In Light of A Tragedy
Dear Friends:
Whether your family has lived here for generations or whether you have more recently moved here, we all recognize what a special place Winthrop is to live. Safe, quiet, friendly, are just a few of the words that come to mind.
And yet in an instance, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, these words have been replaced new words: hatred, bigotry, and tragedy. The actions of a sick individual have shaken our community to its core and wounded our collective soul. In our shock and grief, we mourn the tragic and hate filled murders of USAF Staff Sgt. Ramona Cooper and Retired Massachusetts State Trooper David Green. We join our grief with the grief of their families. We share in their loss and will be forever changed by it.
We will grow as a community where it is not merely a slogan but a way of life that, “hate has no place in Winthrop.†We will give strength to our friends, families, and neighbors as we try to understand not just how something so horrible could happen but how it could happen here in Winthrop.
At the same time, we should be proud of our community’s response. At the sound of the crashes, regular citizens of Winthrop ran to the scene seeking to offer comfort and support to those injured. As public safety officials swarmed the area, again members of our community brought food and beverage to those working the scene. Frankly, I am not surprised and to anyone paying attention on an everyday basis, neither should you. Winthrop, as a community, constantly comes together to help those in need. Our food pantry, the work of Mi-Amore, the Winthrop Foundation, Saint Michael Parish’s St. Vincent DePaul Society, and the everyday acts to assist those in need are all acts of love which take place here.
As evil came upon the scene, it was confronted and neutralized by a Sergeant, our Sergeant, of one of the finest police departments in our country. District Attorney Rollins described to me the reports of our Sergeant, in the heat of the moment, demonstrating all restraint, issuing commands to lay down his weapon before neutralizing the suspect and then immediately seeking to render aid to the suspect. We live among heroes in Winthrop. We, the people of Winthrop, are Blessed to have such brave men and women, on our police and fire services, who every day put their lives on the line to protect us. We should thank them not just in response to this incident but every day for the work that they do.
May God Bless Ramona Cooper and David Green. May God Bless our first responders and our little Town.
Jeffrey Rosario Turco
State Representative
19th Suffolk District
Please Keep in Mind
Dear Editor,
I want to share some quotes before America’s 245th Birthday.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.†(The Declaration of Independence-July 1776)
“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.†(President & General George Washington)
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.†(President John Adams)
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.†(President Thomas Jefferson)
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the ten commandments of god.†(President James Madison)
Your 250-word limit prevents my listing more. However, the above clearly indicates: America was Founded and Built on Faith in God!
Lucia Hunter
