To the editor:

I am very concerned that Little League president Aguiar downplayed the racist and anti-semitic aspects of the graffiti incident at Sherwood Field, as reported in the Barrington Times yesterday. I can tell you from having had a kid in the middle school here that racist, antisemitic, anti-Asian, and homophobic slurs are common.

We fail our kids when we do not have the will to come together as a town and make sure this culture changes, by investing in good diversity and inclusion programs in the schools, including parents, and by backing community attempts to promote empathy, such as the FLM FWD festival. There should be multiple such community-wide programs.

Saying that these "knuckleheads" didn't have racist or antisemitic intent completely ignores the impact that their actions have on our neighbors who are Jewish or Black or brown-skinned. That impact is significant. It's literally a "Barrington is not for you" sign, and here we have adults discounting it as simply "knuckleheads" and, as Police Chief Michael Correia was quoted as saying, "misguided juveniles." If they didn't intend to be racist or antisemitic, then they're completely ignorant of the history and impact, and need education and guidance from us.

If they're misguided it's because we, as a whole town, are not guiding them. Things like this didn't happen in my former community in Brooklyn, "misguided youth" or not, because there was comprehensive diversity and inclusion education—key to the schools values—woven throughout, not just a one-off assembly. There was also a partnership among teachers and parents supporting this. The result of this 360 approach to creating a healthy, kind, and inclusive culture was that if any kid acted out in a racist or otherwise hateful, exclusionary manner, the other kids would have shut it down before the parents and teachers even got there. With work, a positive school culture IS possible, even in this often hateful world.

I approached the school administration years ago about the constant stream of hate speech that was going on—and sparked by a meme that praised Hitler as the ultimate "Fortnite player, with 11 million kills." I provided them with a list of possible programs, vetted by friends who are educators. There was apparent enthusiasm for investing in ways to turn the culture around, and clear apprehension that if this were done, there would be significant parental pushback here in Barrington. That is tragic.

I think—hope—that there's a silent majority being held in inaction by some misguided adults, and I hope this incident spurs long-overdue investment and action. Crucially, I hope that those traditionally silent will speak out.

Louise Sloan

Barrington