By Guy Page
The Hate-Free Forum scheduled for last night in St. Albans was postponed due to illness, according to a statement from co-sponsor Rutland NAACP.
The nature of the illness was not specified and the meeting will be rescheduled, the NAACP said. The meeting came under fire when one of the co-sponsors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, incorrectly stated that masks would be required for in-person attendance.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the third co-sponsor, the VT Attorney General’s Office, emailed the same information yesterday. “UPDATE: The Hate-Free Vermont Forum scheduled for tonight, 11/17, from 5:30-7:30PM has been postponed. The Forum to be held in St. Albans will be rescheduled for a later date, and the details of the event will be announced by press release. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The NAACP sent a similar message but added the reason: “Thank you for registering for our Hate-Free Vermont St. Albans forum. Due to illness, this event has been postponed. We will let you know when it has been rescheduled. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you can join us at the new time once it is determined.”
This forum was to have been the third held in an ongoing series; previous 2022 Hate-Free Vermont Forums have taken place in Rutland and Bennington. “Community members are encouraged to join us for a conversation on understanding and addressing bias, discrimination, and hate crimes in Vermont,” the announcement said.
Some VDC readers, commenting on the announcement story last Friday, suggested a link between hyper-concern about transmitting the virus of hate is linked to hyper-concern about transmitting a physical virus. Others asked whether expressions of concern about hate expressed against anti-mask, anti-Covid vax, Republican, nationalist and/or supporters of traditional marriage would be equally welcomed.