To the Editor: 

At the moment I saw them from my car, many of the folks protesting peacefully in front of Massena Town Hall for Black Lives Matter recently were not wearing face masks and not social distancing.

I am given to understand someone from the Massena Police Department gave face masks to the group. I’ve seen no press release on this, so unless I missed such a release, it appears the action taken was not a cynical public relations ploy but an example of an astute public health measure and concrete evidence of the kindness and respect citizens in every community deserve.

Moreover, rather than being an isolated act of kindness by our local department, it’s only the most recent one of several that have come to my attention since moving here in 2018. My mention of it here ought not be used by anyone to distract from or diminish in any way the obvious need for reimagining policing and every other public institution across our country to eradicate racism and its many tragic consequences once and for all.

My purpose with this message is to acknowledge when public servants quietly do their job for the right reasons and without fanfare.

Scott Allen Bennett, LICSW (MA), BCD

Massena