Here is the letter-to-the-editor I sent into the Sentinel which was published last Sunday.
I am still interested in discussing any concerns anyone has.
Letter Below:
You may have heard about the “Stop Free Keene” group. I see this development as positive, since I believe that if someone has concerns with other people’s actions, they should let others know, a principle that Free Keene shares.
Unfortunately, my admiration for the group is offset by the rhetoric I’ve seen from the group. Often, many comments on their Facebook group are negative. They often resort to name calling, personal attacks and even advocating for violence toward bloggers of Free Keene. I’m fine with someone disagreeing and calling names, but it’s not OK to think violence is acceptable.
One Stop Free Keene member posted a picture of a Free Keene blogger with a laser dot illuminated on his head and torso. Under this picture was a rifle with a laser aiming device attached. Stop Free Keene deleted the post, but the Stop Free Keene member who posted the picture is still in the group and no public announcement was made denouncing the person or his post.Many Stop Free Keene members wear Emerson Towing hoodies. In this video, https://youtu.be/MH_APg3JcvY, an employee of Emerson can be seen threatening a former Free Keene blogger. Many Stop Free Keene members stated they support this behavior. Other Stop Free Keene members have also made threats and are still in the group. Conversely, a Free Keene blogger was removed over concerns that he may
not be a peaceful individual because of allegations regarding his language.
.
Free State Project participants have one thing in common: We have signed a statement saying we’ll work towards the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of individuals’ rights to life, liberty and property. In other words, we prefer less government, more freedom.
That message is being drowned out by the present conflict surrounding Free Keene, which has devolved into a childish quarrel featuring lawsuits, ad hominem, and hateful bigotry. Free Keene’s opponents have included the Free State Project in their broad smears on the basis of objectionable tactics and personal behavior by a handful of Free Keene activists, some of whom are not even Free State Project participants.
Both sides unashamedly provide endless ammunition to each other to perpetuate the skirmish. This drama diverts attention from dialog about what’s really important: freedom.
I can tell the brawl has the public’s attention by the concerned questions I hear from longtime friends who are confused by misleading rhetoric. (more…)
Yesterday, Governor Maggie Hassan signed into law a 22% increase on the New Hampshire gas tax, with a bridge construction site near Windham as a backdrop (apparently, there’s some unwritten rule that the state’s theft must be justified by roads).
This would have been another staged press conference victory, if not for a protest staged by the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Over a half-dozen Free Stater activists joined with AFP to ruin Hassan’s perfect little photo op. The protest gathered considerable media attention, and got Free Keene blogger Rich Paul prominently featured by the Union Leader.
Most of the battle is just showing up. Some of the most egregious offenses of the state take place because of no visible objection. Just being present to show that the people don’t consent to government coercion is all it takes to derail the illusion of consensus and change hearts and minds.
While skimming down the front page of the Union Leader’s website this morning, I had to do a double take to ensure that I was not mistaken in what I was seeing displayed there. It was surprising to discover that a respected statewide periodical would permit such a crass poll question as the site today so prominently displays. With seemingly no circumstantially associated content to support it, a multiple-choice poll asks, “Which type of driver would you most enjoy Tasing?”
The options presented describe different stereotypes of motor vehicle operators, some more potentially dangerous than others. Trying to get a sampling of which types of drivers most annoy others on the road can certainly be done in a tasteful and mature manner, but the presentation of the question as posed is designed specifically to provoke individuals lacking in civility and class, who resort to fantasizing violence against those with whom they have disagreements. (more…)
What are you doing on a bright Monday morning? Grabbing that coffee before work? Sleeping in on your day off? Turning out to inform scores of jurors of their right to nullify bad laws?
If the last one sounds like your morning, odds are you turned out to jury nullification outreach in Manchester, New Hampshire. Every other week, a band of dedicated activists shows up and passes out literature informing jurors of their right to vote “not guilty” in order to nullify bad laws.
Dozens of citizens participate as jurors as part of a required “civic duty.” Unfortunately, all too often jurors end up sending their fellow citizens who have never hurt anyone behind bars, feeling they have no choice but to convict of a victimless “crime.” As it turns out, in New Hampshire the rights of jurors to vote “not guilty” and nullify bad laws is well-protected, even though few jurors know about this right. That’s why it’s imperative to make time to get out there and inform jurors. It’s one way we can make a difference. It could save someone’s life.
It’s a few minutes out of your morning. All you have to do is show up with a smile on your face and pass out informative literature. You have everything to gain. What do you have to lose?
An apology to Ian was needed and a great thing that it happened, But the story stays the same, just need to change the name “Ian” and replace it with a Free Keene member and blogger, requested the page be removed. At the end of the day the over all story doesn’t change, just the name of the guilty party, but Free Keene as a whole was behind it. We need to take note from this, once you are part of a group and do something for/with the group, it affects the entire group, good or bad, You are no longer an individual when you speak for a group. We succeed together and we fail together.
“Free Keene” has never been behind anything. Only individuals do things, and in this case, the company was contacted by Jay Freeville. He did this not as part of a group, or at anyone’s behest. Personally, I wouldn’t have bothered to do something like that, and the other dozen+ bloggers here all likely have their own opinions about it.
In the same way, just because SFK members Dan and Kay Georgina demolished countless chalk smiley faces over the weekend in Central Square, doesn’t mean that “STOP FREE KEENE!!!” was doing it. There may be people in SFK who don’t agree with what Dan and Kay did. Not everyone in the SFK group is responsible for what the others do or say. They can, as FK’s bloggers can, speak out and air their concerns or disagreement, but they can’t stop Dan and Kay from continuing the smiley genocide.
Ed Lake is wrong – people in groups should be seen as individuals, unless they are claiming to speak with 100% of the group’s approval. I would never blame SFK’s Josh Erickson for what SFK’s Kim Diemond says or does, and the same courtesy should be given to our bloggers. Also, keep in mind that there are far more activists who are NOT Free Keene bloggers than who are. Some of those activists are angry people. That’s one reason they’ve never been invited to blog at Free Keene. Just because they are part of the same freedom movement doesn’t mean we agree completely or that they are in any way affiliated with Free Keene’s message of Peaceful Evolution. Case in point: (more…)
Today’s controversial Cheshire TV weekly installment features a variety of diverse perspectives in media dating from as recently as two days ago to as far back as four years ago. Budgetary hearings come full circle as performance artists dominate in the state house, baked drivers take to the obstacle course, the world’s history is relayed with eggs, and anti-chalk hooliganism takes hold in Keene.
00:00 – Warning disclaimer to Cheshire TV audience
00:10 – I’ve Seen the Future monologue
03:41 – History of the World as told by Eggs
11:13 – Corporate News presents stoned drivers taking to the roads, safely
16:27 – The anti-chalk apocalypse, war on smiley faces genocide (de agua)
22:44 – The Law’s Coming, hell’s coming performance art
26:12 – Derrick J files some motions at the court
28:50 – End disclaimer segment
![yinyang[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/yinyang1-300x300.jpg?resize=126%2C126)
