing where they were from on a facebook live post by Setsuket patriots, asking people where they were from.
When the protsetors reached katies all hell broke loose with protestors yelling Obsenities and a mini standoff with police for about 20 minutes. Police made the residents get out of the army truck you mentioned to get the protestors to move again infringing on their 1st amment right to protest by the residents who complied. Protestors then began to throw water bottles at residents at the Ace Hardware shopping center. All documented on the setauket patriots facebook page. The media got it all wrong on this one. It was anything but peaceful.

[Claudia]

This article is so slanted it's ridiculous. It is not unbiased reporting--it reads more like a high school argumentative essay that barely receives a passing grade. For example, you misspell the word "breathe" in the fourth and fifth paragraphs. There had been violence all across the country--looting, vandalism, injuries and deaths of innocent law enforcement officers and civilians prior to the demonstration on Sunday. The counter protest was meant to protect our beautiful and historic town. I have read, from several sources, that BLM is intentionally targeting affluent communities. They are deliberately thumbing their noses in our faces. Blocking traffic, descending on a police station, throwing bricks, not social distancing, climbing and sitting on top of the Brooksite Drive sign and waving to a cheering crowd, shouting, "You can't hide anymore. We're gonna come to your front yard," posting on social media, "Operation Burn Smithtown to the f*cking ground is a major priority" are not peaceful actions. If you need proof of any of my claims, I have photo and video to back me up. I'd be happy to share with you. After the group dispersed, pro-BLM individuals began sharing photos of the patriots in Smithtown, along with their home addresses and places of business. To what end? To send a Christmas card? Or to continue to harass them? I am 52 years old and have lived in the Hauppauge/Smithtown area my entire life. We can't have graduations, proms or a Memorial Day Parade, but it's perfectly acceptable for people who don't belong in our town--people who have been bussed in and paid to cause mayhem to march down Main Street, while our police try to keep control and helicopters circle overhead. All on the taxpayers' dime, by the way. They were here Sunday. They were here Tuesday. Rumor has it they will return again tonight. This is not a protest. It's intimidation. And we're tired of it. You ran for Town Supervisor and lost in 2009. In July 2018, you were removed from a Lee Zeldin Rally. It's obvious that you were misbehaving and very clear why you stand with people who are disruptive. These inflammatory articles are your latest attempt to undermine the values of our town. Your voice does not represent Smithtown. You do not stand with us. Perhaps you would be better suited to living and working in an urban community. You seem to identify with that population. Stop trying to indoctrinate Smithtown. We aren't interested in your anti-American perspective.

[Concerned Resident]

Why is this article so one sided and full of fake news???? Patrons at stop and shop were abused by protesters. Protesters instigated the peaceful people of Smithtown standing on the side of the road. Protesters were chanting "white cracker", and "suck my *@#" and carrying signs that said I only suck black @#*@. Protesters threw drinks at bystanders. They chanted threats that they were coming into our white neighborhoods. I witnessed a young black protester put his fists up and attempt to fight an older gentleman. Fortunately a police officer was there to stop it. Concerned Smithtown resident and business owners were there to back our police and our town. The police kept thanking them for having their backs if the shit hit the fan because they knew they were out numbered. Counter protesters were chanting USA and were called racist for the USA chant. Residents were not scared of the the misguided 20 year olds, they were more concerned that Antifa instigators may have been mixed in to cause destruction of our town. The percentage of Smithtown residents that were in the protest is much lower than the 50% you stated. Most of them came here from other towns and NYC. A 500 car caravan came off of the Northernstate Parkway prior to the start of the protest. Numerous photos and videos are available to prove the facts I just stated. Counter protesters which were mostly Smithtown residents have received an overwhelming amount of thank you's from other Smithtown residents thanking them for standing up for our town. Counter protesters are being continuously being attacked personally as well as their businesses. Protesters are trying to identify anyone that does not fit their agenda and are bashing their business through social media. A huge thank you to SCPD, and the counter protesters. May God bless them all. I do not feel sorry for the protesters if they were called names. Residents were called much worse.

[.]

Thank you for pointing out the misspelling I will correct it. Pat

[Christine - A Concerned Resident]

