Not in Our Town

I am one of the people in Olympia who did not show up to oppose the Nazi rally that happened recently. I didn't take it seriously. I thought it would be a bunch of angry teenagers running their mouths. I thought it best not to give them a grand entrance.
Then one day I visited their website nukeisrael.com and I saw the stuff they had written about people in our community. Not just racial slurs, but names, addresses, and phone numbers of individuals and groups they want to target. And I thought about Pete Bohmer and what its like for him to live in this town now. I feel so safe here. I bet he doesn't anymore.
I was wrong to write this off.
I can still remember when I was ten years old hearing of the murder of teenager Bob Buchanon in the train tunnel downtown. It really happened, and I lived here and walked by the tunnel afterwards. For me, Sylvester Park and the train tunnel are still haunted by that horrible event.
I am grateful that for so many years we haven't had much of a Nazi presence in Olympia. I'm sorry this is cropping up now. Let's never have something like what happened in 1992 happen here again. And let's show all the wonderful people like Pete Bohmer in Olympia (and the not-so-wonderful people too) that we have their backs. Unity in the Community

“Not in Our Town,”

Documentary film about a community’s response to hate
Wednesday, May 24th, 7PM
Washington Center for the Performing Arts

512 Washington SE, Downtown Olympia
Sponsored by the Olympia School District Diversity Watch, the City of Olympia and Unity in the Community

Please attend the high school student led diversity forum and screening of “Not in Our Town” sponsored by the Olympia School District’s Diversity committee, the City of Olympia and Unity in the Community. This screening will take place at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, located in downtown Olympia at 512 Washington SE.

All ages are welcome. Unity posters and stickers will be available and Unity volunteers will be collecting names to be listed in the Olympian ads. This event will offer a unique opportunity for a multi-generational dialogue on diversity and what to do when hate groups come to town.

This is the fist public screening of “Not in Our Town,” the inspiring documentary film about the residents of Billings, Montana who in 1993 responded to an upsurge in hate violence by standing together for a hate-free community. This video has being made available locally by Temple Beth Hatfiloh for educational purposes.

For more information please contact us at info@olympiaunityinthecommunity.org