Hate Crime in Delano MN

I can’t describe how sad, angry, hurt, and offended I am by the travesty last week in Delano, Minnesota.  You may have seen a news report that a family had just moved into town about a month ago.  They had left for the day, and when they returned, they found that their home had been broken into, ransacked and profane graffiti sprayed in and outside.

The family was black.  The adults were foster parents to one white and two black special needs children. 

The graffiti included racist remarks and swastikas. 

It is upsetting that such hateful acts could occur in my backyard.  My parents’ generation fought a horrific war, and many died, to defeat what swastikas stand for.  A threat was spray painted, saying next time it would be a fire if the family did not move.

Well, they did move.  The foster children had been traumatized by their earlier life, and the foster parents just couldn’t subject them to more trauma in what they had hoped would be their dream home.

A small silver lining:  about 1000 people attended a vigil in support of the family, and against the hateful act, last Sunday.  It reminds me of the “Not in Our Town” program I noted in the February 11 blog entry.  The builder will buy back the house from them and a Go Fund Me page has been set up to help the family with moving expenses. 

But what is most repugnant to me is that these atrocious acts were perpetrated on a family who had taken in foster children.  My 35-plus years as county attorney and district court judge, has made me painfully aware of the shortage of, and acute need for, qualified foster parents.  People who do this kind of work are some of the most dedicated and kind folks you will ever meet.

I would offer them this old but appropriate Irish blessing:

May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing.
The earth has angels all too few.
And heaven is overflowing.

And as much as I wish for peace and blessings on the foster family, I long for justice to be administered to the person or persons who perpetrated this heinous act. 

And I hope that the community’s show of support will be enduring and spread throughout Minnesota and our nation. 

 
(You can read more about this incident at http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/03/16/racist-grafitti-delano-burglary/ )