More Coffee, Please

“So are we ever out of the cave?” ¹

The question hung in the air for a few minutes, and the kids, gathered in a Harkness circle, looked at one another. After a moment or two of silence, one tentatively raised her hand, and said, more or less, “No.”

There was a pause, and she continued. “I think that people think they know the facts, and they don’t always. Sometimes they don’t know what’s going on, and then they get upset when the world doesn’t go their way.”

I think she’s right. I can see it playing out in the pages of the Richmond Rooster—a community bulletin for one of the towns in the district. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find a note from Jim Carnie and Neil Moriarty in it, but it did take me aback for a moment.

I also shouldn’t have been surprised to see them spreading the same distorted views as at the budget committee meeting, but for some reason I was. Apparently, I’m not cynical enough.

I like the selective deletion of facts—it’s so much easier than needing to come up with new things. Creating fiction is hard work. It’s just easier to leave out the parts of the truth which are irritating and don’t go along with what is already believed. For example:

An attorney hired by the town of Sullivan deems teacher early retirement as illegal in Monadnock.

Right. Be sure not to mention that there’s another attorney’s opinion saying it is perfectly legal. Go along with the one that works with your view…very good. It’s much like editing a Wikipedia article in order to make it say what you want.

It goes on. I like when they started talking about health insurance carriers. There’s this little gem:

…we asked the board to change insurance carriers…they debated it, but in the end they tabled any action…

Well, gee, could it be possible they tabled any action because there was no action to take? The school board can’t force teachers to change their carrier—not the way the system works. I’m sure that little things like “laws” and “illegal actions” are pesky, but really, someone ought to do what’s right. I mean, if everyone started breaking all the rules to get their way, then it wouldn’t provide that special “we’re so evil” glow that comes with chortling in dark corners while fiendishly rubbing one’s hands together.

And who the heck is this “we” they speak of? Neil Moriarty is the chairman of the budget committee! How on earth do we get to “we” and “they” when “I” is part of “them”?

Last, but not least, there was this final bit of “information”: ²

We reminded them that they would loose $350,000 by November if they do not act…

Is this the same $400,000 which was saved over the previous year? It takes a special kind of person to have have a meeting in open session, be recorded publicly, and then turn around and give half truths out to the town supposedly being served.

But what really irritates me is I hate it when people don’t do things well. I mean, if we’re going to deal with half truths and misleading statements, then let’s really go out of our way. Let’s make a motion to fire every teacher, and then hire back only six or seven first year teachers from Keene State. (That’s why it’s there, right? To keep churning our fresh faces to replace the teachers who will leave when they don’t get have a contract…I mean, since when does experience matter in a job?) Those six or seven teachers can be paid the district minimum ($29,000) and this will probably save millions.

It will flop, of course. But then Mr. Carne and Mr. Moriarty can go back and say that they made a proposal to save millions of dollars and it was ignored. I mean, if you’re gonna try use half-truths to get your way, you might as well make it as big as possible.

I’m certain I’ve heard something about that, once…

But if we’re going to look at “big lies” then let’s look at the last statement:

Early retirement, excess health insurance premiums, and health insurance as pay ³ have nothing to do with education — not one penny of this is going to educate the children!

Hmm. Maybe I can break it down for them. I’m a teacher. I educate children. Those are the items that will keep me in the district. Want good teachers? Do the things that attract them.

Want to ruin education in the district? Listen—and believe—this drivel.

1 Attentive blog readers will note we’re reading The Allegory of the Cave, and yes, this really did happen today.

2 Or propaganda. Or vicious slandering lies. You say potato, they say…

3 I have no idea what this is, as this is the first I’ve heard of it. But hey, making stuff up is fun! I’ve since been informed that this relates to a discontinued program which (from what I can tell) only one person took advantage of. New Hampshire’s courts agreed with that this was not a legal thing to do, but there’s no doubt that bringing it up now as if it’s still going on is misleading.

Hale vs. Guion: +1/25
Hale vs Sands: +3/8
Hale vs Vickery: +1/1
Guion vs Sands: +3/7
Guion vs Benedict: +1/3
Sands vs Vickery: +1/1

Gregarious

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