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Threats: There Are Some Lines You Never Cross

by: Peter Sullivan

Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 11:21:57 AM EDT
We now know that Keith Hirschmann and Joe Kelly Levasseur think that making death threats are a legitimate form of political discussion.

Last Thanksgiving, a post appeared on NH Insider. In this message, someone calling himself "suncoastkid" offered to "save you the trouble of killing yourself", and described how he would run me over if I stood at the corner of Bridge and Pearl in downtown Manchester.

My office is located about 60 feet south of this intersection.

This message was, as you might imagine, quite unsettling. My wife and my parents were as rattled as I was, if not more so.

I asked the Manchester police to investigate this posting. This week, they informed me that it was Hirchmann, a former alderman and GOP state representative, who made the comment.

http://www.unionleader.com/art...
Peter Sullivan :: Threats: There Are Some Lines You Never Cross

I've been involved in New Hampshire politics since I was a teenage volunteer for Norm D'Amours in the mid 1980s. I've met a lot of good people on both sides of the aisle, and consider many of them good friends.

One thing we agree on is that there are a few lines in politics that should never be crossed. You never drag an opponent's family into the argument, and you never make threats against someone's life or safety.

The actions of Hirschmann and his business partner Levasseur crossed the line that you never cross. Their actions show that they have no place in public life.  
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Threats: There Are Some Lines You Never Cross | 4 comments
Amen (0.00 / 0)
As if we needed any more evidence...
Hang In There Peter... (4.00 / 1)
Hang in there Peter -- you must be doing some good things in Manchester and the environs if you generate this kind of backlash from "certain characters."

I do think that the Internet Age, and the supposed privacy that it allows, has resulted in an even higher degree of vicious commentary about all sorts of things -- including politics and those involved.

I've never once used a fake name in anything I've posted in a blog, or on any discussion board I've participated in. (Chatrooms are a bit different!) That others do is their own business, and in the interest of free speech I suppose it's okay.  I haven't really thought through that matter.  It is sort of like having people at public hearings wearing some kind of mask and using a false name and saying whatever they want, cruel as it may be -- but since democracy is what it is, and free speech should always be protected, I can't say I'd be against that either.  

However, when one makes a horrible comment like that directed at you, the word "coward" comes to mind.  I'd like to just say "silly," but when it's clear that a comment like that can affect someone's feeling of safety, and that of your family, then calling it "silly" isn't serious enough.  I personally like the man who said it, and I'm assuming he regrets doing it and won't do it again.  Everyone can make a mistake.

What people should realize is that any comment made in discussion groups or blogs isn't fully anonymous or permanently confidential, unless you use someone else's computer and even then it could be traced.  With a little work, the moderator of a blog can identify a real name, so we should all be aware that we have some degree of responsibility in what we say.  The real name that a writer of a post might be hiding could someday be revealed.  Plus, whatever is said online is probably "out there" forever.  Good God!  

Don't Get Mad, Get Police n/t (4.00 / 1)

Whoops (0.00 / 0)
Meant to say kudos on your call to have the MPD investigate this. That's what the police is there for.
[ Parent ]
Threats: There Are Some Lines You Never Cross | 4 comments

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