I've been a resident of Smithtown, a very close knit community, for 38 plus years. I first saw the post for the protest held in Smithtown this past Sunday on social media. The post was disturbing as it clearly reflected a picture with flames and comments that lead me to believe this group planned on bestowing destruction upon our community. One comment indicated that the group wanted to march through the "privileged neighborhoods to make us feel uncomfortable with their noise and passion so much that we could no longer ignore them." A number of Smithtown residents and business owners decided to get together and show up on Sunday to ensure no harm was brought upon their businesses by the alleged protesters should they turn out to be violent rioters as depicted in their flyer circulated on social media. What we the residents and business owners of Smithtown experienced was disgusting. As soon as the protesters saw us lining the streets with many American flags flying, they immediately began shouting profanities at us as well as the police officers who were there to protect everyone. What was so disheartening to me, was most of this group was very young in age. What was coming out of their mouths was disturbing. Besides the profanities, I witnessed them throwing things such as bottles at both residents and police officers. The young girl who orchestrated this protest, Caitlin, should be ashamed of herself first off for posting that disgusting flyer as well as bringing these individuals, who were clearly not from Smithtown, to our quiet community to cause uneasiness. I think this group of young people with little to no life experience need a history lesson. They all should Google Martin Luther King, Jr. and read about what this man was about. In a recent article I read, it stated "Mr. King was adamant about one thing.....never resort to violence because it will only beget more violence and be used afterwards as a tool to delegitimize the movement. Against endless provocations, Mr. King and millions of other protesters remained steadfast in their peacefulness." Something this group knows nothing about. Following this protest, some people from this group proceeded to bash the residents and business owners on social media stating "expose these Smithtown racists". They went as low as to list names of people, addresses and names of businesses because they didn't like that our community came out to ensure our town was not harmed in any way. Again, they should be ashamed of themselves. Because they didn't like that we came out on Sunday, they decided to come back on Tuesday to wreak havoc. These people were threatening "you can't hide anymore, we're going to come to your front yard". I have the video if you'd like to see it. They were also climbing up a street sign on Brooksite Drive and jumping in front of cars on Veterans Highway. A friend of my family who lives on a side street off of Brooksite Drive decided to go for a bike ride on Tuesday evening and ran into protesters and they had the nerve to say to her "get the f*&% out of here!". She in turn told them to "get the f*&% out of here because I live here and you don't!" This is what we here in the town of Smithtown have been dealing with. Pat Biancaniello, were we at the same place on Sunday I must ask after reading your article?? Our elected leaders need to step up and do something about the abuse going on in our small towns across Long Island! Enough is enough!

[Elaine Turley]

Many thanks to Smithtown Matters for reporting on the local protesters who joined with Americans throughout the United States for change to bring our government's actions into conformity with our American values as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and our United States Constitution. It is no surprise that so many of your readers responded in defense of their racist attitudes, always evident here in Smithtown. I am, on the other hand, surprised and disappointed that those who criticized our citizens' right to protest fail to recognize the importance of our First Amendment rights to petition our government for change, to assemble and to speak out against government action that deprives any citizen of his or her right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is an obvious failure in the comments to recognize that our country was founded by revolution against oppression and injustice and that our rich history is filled with this spirit of protest and citizen activism.

We have heard the racist values expressed by your readers in Smithtown before. In 2001 during a public hearing at the Suffolk County Legislature related to establishment of a hiring hall for immigrants in Farmingville, then Smithtown Legislator Michael D'Andre opined if the immigrants came to Smithtown the residents would meet them with baseball bats. A few years later teenagers from Patchogue attacked and killed an Ecuadorean immigrant laborer - yes, words do make a difference.

Smithtown is a beautiful place to live and raise our families, but change is needed. I know many Smithtown residents respect all members of our American society and wish to see our American values of freedom, equality and justice prevail in our community. I hope that our voices will be those heard above the voices of hate, prejudice and denial. This will not happen unless we speak loudly and often. I am responsible for remaining too silent too often. It is time to confront who we really are in Smithtown and what change is needed.

[Smithtown resident]

This article is clearly written with bias towards one side and that is simply not fair reporting, which in my opinion is the source of most of the tension and unrest that we are seeing. I have not spoken or heard from a single person, black or white that does not think that the officer responsible is a murderer but somehow this has turned into black vs white due to irresponsible reporting. Depending on which tv station you tune in to, you will get a different story and neither side is quite right but the truth lay somewhere in the middle. That is what is happening to Smithtown. We were shown a flier that displayed pictures of destruction and then we see all kinds of posts on social media telling us that someone is "coming for us". I am not a political person at all. I am a person who believes that all people were created by God. I also like rules and order and what has come out of many of these protests (as we have seen on the media) is something far different than people voicing their fears and concerns for their families. It is chaos and terror. I stand with all people who want equality. I want that too. I feel that many of those citizens that you refer to as "Anti BLM protesters" were there to make sure that our little town did not become part of the community list that was assaulted by looters. That is not even hinted at in this article. You are part of the problem. Reporting was once non biased but now it is who can reach the masses with their own personal opinions and agenda rather than the actual facts. To say that I am disappointed in the world right now is an understatement. I am disappointed in people who truly are racists because we are better than that and all God's people. We all deserve a good life. I am also disappointed in the people who are using the state of our nation to steal from fellow Americans in the name of a cause when they seem to have lost sight of that cause. I am seriously disappointed in the American Media that spread this hate and misinformation. State facts and facts only. The Smithtown I know is made of good, hard working people. Have you ever seen the “Smithtown Mom” pages on Facebook? If you mention a family, or a person, or a business (anywhere on Long Island) that is in need, they come out in masses. Not to protest against anything, but to help. Fire? They will collect gift cards by the hundreds to help. No Christmas for a child? They have got that too and they never forget the parents in those Christmas gifts either. When we were told how hard a local “less fortunate” town was hit by Covid-19, they hopped to it to bring thousands of groceries so that those people weren’t hungry. Could there be people with less pure hearts in this town who are racist? Maybe. But that does not take away from the masses that come out to help because of their pure hearts and their compassion for others who have a need. I refuse to focus on only the bad people in every group. We need to do better for one another. "Smithtown Matters"

[A Registered Democrat]

First, it’s a constitutional right for people to protest. Just about everyone does not have a problem with it, as long as it's peaceful. There are some real racists out there, regardless of color. Fortunately, most aren’t. Raising awareness of a problem is a positive thing. Perhaps we should work on raising awareness of stereotyping next.

