"we are deadly serious"

At the last Board of Education meeting, (Tuesday, 12/11), Michelle Turner, President of the RecallMontgomerySchoolBoard group, offered public comments, and apologized to Sharon Cox and the Board for the behavior of some of the recall group's supporters. Apparently, threatening messages were posted on their message board, and the BOE also received some pretty nasty phone calls and letters.

It may be that Michelle Turner knew that the very next day, Wednesday, 12/12, the Gazette was to print an article titled Cox avoids Germantown meeting after receiving threats:

Members of the Board of Education canceled their appearance at Monday's Germantown Citizens Association meeting on the proposed sex education curriculum after receiving threats and slanderous comments on an anti-curriculum Web site.

(See Jim Kennedy's post for more on that story.)

Yesterday, on the Einstein High School listserve, in responding to criticism about threats being made at the recall group's site, Michelle offered this:

The CRC website was changed due to the nastiness/threats being posted
not only towards the CRC but the BoE as well. We tried rules of decorum to no avail.

Michelle Turner

Now, the interesting thing about that statement, is Michelle's use of the word "we". I wondered (and I asked)...who is "we"? I was curious because it sounded to me like she was trying to say that the leadership of the recall group "tried rules of decorum." And in fact, that is what she meant, because she responded to my question saying that "we" referred to her group's Executive Committee.

Fair enough. So the leaders were trying to reign in some of the more hotheaded fringe supporters?

Or...

Maybe it was some of the leaders themselves who, at best, sought to stir up an already angry crowd with what could be construed as some veiled threats of their own.

Here's a screenshot of a message posted to the recall site's message board by none other than Steve Fisher, their official Spokesperson and Media/PR guy. The use of the word deadly is pretty intense:

(Note—Click on the image to see a larger version.)



And I come back to Michelle's word decorum. Interesting word, although I'm not sure I'd use it to describe this post, again, from Mr. Fisher:



Did he have to call the BOE animals and lunatics? Hmm...decorum.

And what's really hilarious, is that while in yet another post he continues in this decorous vein by calling the BOE "knuckleheads", Mr. Fisher explains that his children do not attend Montgomery County Public Schools. If his kids aren't even in Montgomery County Public Schools, for the life of me, I can't understand why he's so irrate...or why he's the recall group's spokesperson. Maybe they like his committment to decorum.