Petaluma community group concerned about ‘undercurrent of hate’

The way Petaluma police Chief Ken Savano sees it, there isn’t much room for hate in his city. And on the rare occasion ugliness does rear its head, people are quick to call it out and try to fix it.

For instance, when a resident phoned the station recently to report a rainbow gay pride flag had been ripped to shreds in front of a building, a passer-by had taped it back together before officers arrived to investigate.

And when white-?supremacists staged a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month, Petaluma activists wasted no time in expressing their opposition, holding their own gathering in Walnut Park that drew 200 supporters. There were no counterprotesters.

“Not only do we not tolerate that behavior but when we see something like that happening we do something about it,” Savano said Wednesday after a Petaluma Community Relations Council meeting to talk about social, religious and racial bigotry in the city of 60,000.

Speaking to a group of about 50 people at the Mentor Me Cavanagh Recreation Center, Savano said there are no active hate groups in the city or Sonoma County. But he said individuals may be participating in hate rallies elsewhere and it “would not take anything for them to gather here.” If they did, they would likely need to apply for a permit if they were using a public space. It could be denied if the rally infringed on other people’s rights, he said.

“It’s not just, sure come on in,” he said.

Rabbi Ted Feldman of B’nai Israel Jewish Center of Petaluma, who also spoke at the meeting, said there has been a spike in hate crimes around the country after President Donald Trump’s election.

Racists feel emboldened to express anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and anti-minority views, he said, pointing to an incident late last year when a man displayed Confederate flags at the city’s Veterans Day parade.

The question is, what to do about it, he said.

“How do you effectively communicate to people that’s not OK?” Feldman said. “That symbol is not welcome.”

People attending the monthly meeting of the council, formed in December in response to ?concerns about bigotry, had mixed views.

Some said better education about history including the Holocaust was the answer. Others said it was more demonstrations with increased participation from minority groups.

Still others talked about a stubborn undercurrent of extremism that has existed for years.

Amy Humz said she’s been shocked by the number of hateful taunts she receives each time she stages a sidewalk “vigil” with protest signs condemning all forms of bigotry. It comes from young white men in pickups but also elderly white women who flip her the bird through closed car windows, she said.

“I was alarmed at how much hate there is in this community,” she told the group. “It’s really just right under the surface.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.