What’s Next?
I love my beautiful, but sometimes troubled, small town.
First and foremost, I hope that the man (and his family) that Coan unfairly pursued, confronted, and falsely accused is doing well. I have no connection to them, and have never spoken to them, but I have thought of them each day since I learned of Coan’s ‘conversation’ with the husband of that family. Coan must have felt entitled, and he initiated the confrontation over mere political speech. It’s no wonder the man was, in Coan’s account, very angry. Of course he was — Coan falsely accused him, on the basis of mere political speech.
As you know now, I was not the real subject of this witch-hunt. Someone else was. How many others had their names bandied about by Coan and those who helped him? I’m not sure, but I can say that any number was too many.
On election day in February, I believe that I saw the wife of the man that the Chief accused, on the other side of the Old Armory. (Someone pointed her out to me.) She seemed happy, and was smiling with other workers at her table. Coan falsely confronted her husband. She deserved better than that. I would have walked him promptly from the property. I had no interest in interfering with her work, and yet I might have kissed her on the cheek on another occasion.
Second, I look forward to a municipal culture that’s more tolerant of free speech. There are, as I have noted, hundreds of blogs on municipal topics in Wisconsin alone, and many are anonymous or pseudonymous. There are people in our town, as you’ve just seen, who think of speech as though it were a crime. Not in America.
If the Chief of Police in Whitewater, Wisconsin worries about political speech when real crimes are being committed, it’s sad and disgraceful. If anonymous or pseudonymous speech is so unwelcome, how will our city ever establish a trustworthy complaints process? The Department of Justice recommends one; I have called for one more than once. If some disadvantaged person is injured and wants to make a complaint anonymously, what confidence will that person have that he or she will be heard fairly?
Third, we need a public records collection process that’s transparent and dependable. I do not know who actually collected the records that I received. Some were withheld with explanation by the City of Whitewater. Did I receive all that I should have under the law? Who oversaw this process, to make sure that no documents were deleted, before they reached the City Attorney? I don’t know, really.
Finally, like most bloggers, I look forward to a more varied set of topics. I look forward to the day in my town when the very idea of public records like these, with scheming like this, will be unimaginable.
As I have written before, I have everything that I have ever wanted, and by any reasonable standard, I have led a charmed life. I very much enjoy the Citizen’s Life.
Still, everyone needs a break now and then. I think that I might even take some time off, to unwind until I begin blogging again. I am not sure how long – I’m thinking twenty-four, maybe thirty-six, hours. That should about do it.
I’ll see you again this Friday.
Adams