This letter is in response to a letter that ran in the Aug. 1 of the Mineola American titled “Chaminadeville.”
I am always amused when someone opens a letter with “I am Catholic or Jewish or Muslim,” because what follows is always a bashing of the group they state they are part of. It is as if they have open license to criticize that particular group because they are part of it. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode in which a character converts to Judaism in part to tell Jewish jokes: “It’s okay, I am Jewish.”
Bigotry is wrong regardless of what cover it comes under. Thomas Lysaght’s “bewilderment” and his “bother” about Chaminade High School is at best misguided, at worst it is bigotry. Can you imagine the uproar if Mr. Lysaght wrote his “bewilderment’ and “bother” about Muslim symbols? There would be protests in our streets. It seems today, anti-Catholicism is the accepted discrimination. I never apologize about being Catholic and certainly never apologize for the symbols of my faith. I adore the Pieta and the crucifixion in the parking lot of Chaminade High School.
Chaminade High School is among the finest high schools in our region if not the country. Even with the excellent free public school system here on Long Island, admission to this tuition school is highly competitive for good reason; the reputation and track record of producing incredible young men. One hundred percent of the student body is accepted into college. The community service projects and works done by these students are astounding.
I would invite Mr. Lysaght to call Chaminade High School and ask for a private tour. Ask pertinent questions. Ask about not only their academic success but their extra-curricular programs, sports and community service projects. Spend the day. I am sure you will leave impressed if not only a little more educated and a little less “bewildered” by the symbols of his faith and learning about a wonderful institution here in Mineola.
—Kenneth Solosky, class of ‘82
