The Mob vs. The Army

“Why do you support this organization when they don’t support LGBTQ?”

That’s the question I was asked Thursday morning during the Salvation Army Christmas Castle Breakfast held at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center.

That the question came from arguably one of the most genuinely kind people I know in our great city, a person also in attendance at the event, provided an opportunity to discuss an issue that comes up every year around this time, a time when the Salvation Army raises over $200,000 to help those in need right here, in our own community.

The person was asking because she, too, had been asked how she could attend an event supporting an organization targeted by woke mobs. Ironically, last year the Army had been targeted by conservative mobs upset over a guide encouraging conversations about racism.

Scorn from both ends of the political extremes. Quite the accomplishment in our splintered society. And a sure sign the Salvation Army is doing something right.

The response to the query was pretty much what I’d been saying for years in my talk radio career; whether there’s widespread damage due to floods, a tragic fire, an incarcerated person who’s lost everything and everyone, a hungry family, or simply a child in need of a little hope during the season of giving, the Salvation Army in Greater Lowell is ALWAYS there.

They show up where there is a need. They don’t ask about race, sexual orientation, political ideology or anything else for that matter. They only ask one question; “what do you need?”

My kind friend, a passionate LGBTQ advocate, seemed satisfied with the answer. Satisfied because she now had an answer to the question posed by her political friends, and I believe satisfied because it put her mind at ease that she wasn’t doing anything wrong by attending that morning.

Now I have a couple of questions for you? Do you base your giving on whether someone agrees with your politics? Do you say no to donating when a local family has lost everything in a fire because they or the group asking on their behalf placed campaign signs you don’t like on their lawn? Do you say no when asked to bring a toy so that a child can have something to open Christmas morning because their mother and father didn’t virtue signal loudly enough for one of your causes?

If you answered yes to any of these but have no problem raising money for wealthy politicians, I would suggest it is you who has a problem. Truly compassionate people give where there is need, not necessarily where there is political kinship.

Which group do you associate with?

(This year’s Salvation Army Radiothon takes place December 10^th on 980WCAP-AM. There are live auctions, online auctions, firefighter boot drives, those omnipresent kettles, and best of all, an amazing day showcasing the spirit of hundreds of volunteers and an amazing community)

Vote Yes on Non-Partisanship

A couple of weeks ago, this space offered advice to non-profits who I felt have lost their way. In a podcast posted at InsideLowell November 1^st, the Pod Squad and I engaged in a discussion about one such group, Lowell Votes, over their advocacy involving questions on the ballot, specifically Questions 1 and 4.

Shortly thereafter, we turned to the confusion addressed in last week’s “Musings” over the Lowell Voke School Committee election. In his typical, sarcastic style, Insider Mike Bacigalupo (aka Bach) said; “if only there was an organization whose mission was to educate people on how to cast a proper ballot in such a confusing election.”

Well, it appears that someone was reading, listening, or both.

On Friday, the Lowell Votes Facebook page included a sample ballot that spelled out the specific areas on the ballot where Mill City voters are supposed to cast their write in votes in each individual community. It was a perfect example of how an organization with a stated mission of informing people how to vote, not HOW to vote, is supposed to operate. For that, they deserve a lot of credit.

Will it help them recover lost credibility over their ballot initiative advocacy and other partisan efforts in the past? No, especially since they haven’t stopped advocating for “Yes” votes on the ballot initiatives in question. But it shows they’re either willing to listen to criticism and grow from it, or they at least remember enough of their stated mission to follow some of it.

It’s a start.