By Tom Reeve
This morning I found on my Facebook newsfeed a paid (sponsored) posting ridiculing a County Council candidate and showing them in a Nazi uniform. The ad and picture were from a Facebook page that comments on San Juan County politics. The page itself is anonymous – the author’s name does not appear. The posting was later removed by Facebook for violating its community standards on hate speech.
I believe that the state doesn’t require campaign reporting by people who place campaign ads below a certain dollar threshold. But just because it is legal doesn’t mean it is right. Our community deserves better.
A person is making offensive attacks on our community members while hidden behind an anonymous “journalistic” web identity, gladly tarnishing the names of people with whom they disagree while hiding their own name. This happens in blogs, websites and social media. That anonymity is now used to hide the source of paid and offensive attacks ads against candidates during our local election.
That’s not how we are or want to be in the San Juans. We are neighbors. We come to each others’ aid – on fire calls, serving as mentors at school, providing medical evacuation flights, helping out at fundraisers, and volunteering hours for causes from hospice care to oil spill response preparedness. We do not promote hate speech, we are a community where we accept differences and still get along. We can discuss the issues. We can disagree. We cannot stoop to anonymous offensive paid attacks. Please join me in asking that all political dialogue be truthful, mature, open and civil.
Tom Reeve lives on Lopez Island
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Thank you, Tom, for your thoughtful response to this offensive approach to local politics. We ARE neighbors and neighborly conduct is expected and admired. Anonymous and vicious personal attack have no place in our community.
Thank-you Tom. I’m with you!
My Facebook page was full of “Orcas Loves Lovel” paid ads. Please help with those.
I used to watch Hogans Heros, not to be confused with ocean heros, as a youth. When I saw the thing on that facebook page the last thought I had was of nazis. But, of someone trying to cover their, not to offend anyone, you know what.
Peg – I’ve also seen that Facebook ad, just as I see the six different candidate ads on this very page. I don’t object to any of those ads – they aren’t negative and each links directly to a page that allows me to see who is behind the ad and I know how to look up the contributors who paid for them.
The ad I cited above was negative, offensive (at least to some, including Facebook’s staff), and anonymous both in its authorship and financing.
Well said, Tom. I’ll be adding another plus in your “hero” column for this thoughtful and aware opinion piece, as well as your responses. I have never seen anything like this election in the San Juans and it disturbs me. Thanks for the reminder, my island neighbor and friend.
Thanks for writing your letter. The level of discourse on the islands reminds me of “mean girls.” The fact is we can’t really know what someone will be like if elected until he/she is elected.
Peg – my facebook page seems to be full of ads with gross mis-statements about the Friends of San Juans – aren’t you a member of that group sponsoring those ads? What can you do about that?