Loving thy neighbor in 08807

"I feel a blog coming on"

Hateful acts in 08807 make national news 

Whenever anything interesting happens my girlfriend says to me, "I feel a blog coming on." And while I haven't seen her lately, I wonder if that's what she was thinking when she saw that once again Bridgewater made the news for its ability to spew hate. 

Keep your stupid tip!

Diners in Bridgewater refused to leave a tip to a waitress because they assumed she was a lesbian.  Even the foreign press knows about it. NIMBY is alive and well here!

It's one thing not to leave the tip - but the note? We don't tip gay people??? Did they think their note would make her re-think her hairstyle, and "lifestyle"? 

Mosque update kept quiet

I understand that I haven't been at the forefront of Bridgewater politics this year, but I assume I would have heard about this ruling earlier. In 2011 Bridgewater made the New York Times when this first came up: see http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/opinion/no-room-for-tolerance.html?_r=0. The ruling is back in the news... and the township is appealing the loss, even though we've already spent a quarter of a million dollars (of tax payer money!) according to the Courier News. (While I wouldn't quite call it "mob rule" here in 08807, here is another take from a Courier writer on it). Call it traffic if it makes you more comfortable, but you can't deny that increased traffic is the only reason some don't want a mosque in Martinsville!

And then the saddest hatred of all: the silent kind

My Dad spent 55 years as a pathologist and he has seen his share of hatred, horrifying stories (not to mention that he lived in Europe during World War II and was an officer in Egypt during the Suez Canal crisis - an undeclared war). 

Often he would come home from work and share another sad story of brutality in which a husband killed his wife. Recently a my daughter's former classmate survived a horrifying thing: her father killed her mother while she was home. (That was the original article, here is a follow up story.) Unfortunately this happens EVERYWHERE. Every single day women are brutalized in domestic violence.

Beside the  hate, there is plenty of love <3 font="">

I try to keep optimistic. As I learn about these outpourings of hate, I also find out about so much positive:

• Regarding the mosque: http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/rabbis-letter-on-proposed-bridgewater-mosque 
• The waitress gets her tip: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/us/new-jersey-gay-waitress-no-tip/ and then donates it. 
• And a support group for domestic violence survivors in a community known for silence: http://www.manavi.org/2013/11/588/

Finally - if you want to do something for the young girl who lost her mother so tragically this week, there is a trust fund being set up to help with her college expenses.

Nitya Kalidindi Trust: 

A Trust account has been established to assist Nitya Kalidindi, age 16, daughter of Janaki Dantuluru who passed away under tragic circumstances on November 16, 2013 at  Somerset Medical Center.  A trust fund will be used exclusively for the health, education and welfare of Nitya Kalidindi, a gifted student at Somerset Academy for Health and Bio Sciences. 

Checks can be made payable to:  "Nitya Kalidindi Trust" P.O. Box 6245 Bridgewater NJ 08807

Thank you to my friends who keep me informed of the good, the bad and the ugly in 08807 and beyond. Remember that even if you don't agree with the posting or any other, when you voice your disagreement, do it respectfully. Your friends, your neighbors - and the press - have enough reason to think we're all a bunch of bigots here. 

I know that there is bigotry everywhere and domestic violence is world-wide, and that the Jews, Christians and Muslims have been fighting one another in some form for centuries. I just feel a little NIMBY too - not in my backyard too....But I'm NIMBY about the hateful rhetoric and horrific actions in my neighborhood.