Fran Yerardi from Save Nonantum has requested that we publish this letter of apology from the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. I told him that I’d be happy to.
In the lead up to the recent special election for Newton City Council, a Political Action Committee called Save Nonantum was formed under the banner “Nonantum is under attack by a group of politicians who want to end our traditions and eliminate our culture.” – “they claim our traditions are offensive”, “they will try to end our festival, our procession of St. Mary and our beloved Santa!” -all very disturbing charges indeed.
When various people asked for the evidence of any of this, or even which politicians they are referring to the organization wouldn’t respond. Even today their web site doesn’t contain any specific information to back up those explosive charges.
Various Nonantum loving people, myself included, publicly took issue not with Nonantum, but with the tactics of this political group. Any criticism of their actions they immediately recast as “you hate Nonantum”.
One of the outspoken critics of the group was Greg Reibman, one of Village14’s founders who retired from his role as a moderator and contributor here at the end of 2020.. Greg spoke out about the PAC’s tactics both here and on other social media sites.
The election was held, the PAC’s candidates won, and one would think this fairly unpleasant chapter of Newton life would now be behind us.
But it wasn’t. Over the month since the election, Save Nonantum orchestrated a concerted campaign against Greg with his employer, the Chamber of Commerce.
Even though he’s relatively scarce around here these days, most readers of Village14 know Greg Reibman from his hundreds and hundreds of posts and comments on Village14 and before that with the Tab. As long as I’ve been around Newton, Greg has been an outspoken, articulate, funny and smart voice on a wide range of topics and issues and he has been a tireless Newton civic booster too. In all those issues and discussions over the years, Greg has no doubt also riled, infuriated or otherwise annoyed plenty of people on the opposite side of those issues. That pretty much goes with the territory.
When Save Nonantum decided to go after Greg they not only sent letters to the Chamber’s board but to chamber members too. They recruited anybody else they could find that had lingering animosities – Right Size Newton was on the opposite side of the big development issues in recent years,. Someone even started publishing a fake version of Greg’s daily chamber email newsletter (they called it “Chamber News”) repeating misleading comments about Greg under an email address meant to look like it was coming from the Chamber itself.
Suddenly this past month everyone’s been writing to the Chamber of Commerce with the same single message – Greg Reibman speaking his mind as a private individual will hurt the Chamber as an organization.
It’s a chilling thing to see such a concerted effort unfold.
In Greg’s apology letter (above) he apologized for his use of the term “McCarthyism” in referring to the PAC’s tactics. While I agree that use of the term “McCarthyism” was “uncivil” it’s become even more clear that it may have been accurate.
You really embarrased yourself.
I have lots of thoughts on this, but for now I just want to say that no one works harder or cares more about Newton, and all its villages, than Greg.
Greg, hang in there, you have a ton of support in the City.
What Nathan said. I don’t know anybody who works harder for this city than Greg Reibman, particularly during the pandemic. I hope everybody who reads this thanks him for all that he does.
I’ll start. Thank you Greg.
Save Nonantum went overboard during the election, and now we hear that they continue to do so. SN does their community and village no favors by using this same tactic on everyone who disagrees with them.
Save Nonantum went overboard with attacks during the recent special election. No we hear that they continue to use the same outrageous tactics. SN does their community and village no favors by continuing to attack everyone who disagrees with them. These actions on the part of SN are unacceptable in a city where diverse opinions, and often vigorous debate, is an essential part of the Newton. Always has been and I hope always will be.
Just one small action from Greg this week: he helped recruit volunteers to help out at the vaccinnation clinics to work at the Holtzman Clinic.
Sign up for the Newton-Needham Chamber email if you want to know how much Greg has helped the city, especially in the last year.
Thanks for mentioning our vaccine clinic Jane (and thanks for being one of our volunteers!). Over the past two weeks the chamber was able to secure shots for about 150 restaurant and food service workers.
The majority of the folks we registered work locally but live in underserved communities where the pandemic hit hardest. Many also have language barriers and needed assistance signing up, assurance with the process and transportation help, all of which was provided by their employers.
Restaurant workers (including servers, runners, bussers, etc.) are also the only frontline workers who routinely come in contact with customers not required to always be wearing a mask in public.
The initiative was made possible thanks to Mayor Fuller and her team who introduced the chamber to the Holtzman Medical Group.
