Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 09/18/2000

Dear Sgt. Shaft, some of us here in Savage have been reading media reports of the opposition to H.R. 4430 with great dismay. We support the naming of the post office for Mr. Rascon and find the intensity of the opposition puzzling.

The people who oppose the resolution apparently have three complaints: Mr. Rascon is not a resident of Savage; Congressman Bartlett did not consult with them prior to submitting the legislation; and Congressman Bartlett's secretary allegedly said they were racists and bigots.

Regarding the first complaint: Mr. Rascon lives in North Laurel, a short distance from Savage in the same part of southern Howard County. North Laurel and Savage are in the same councilmanic district. The Savage Community Association has joined with the North Laurel Community Association on a number of issues and there is a joint North Laurel-Savage Planning Committee. We are neighbors.

Though Mr. Rascon does not live in Savage (which, incidentally, has no official boundaries), he lives in our neighborhood and he is a national hero. We understand that the post office in question is the closest one to his home. Placing his name on the building would be a tribute to the greater Savage community, not a diminution of its history.

Regarding the second complaint: It may have been courteous and wise of Congressman Bartlett to have held a town meeting for the community prior to introducing H.R. 4430. But he did not, nor was he required to do so. In retrospect, why would such actions be necessary, since he was honoring both Savage and a local war hero?

Now the few people opposed to H.R. 4430 are doing the same thing they accuse Bartlett of doing: They have gone to the media and to the politicians declaring that the town is opposed to this measure but they have not held a town meeting for the entire town.

Recent news stories stated that the community association has "voted" to do a petition against the resolution and that there have been "meetings" where the opposition spoke. However, these meetings weren't announced to the town. More tellingly, they weren't announced to those of us who are association members but who are known to be in favor of H.R. 4430. We discovered that these meetings were held when reading about it in the newspapers. The people in this inner circle are apparently trying to pass off their own opinion as consensus. Their roundabout actions make it evident that they are unwilling to put that opinion to a real test.

Those people who have appeared in the media as spokespersons for the opposition are board members and officers of the Savage Community Association. This is a somewhat misleadingly titled group. Savage is an unincorporated entity, and that association has no legal standing as the representative of the community. The 1990 census showed 3400 households in the Savage area. The membership of the association comes nowhere close to representing even 10% of the population. There are about 70 members, a few dozen of whom, at the most, attend meeting regularly (when meetings are actually announced).

Regarding the third complaint: We have no way of knowing what exactly was said by whom to whom. However, D. attended a Savage Community Association meeting in November 1999 at which an officer of the association made a public remark that all the litter found in Savage Park was made by Hispanics. Another person made a remark about the "Mexicans" who were using the park. When several people later asked that these remarks be noted in the minutes and a public repudiation of some sort be made at the next board meeting, they were told this would not be done. And it was not. A number of the association's officers are currently among the mainstays of the opposition to H.R. 4430. While racism may have played no role in their initial opposition, they certainly have been extremely tolerant of intolerance. In light of the community's evolving demographics (the town was papered with KKK hate-sheets last year), to say racism has nothing to do with the issue at this point is disingenuous.

We feel certain that the overwhelming majority of our neighbors would consider it fitting and proper to name the post office after a Medal of Honor neighbor, and we regret that our town has been so shamefully misrepresented by a small group of vocal negativists. They have stated that Mr. Rascon is not the issue, but that is where they are absolutely wrong. Mr. Rascon is the only issue -- not their wounded egos or misplaced xenophobia. He is deserving of any and all honors that might come his way.

P & D
Savage, MD

Dear P & D of Savage:
The left wing tactics of Del. Shane Pendergrass (D-MD) and her fanatic functionaries should not be permitted to blemish the good name of Savage, veterans and the Hispanic community.

As General Nelson, President of The Retired Officers Association (TROA) stated in his letters to Senators Sarbanes and Milkulski (both D-MD), "We at TROA cannot understand how any community could possibly object to having its post office named for an American hero. The citizens should be fighting for the honor of having the hero's name on their post office, not fighting to keep it off. In this case, we hope that all realize that when Alfred Rascon saved the lives of his buddies, he didn't stop to ask where they picked up their mail."

The Non-Commissioned Officers Association of the United States also wrote to the Senators in strong support of the legislation. They state that when military "service results in award of the Congressional Medal of Honor, geographic boundaries are transcended. . . . "

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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