(This was published as a Letter to the Editor in the Greenwich Post on August 19, 2010)

By Claude Johnson

A discussion has raged among local residents following the published complaint by former Tax Collector candidate Rick Novakowski, in which he cited deteriorating conditions on Island Beach, and made the now infamous comment, “July Fourth at Island Beach seemed more like a celebration of Cinco de Mayo than it did Independence Day.”

Last week I sat down with Novakowsi at his home in Cos Cob to explore his perspective. I discovered that Rick has Polish-Italian roots, both family lines stemming from European immigrants. My mother was a German immigrant, and my father is African American, from the South Side of Chicago. I was born in Austria and speak German fluently. Being multi-lingual, multi-national, multi-cultural, and multi-racial is why I know that most things in life have more than one side.

I like Rick. He was angered by an isolated incident. Still, his Cinco de Mayo comment was embarrassing for Greenwich. Didn’t Rick know he was equating deterioration with the presence of Hispanic people? I reminded him that not long ago the same suggestion was used to justify discrimination against his own ancestors. Many people outside our borders already have pre- conceived ideas about Greenwich, often wrong. Couldn’t we use a new impression of our town? Greenwich is proud of its diversity.

Rick’s comment tangled up three separate issues: the conditions on both Island Beach and the ferry that takes passengers there and back, non-resident usage of the facility, and the culture, ethnicity, or race of its visitors.

Our town is not the same as it once was. This is not bad or good; it simply “is.” Change happens, no matter how much we may try to resist. We cannot go back in time or live in the past. Our Founding Fathers didn’t say, “I want my country back.” What country? Instead, they built themselves into their own future. That’s the American way. Greenwich should be represented by the best we have to offer. Effective leadership takes courage and inclusion, not labels.

I suggest that the town hold meetings as needed, to discuss these issues as the separate topics that they are.