I’m a firm believer that if you have a problem with someone, you should say it to their face.
That’s really the best way to clear things up. If one of my neighbors thinks I need to mow my lawn, I welcome them to knock on my door. It’s so much easier than going through anonymous channels, leaving letters and things. Really.
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But in this case, it wasn’t so much about the lawn as it was about hate.
Vacaville, California doesn’t make national headlines much, and it probably won’t like the reason it’s attracting attention right now.
At a population of just under 100,000 people, it’s not exactly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it community for those driving down the coast, but it’s not the most well known community, either.
And while it might have some small town appeal, it has also come under some scrutiny as not the most welcoming community.
Marc Yu was on his way to work one morning when he noticed a letter sticking out of his mailbox.
And when he read the letter, the young father of five was stunned at what some anonymous neighbor had the gall to write.
“The Meadowlands is an older neighborhood with established residents living in this area for over 20 years,” the letter began. “We pride ourselves for the cleanliness and quiet atmosphere in this area. Very little crime as well.”
“The community is making this request that you find another place to live.”
“Renters like yourselves cannot possibly afford a home in our area. We maintain higher standards that allow us to maintain the value of our homes which as renters you will never understand. Fixing the front lawn of the home halfway will upset your landlords after you destroyed it and try to clean up your mess. This is not the ghetto.”
“The owners of your home that spend their hard earned money to buy it and then rent it out was a dire mistake.”
“We family [sic] suggest that you rent somewhere else. We may sound harsh, but your interracial family is not welcome here. We will contact your landlord and tell them to evict you if you don’t vacate in the next 60 days.
“For my protection, I will remain anonymous, but the clock is ticking.”
Of course, Marc has no intention of moving away.
He’s not even a little bit worried about the letter writer contacting any landlord because his family doesn’t rent the house — he owns his home. But he and his wife, Sandy, were still shaken up.
“My wife cried,” he told KRON. “She was really devastated by it. She almost literally said ‘we need to sell our house.’ And I said ‘why.'”
This is actually the second time Marc has received an anonymous letter.
The first one also complained about the state of the lawn, which Marc told the San Francisco Chronicle he’s been working on after the house’s previous owners left it in a shambles. But, between his job, his wife’s job, and taking care of five kids, they don’t have as much time for it as they’d like.
Of course, the second one was much more hateful, referring specifically to the interracial marriage between Marc, who is Filipino and Chinese, and Sandy, who is from Mexico.
Marc posted the letter on Facebook, and also showed it to police.
Vacaville police Lt. Mark Donaldson called the letter “disturbing and disappointing and not representative of the community,” according to the Chronicle, but he added that it’s also likely not a crime.
Meanwhile, the response from the community both online and in the neighborhood has been overwhelmingly supportive.
Some folks even suggested a potluck to help let the family know they are indeed welcome in the area.
“It’s really sweet, I wasn’t expecting any of this really,” Marc told KNTV . “This is an amazing group of people and the neighborhood is really nice.”
Given all the media attention, Marc thinks the letter writer probably knows “not to harass us anymore and just leave us alone.”
h/t San Francisco Chronicle , KRON , KNTV
