Anger and misinformation fuel hostility toward our school and elected leaders
Should people who engage in intimidation and spread lies about our schools be representing all citizens of Acton?
Another effigy was recently erected in Acton — this one reading “The Hatchet for Hunter” — at the end of School Committee Chair Tracey Marano’s street.
It’s time we ask ourselves why certain individuals feel empowered to act this way. Sure, we can point to the national climate of polarization, where anger and misinformation have replaced dialogue. But we must also take a hard look at our local environment.
Week after week, the same dozen or so senior citizens attend our School Committee meetings, launching a stream of manufactured outrage and bizarre distortions about our schools, our superintendent, and our elected officials.
Their rage is not rooted in reality. I urge anyone who is unsure to talk to students or teachers and ask whether the picture painted in those public comment sessions bears any resemblance to the real experience inside our classrooms and hallways. You will find that it does not.
Most troubling, many of the individuals who regularly deliver these hostile diatribes are themselves appointed by the Select Board to various town committees. That raises an important question: Should people who engage in intimidation and spread lies about our schools be representing all citizens of Acton?
Acton is better than this. It’s time to restore civility, truth, and respect to our civic life — and to stand up for those who serve our students and our community with integrity.
Alexa Anderson
Park Lane
