Apology Letter to Mrs. Park

marina

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 6:44 am

As some of you know, Mrs. Margaret Park, the mother of Officer Peggy Park, lives in my neighborhood.

You may or may not know that she was harassed by some frum people before Martin's execution. This is a letter I am planning to give to her either Thursday or Friday. I've spoken on the phone to her and she seems amenable to a letter. If you would like your signature to be included, post your first and last name. You can do so anonymously or by PM or through my email which is mpearlmutter1999at yahoodotcom. If you have any suggestions for how the letter can be improved, feel free to email me with that as well.

Dear Mrs. Park,

I am writing this letter on behalf of myself and others in the Jewish community to express our apologies for the way you and your family have been treated over the past few weeks.

From what we understand, you have received harassing messages and phonecalls and for that we are truly sorry. That was the reprehensible behavior of a few misguided and confused individuals and we assure you that their conduct does not reflect the general mindset of the Jewish community as a whole. Judaism, as a religion, places great emphasis on personal responsibility and consequences and we do not believe that any individual should escape the consequences of his actions simply because of his religious affiliations.

I have read quite a bit about your daughter over the last month and it seems that she was a beautiful person with a kind heart. We are all so sorry for your loss and for the ordeals which your family has gone through over the last 25 years. We hope that now your family can finally find some measure of peace and comfort. Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for any comments or actions that added to your sorrow.

Sincerely,

Miriam Pearlmutter

Last edited by marina on Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

saw50st8

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 7:49 am

Thats a beautiful letter.

Ima2NYM_LTR

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 8:04 am

sent u an email from frogs8899@gmail.com

Ruchel

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 8:06 am

I'll send you!

Atali

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 11:01 am

Excellent idea! I Pm'd you.

If you want more signatures perhaps post on one of the frum news sites in the comments section. While some of the idiots there may disagree with you, I bet you will get a few e-mails.

life'sgreat

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 11:11 am

Beautiful letter. Will email.

mama-star

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:11 pm

very well said. I'm pm'ing you.

melbee

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:18 pm

I also PMed you. It's a beautiful letter.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:30 pm

I pm'd you. beautiful letter and I dea to write it.

marina

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:34 pm

Atali wrote:

Yeah, I contacted VIN, but they are asking for me to arrange an interview before they print the letter... I don't know if she wants to go through an interview right now.

marina

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:35 pm

Thanks to everyone who contacted me so far!

I did make one grammar edit and I did receive a suggestion that people can add their country or their state if they feel comfortable doing so. Thanks everyone!

Ruchel

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:36 pm

Do you need just like "family X", or precise names? I may have several people interested.

marina

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:38 pm

Family X is fine. You might want to write the country, if you want.

Atali

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:40 pm

marina wrote:

Atali wrote:

Yeah, I contacted VIN, but they are asking for me to arrange an interview before they print the letter... I don't know if she wants to go through an interview right now.

So try Yeshivaworld or Matzav.

Ruchel

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 12:41 pm

You should make it an online petition. I'm sure you would have many signatures. I'm pming you!

life'sgreat

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 1:16 pm

Please do add your countries/cities. I think it makes a very big difference for someone like her to know that just as the Jewish community banded together for the 'other side', they band together for this and that we think it's wrong for her to have been harassed in any way.

mominlkwd

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 1:19 pm

I pm'd you, feel free to add my city.

ruth

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 2:33 pm

this is a very good idea. The rabbanim/Jewish organizations that organized the petitions should be notified IMMEDIATELY and they should write to her. Are you, or any one else planning to do this? It needs to be done asap.

I think the letter is ok, but I have some concern about the following: "

Quote:

and we do not believe that any individual should escape the consequences of his actions simply because of his religious affiliations.

No one who asked for the 60-day stay of execution or clemency used Grossman's religion as the reason. (yes, the community was rallied because Grossman was a Jew, but this was not the justification for the stay of execution.) thus, I would suggest omitting this part of the sentence. I don't think it is appropriate to call attention to this.

I acknowledge that is is why the issue was raised in the community, but the focus of the letter should be sole on our apology and regret for the selfish and cruel behavior of the people who harrassed the poor woman.

Please keep us posted about what we can do.

thank you for informing us.

may hashem comfort Mrs. Parks and give guidance to Mrs. Grossman -- two mothers who both lost their children to this murder.

chavamom

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 3:01 pm

I believe that Mrs. Grossman passed away when her son was very young (wasn't that part of the appeal to the community? He was orphaned young?)

chocolate moose

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 3:48 pm

It's all quite sad. I didn't realize the details.