Mischaracterizing ideas, personal attacks and even scare techniques turn into powerful weapons when people want to silence those they disagree with. Rather than providing articulated arguments of their positions, those who want to silence others default to an onslaught of name calling and character assassination. There are numerous examples of this happening throughout American society from the “racist book banners” who speak out at school board meetings to the “Christian Nationalists” who believe in the Constitution.
Remember the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court? When he was going through the confirmation process, he was accused of rape. There was a lack of detailed information and Kavanaugh always denied the accusations. Eventually, he was confirmed, but his family was dragged through a media circus. Later, Kavanaugh Accuser Admits She Fabricated Allegations as a ‘Ploy’ for ‘Attention’. Because the truth often comes out way after such a media circus, I’m willing to bet that the majority of Americans don’t even know that the record has been corrected regarding falsely accused Justice Kavanaugh.
In Grand Haven, a local mom was also treated to rounds of character assassination and name calling after speaking at a school board meeting. In 2020, Jen Stuppy had discovered her childrens’ 5th and 6th grade library provided them with the book, One Man Guy, “about a 14-year-old boy, Alec, and his encounter with an older, sexually experienced 17-year-old Ethan. Ethan details his own sexual relationship he had with a college student who lived in his home when he was only 15 years old himself.”
After unproductive discussions with the school librarian and principal, she brought her concerns to the school board requesting “the school create a system of flagging sexually explicit content and then devise a method where parents give consent.” For her parental concerns, Jen Stuppy was discredited by the students in the Bucs Blade student newspaper, the Grand Haven Tribune and on local news. Despite her request for sensible age-appropriate controls on content, she was treated like an extremist and labelled a book banner.
Image credit (Bucs Blade student newspaper)
At the March 14, 2023, Ottawa County Board of Commissioner meeting, the board voted to remove Dr. Virginia Beard of Hope College, Senior Attorney Thomas Reinsma from Scholten and Fant Law Firm, and Commissioner Doug Zylstra from the Ottawa County Housing Commission. A short time later the vacancies were filled when Commissioner Moss appointed realtor Jared Schuitema, home builder Klynt Marcusse, and County Administrator John Gibbs. It did not take long for the attacks to begin.
In the March 14 article in the Holland Sentinel, Ottawa Impact boots lone Democrat commissioner from housing panel he helped revive, Sarah Leach referred to Jared Schuitema as Anti-LGBTQ. The fact that Schuitema has experience in the housing industry that is relevant to a County Housing Commission position seems to be irrelevant to Sarah Leach. He was called other names and mischaracterized on social media as well. Here are a few examples of name calling by local progressives.
Notice that both Jarad Schuitema and Joe Moss were attacked in the last social media post. In fact, Ottawa Impact and many people associated with Ottawa Impact have had their character continuously assassinated. Here is another example.
When mischaracterization of ideas, name calling, and character assignation are not successful in silencing people, sometimes the stakes are raised with a tactic known as mid-level violence. While the goal of this technique is strategic provocation, it is commonly used to get someone to stop doing something effective that they are doing. This technique was recently used against Jen Stuppy on social media.
The following Facebook posts show an exchange where local residents were discussing the proposed charter change regarding the Board of Light and Power, which will be on the November 7, 2023, ballot in Grand Haven. Rather than debate ideas, in an effort to silence Stuppy, someone posted her home address and asked, “is this where you lay your head every night sweetie? Easy access. A lot of blind spots. It seems you don’t have a Neighborhood Watch in effect, which is terrible. I hope you take care of yourself!!!”
Rather than debate ideas, some people quickly jump to personal attacks against those brave enough to stand up and speak out against ineffective and overreaching government. Shouting down opposing views and innuendo of physical harm seems to be the preferred method. These attacks are not reserved for the rich and powerful. They have been used at every level from the President of the United States down to parents at school board meetings. American citizens who believe in the founding principles of our country have been beaten down and ruthlessly mischaracterized without hesitation, but each time this happens more and more people begin to see through the intimidation and silencing tactics. Everyday people are finding a renewed appreciation for their First Amendment rights and are standing up to question the motives, actions, and results of long-serving elected officials and government institutions.