fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Susan Slotnick: Not in my backyard

by Susan Slotnick
February 4, 2022
in Columns
0
Susan Slotnick: Not in my backyard

Forty-five years ago, when I was young and believed I would never be an old lady, a neighbor knocked on my door with a petition.

“Since you live at the dead-end, we thought you might be willing to spearhead our protest. ‘They’ want to build an old-age home at the end of the street next door to you.  We are opposing it!”

“Why?” I asked.

“Old people get sick and die. Ambulances will be going up and down the street.”

I refused.  We need to make room for each other.

Now I am an old lady and I wish the home for seniors was next door. How convenient that would be.  I could move there easily, carrying a big green hefty bag full of my belongings.

Instead, in that spot, are dozens of high-end houses. Yesterday, as I was taking my garbage out, one of the high-end home dwellers recently from New York City stopped and asked, “How do you feel about more houses being built? I think it’s too much.”

People have to live somewhere. It’s a bigger problem than our little neighborhood.

Too many people causing global warming, disease, famine and pestilence.  People in expensive homes have to live somewhere, too.

I didn’t tell her that. I was much more polite.  With as much tact as I could muster up, I told her there is some resentment here towards people recently relocated here from New York City who are often blamed for traffic headaches and a whole litany of other problems. We are afraid the city folks will change the town we love into something unrecognizable.

Fear is the driving force at the heart of most objections.

Oprah Winfrey said, “Fear is the opposite of love.” I disagree. Fear and love are bonded together as close as siblings, inextricably coiled like a strand of rope. Fear is the part visible.  Love is unseen, but the driving force behind almost all fears.

Fear most often rises when what we love, we believe is threatened. Fear is what we feel when we are afraid to lose what we love.

This is an equal opportunity truth. Those who voted for Trump were afraid to lose the USA they love by the browning of America and a host of other apprehensions. I voted for Biden because I feared that a mad, deranged president could kill everything I love. The anti-vaxxers are afraid the vaccine will kill them.  The vaccinated are afraid Covid will do the same. Just this morning I got off my skis because I love my body. I was scared the wind and ice would break my 76-year-old legs if I fell. I missed out on a beautiful opportunity to ski during the first good snow.

See the love lurking underneath your fears. Try it, it will be edifying.

Fortunately, the majority of our fears, unless we know for certain our plane is about to crash, are imaginary. There are good reasons to be afraid when indications of possible troubles to come are predictable, but outcomes are not yet known and could be very different than what we fear.

Often we fear other people; especially when they are very different from us.

There are eight level-3 sex offenders living in New Paltz. Many of us are afraid to lose what we love if our children and citizens could come to harm from these individuals.

I walked by a room in the prison where I volunteered for 15 years and saw the strangest sight. White, black, old, young, Hasidic, Islamic and Hispanic men were all in the same classroom. Those are the sex offenders I was told.  Sex offenses could be perpetrated by anyone, even Prince Andrew. Due to massive discrimination in our justice system, we will never see his ilk in that room.

Although fear of sex offenders is prevalent, irrational fear can cause more harm and make us way less safe. We have always lived among sex offenders. In Ulster County there are currently 307.

I remember vividly two shocking tragic murders, although I have been told there have been several more that I do not recall. There have been sex offenses committed by family members, family friends along with robberies and rapes. I do not remember a child abduction or violent crime committed by a formerly incarcerated sex offender living in our midst, but my memory is not as accurate as a deep dive into statistics. Nevertheless, there is always a reason for rational thoughtful measures to be in place to keep us safe. What we do not want is our fear to drive these men into tents in the woods. Then their whereabouts are unknown and they have no accountability to the community, which from a safety standpoint, makes no sense.

The problem with fear is that it obliterates rational solutions.

The sun is out. The wind is still strong. Instead of fearing the worse, I may as well predict the best outcome and assume my legs will carry me through the snow. I’ll let you know.

Tags: members
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Ulster County business development | HV1 Podcast #16

Next Post

The Night Sky: Want to go to Mars?

Susan Slotnick

Susan Slotnick graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1969. She has been a featured columnist for over 40 years. Her long career has been as a painter, choreographer, teacher and recently she published a memoir entitled Flight: The Dance of Freedom. She is most well known for choreographing full-scale dance concerts for men in prison, which has produced two documentaries, awards and national articles. 

Related Posts

Venus gets ready to dominate the evening sky
Columns

Venus gets ready to dominate the evening sky

March 24, 2023
Understanding gravity’s relentless and crushing pursuit
Columns

Understanding gravity’s relentless and crushing pursuit

March 17, 2023
As we March toward spring, the days slowly but noticeably get longer
Columns

As we March toward spring, the days slowly but noticeably get longer

March 9, 2023
What’s your celestial IQ?
Columns

What’s your celestial IQ?

March 3, 2023
Former prison superintendent offers unique insight into policing debate
Columns

Former prison superintendent offers unique insight into policing debate

February 27, 2023
A glimpse into New Paltz’s past reveals how much and how little things have changed in 100 years
Columns

A glimpse into New Paltz’s past reveals how much and how little things have changed in 100 years

February 27, 2023
Next Post
The Night Sky: Want to go to Mars?

The Night Sky: Want to go to Mars?

Trending News

  • Missing hiker found dead at Mohonk Preserve 8.2k views
  • Tinkerers rally to save embattled P&T Surplus in Kingston 6.7k views
  • Dead body discovered near Kingston park 1k views
  • Newcomer wins seat on the Saugerties Village Board  880 views
  • Unwarranted video surveillance: Town of Ulster weighs security and privacy concerns 824 views
  • After many concessions, Lazy River gets the nod in Gardiner 673 views

Weather

Kingston
◉
30°
Clear
6:47 am7:15 pm EDT
Feels like: 30°F
Wind: 0mph E
Humidity: 77%
Pressure: 30.07"Hg
UV index: 0
TueWedThu
50/28°F
55/28°F
46/27°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

×
You have free article(s) remaining. Subscribe for unlimited access.
View Subscription Offers Sign In
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing