Dayton, VA– Dayton Police stepped up in support of the victims of an antisemitic message that got thrown onto their doorstep on Saturday.
“Chief Trout from the Dayton police reached out and asked that we can speak with a Dayton Police to let them know what happened so that they could have a record of it,” Eastview Crew Member Lila Bradley said.
The flyer comes from a website with hate speech for different demographics. The corn added insult to injury since it is not kosher.
Doorbell cameras caught the bags filled with corn and hate speech thrown onto properties.
While the offenders tried to build tension with this hate speech, it actually brought the Eastview Crew better together to fight against things like antisemitism understanding that things like this don’t belong in the neighborhood.
Dayton Resident Lila Bradley herself is not Jewish but shared her neighborhood was not the only victim in this act.
“I know that other communities in Rockingham County received the same thing. There was a Facebook post about somebody in Belmont receiving the exact same package that we got,” Bradley said.
Bradley believes it is really important to be as calm as possible whenever there is a discussion about differences, even in the form of hate.
“This incivility cannot be disguised by the idea that they are trying to spread information but also that it is wasted on our neighborhood because there’s no tolerance for that kind of hatred here,” Bradley said.
While mad that this happened, Bradley and her neighbors feel it is better to increase the peace than to lash out.
All of the bags of corn were collected before children were exposed to them.