I suppose “fake news” has to originate somewhere, but I didn’t expect to read it in The Park Record. To say that I was disappointed in the letter published on May 7 regarding the recent public meeting on the PCSD Equity Policy (“Applause from opponents of new School District policy was verboten“) is an understatement. The writer speaks in gross hyperbole in recounting a 4- minute “preamble” by Heidi Matthews; an ushering in of students to present “orchestrated testimony”; “wild gesticulations” from the moderator; and a “unilateral dictate” regarding behavior of those in attendance.
To be fair, we all have a First Amendment right to free speech, accurate or not, and the writer is entitled to interpret the events of that evening through his own lens. However, a line was crossed in comparing the plight of a white man being asked to leave a public meeting for disruptive behavior with the quiet, civil disobedience of Rosa Parks. Unlike the defiance and disrespect of the man who was escorted out by police, Rosa Parks did nothing wrong.
Those of us who continue to advocate for equality stand on the shoulders of peaceful, iconic leaders such as Rosa Parks, and to minimize the importance of her courageous work is disgraceful. Sadly, it seems The Park Record is succumbing to polarizing sensationalism rather than civil discourse.
Kelly Bullett
Park City