Mike DiMauro: 'Signs' of progress, persecution in downtown NL

Aug. 29—NEW LONDON — As many photojournalists know, words don't necessarily tell the best stories. Sometimes, it's the aesthetics, visuals and enduring images that convey with cachet.

And so this was last weekend in front of Stop & Shop in Waterford. Members of the defending state champion girls' basketball team at New London High sat near one of the entrances for a fundraising project, politely asking patrons to give what they could.

I engaged a few of the kids in conversation, asking them how it feels to be famous, now that all members of the team are prominently displayed near downtown New London.

Their 50,000-watt smiles said it all.

In case you missed it: Giant posters are affixed to lamp posts up and down Howard St., honoring each member of the 2023 Class MM state champs. A name and a photo, one player per lamp post. Easily visible. And a very cool idea for a downtown that could use more of them.

I'm told the posters came courtesy of the New London Cultural District (formerly the Economic Development Commission), which used proceeds from another project to buy the posters and honor the kids and team. Once again: If you had seen the smiles on the kids' faces at the idea they've been made into de facto celebrities, you'd know that rarely has money been better spent.

Here is what I've learned being around kids for the last 30 years: They need to understand that what they do matters. Not a dismissive wave or cursory head nod. High schools are something of a kitchen table in many cities and towns, a place to gather, a place of connection. It's been that way in New London forever. Whaler Pride is all but its own brand.

Now the kids and their city have a deeper relationship. It's one thing for a banner to hang in the gym. It's far different for every motorist on a busy road to see your accomplishments. This is New London at its best.

I mention the posters to remind city leadership that I'm happy to highlight the good things happening in the city and downtown. The positive when it is deserved. The negative when it is warranted. Neither the cheerleader nor the cynic.

Example: Last week, 14 city business owners met with city officials at City Hall about public safety concerns, following a recent shootout on Bank St. It turns out the problem, according to Chief Administrative Officer Steve Fields, is The Day. Another media outlet reported that Fields, during the meeting, "called out the New London Day newspaper for focusing on crime in New London and less in the neighboring town of Norwich, which has a higher crime rate."

"There's shootings in Norwich all the time," he said. "They don't get coverage. We get triple coverage. It's unfair."

Au contraire. It's called reporting the news, sir. We didn't make up the story about the shootout. We haven't concocted the perception that many people don't feel safe downtown. And if you and your colleagues think this is media-driven fiction, your humble narrator suggests you emerge from your echo chamber and awaken to the problems around you. Loosely translated: Start doing your job.

See, the truth is always somewhere on that amorphous piece of real estate called the in between. New London is neither a combat zone nor Camelot. The city is neither swirling the bowl nor Disney. It's all somewhere in between, as many small cities are now. It's just that people too close to the situation, or those oblivious to it, can't distinguish the truth from the roar. And so they adopt the line Mussolini used to drop on his minions:

"O con noi o contro di noi," he said, which translates into "you're with us or against us."

I am neither. I call them as I see them. It's my job. It's our job. I salute the Cultural District's efforts to spend money on the kids and connect with them in a unique and meaningful way. And I abhor the suggestion that the public safety perception issues and bullet holes in the window of Mambo aren't as significant as what's transpiring in Norwich.

So save the persecution complex for Mr. Trump.

Meanwhile, the kids start playing again at the high school very soon. Here's to another championship and more of the kids' faces downtown. I'll be happy to report that, too.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro