To the Editor:
The most telling aspect of the pamphlet Easton residents received this week was its failure to identify those who produced it. A pamphlet issued by those too ashamed to attach their names to it does not deserve serious discussion.
Anonymous mailings should always be viewed as suspect and deliberately deceptive, not least because the author or authors are, by definition, unwilling to take credit for the content. Anonymous mailings are always manipulative, never authentic.
Was this pamphlet even written by someone in Easton? Did it contain any facts at all or is it just a delusional rant? Does it represent the views of many in Easton, or just a couple of folks so uncomfortable with social justice they put the term in quotation marks? There is no way to know. The letter signed by two CRG officers that ran in the Courier on March 11 did nothing to clear up these questions.
Are these the only two behind the pamphlet? Certainly the CRG letter suggests a determination to keep us guessing. The only thing we know for sure is that this amateurish pamphlet was certainly no newspaper (though it was deceptively described as such in fundraising materials). Well, and to be fair I guess we also know it was an appalling waste of paper.
Today the plot thickens, as we learn that the “CRG” is PAC. From where? Funded by whom? Raise your hand if you think we should drop everything to have a serious, good faith discussion about our schools with a PAC that will not tell us who they are or where their money is coming from. Even if these views come from locals, are we talking about a sizeable group or two people with outlier views and an enviable amount of spare time? More deception.
A serious issue to me is that the pamphlet appropriates our town’s name. Easton has a wonderful brand—a small town where values such as open public discourse, integrity, and seriousness of purpose are advanced by people from all points on the political spectrum. This is the brand that attracts newcomers. This pamphlet does an end run around ALL these values and because it carries our town’s name, I think it disparages our brand. We cannot afford to have our town’s name or reputation associated with goofy, deceptive pamphlets like this one.
We should not devote one more second of our attention to anything produced by this shadowy PAC until we know who we’re dealing with. To repeat the contents of this sorry project gives it a legitimacy it does not deserve.
Amy Wolfcale
Easton