Here’s another problem people should be aware of. It's all about that protest poster that some dismissed as fake, and most others considered a real concern.

I believe that certain member(s) of the Smithtown Democratic Committee have a strong hand in this publication. One member of the committee, who shall remain nameless, claimed on Nextdoor that the poster in question was "fake". Their intentions quickly became obvious; it was an effort to protect the organizer of the protests for her threatening poster. In fact, the committee member admitted that they knew about the planned protest before it was made public, which likely means that they knew about the poster before we did as well.

The committee member insisted that the Nextdoor user who originally posted the image of the threatening poster did it all under a fake account to instill fear in us. Then, when an ABC news article proved that the poster was real and was designed by the protest organizer (https://abc7ny.com/623782), they STILL denied the validity of the poster . The news article stated, “Matos-Rodriguez put out a flyer promoting the protest, which showed a fiery image from Minneapolis with the words, "Rebel. March. Mosh."

The protest organizer went on to say that she was “surprised that counter protesters showed up to the protest”.

She was surprised counter protesters were there?! Seriously?! What the heck was she to expect after publishing a poster like hers?

Now it appears that Smithtown has become a target because everyone who lives here is supposedly racist, when it was the content of the poster that set everyone off - not the protests themselves. Again - an elected representative of Smithtown insisted the poster was fake! This very publication, Smithtown Matters, also published something earlier this week implying the poster was fake when it wasn't. It was real.

Other left-wing publications spun it and lied too, claiming Smithtown residents “expressed bewilderment at plans for a demonstration”, when all the residents were REALLY doing was expressing concern for safety and violence that was triggered by concerning content within the stupid protest poster. (https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/smithtown-rally-stop-and-shop-facebook-1.45327392 )

As a result of the lies and misinformation, including from an elected member of a town committee and left-leaning publications, protesters seem to believe that Smithtown residents are a bunch of racists. Meanwhile, the poster is what caused everyone to freak out – NOT THE PROTESTS. If the poster was absent of the images of arson and other non-peaceful verbiage, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in now. Either the protest organizer didn’t think it through, or, they were race baiting people. One or the other. Either way, the ORGANIZER caused this.

In my opinion, I believe that voicing any concerns of violent protests are irrelevant, unimportant, and undermine the political and ideological agendas of several key figures and residents within the community. These same people will gaslight and pretend that these protests are peaceful, when we know they truly aren’t. They call people liars, racists and morons for nothing more than honest concerns for safety. Then, they will lie again and say they never called people these things - even after you show them screenshots of their own words. They will keep at it, lying about what people said, twisting words and agitating the protesters in an effort to “keep the heat” on Smithtown residents. And then there are those who are obviously oblivious to the true intentions of some (not all) of the protestors and/or outsiders who are infiltrating the protests in an effort to turn them violent, as seen in other communities.

While buildings didn’t burn and stores were not looted here, anyone who considers some of the protests in Smithtown as “peaceful” clearly hasn’t seen what the rest has seen or they refuse to admit they did. Or, they just don’t care.

And to those who cheer BLM protests, yet, are now calling political rallies or any other gathering a “coronavirus risk”… you are nothing more than hypocrites. But I digress.

Folks will not sit idol and pretend they don’t know what’s really going on. And we certainly will not let our neighborhoods turn into “autonomous zones”, similar to what’s happening in Seattle (https://nypost.com/2020/06/11/a-look-inside-seattles-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone/) and what happened in Portland (https://www.rt.com/usa/491513-portland-protesters-abandon-failed-zone/).

To those who call others racist for nothing more than alternative political views, concerns for the safety of families, friends, communities and country… know that you will never guilt shame an entire population into believing anything they don’t believe in. The word “racism” has been tossed around so much, it’s just about meaningless. So top painting everyone with your broad brush. It doesn’t work anymore. Every single American has equal rights. Anything else would be racial supremacy.

I take comfort in knowing that the silent majority, who is starting to become no-so-silent anymore, has awakened to some real bad intentions of a few, including twisting facts, lying, and false narratives. The news media included.

[.]

Smithtown Matters never implied a flyer was fake. A memo from the Town of Smithtown was posted on the site. We continue to use this venue for the TOS to disseminate important information. This article addresses the flyer and how its language was interpreted.