What Nathan and Gail said.
I don’t know Greg outside of V14 and other forms of social media, but he seems like a good dude to have a post pandemic drink (or few) with, but I quote one my favorite comic books as a kid, “with great power, comes great responsibility”.
When someone is known as a journalist (Tab), controls what can or cannot be published in a public medium (V14) and is President of a prominent local businss organization (Newton Needham Chamber), public and private opinions becomes blurre… intentions are questioned. Some may even find that offensive.
Greg reached Ted H-M levels of passion for housing and affordable housing during Northland, then was virtually silent on the topic since. His “outspoken, articulate, funny and smart voice” can also be quite biting when on the other side of an issue, especially when the person on the other end, is also a member of the Chamber.
This is NOT say Greg is Trumparian (is that a word yet?), but Trump’s blurring of private opinion vs his public role as President was one of the issues that offended voters most.
@greg, now that you’ve retired from V14, any intentions to run in November? 🙂
What’s funny is that, along with Gail, I’m one of the few people here who actually worked with Greg on a daily basis. He’s a great person to work for, primarily because he’s fair. Greg and I disagreed on a lot, and I never had a problem telling him so… and he never had a problem telling me that he didn’t agree with me. Sometimes he’d convince me, or cause me to question something, sometimes I’d do the same for him. That’s called a conversation… people should try it sometime.
Of course, we agreed on many things–probably more than not–but I never felt like I was beholden to his point of view. So when people position him as someone who controls the narrative in some way…they’re just wrong. He never did it here and he doesn’t do it in person. He speaks his mind, but he doesn’t try to stop you from speaking yours, and he does listen to what you say (even if he doesn’t agree).
Tony, the only person who embarrassed himself is Fran Yerardi. Full stop.
Fran, the insistence on publishing the letter here kinda backfired a bit. In this case, I think the commentary was warranted. Good on Jerry. I doubt you agree. But sometimes the fruits of pettiness like yours are bitter and ugly.
My recollection is that Fran was the one who was posting threatening and untrue legal conclusions regarding how Greg had violated the law by posting on public forums as an employee at the Chamber. Some nonsense about 501c3 status. It was legal nonsense, meant to bully.
I *really* dislike bullies.
This type of concerted effort to quiet any one of us from a public forum should be condemned.
Going after someone’s day job for an online political post is never the right move. It wasn’t right when folks contacted Emily Norton’s day job over a city council vote, and this in my mind is far worse. Politics by any means, using personal pressure points to get what you want politically, we should all be condemning that. We have to be better than that.
Fran, there had to be a better way. May I suggest a personal conversation next time? Maybe a back and forth where you express your viewpoints, and don’t threaten someone’s job? This forum is going to go on, with or without Greg. Going personal and trying to ruin someone’s life just because they disagree with you is never the right road. I know you’ve done a lot for your community, and you’ve had involvement with youth coaching in the past. I respect that. I can’t respect what you are doing here. Is this what you’d want to teach your kids, or our kids that you’ve coached? Please let this go. It has gone too far.
And thank you Greg. You didn’t deserve this crap. I don’t agree with you a good portion of the time, but our city would be a much worse place without you, and you are someone who truly cares about Newton. I hope you continue to have a voice, YOUR voice, in the city going forward.
Greg’s newsletter is one of the most interesting and intelligent reads in the Boston area and he has wide and deep support across Needham and Newton. Save Nonantum is irrelevant.
Matt Lai: I enjoy your posts and your point of view, but making excuses for this type of bad behavior is a bad take on your part.
Each of us has a life outside of any public forum. Most of us have day jobs. The idea that because someone finds Greg’s words offensive they have the right to go to war against him in his personal life is just wrong. Fran could have called Greg out in a public forum. He could have asked for a private meeting. He spread lies about Greg’s role in the chamber and their federal tax status originally, and now Fran and his fellow enablers are making personal attacks. This is a method to quell speech Fran doesn’t agree with.
And Matt, you have this take consistently. Namely, whatever you support, because they have been “pushed too far” or find something “offensive”, that gives them the excuse to engage in egregious behaviors. I don’t agree with that either. There are plenty of ways to respond to something you don’t agree without bullying your opponents, using pressure tactics designed to cause them personal pain for a public matter, etc.
The only way our public sphere gets better is if we call out bad behavior. This was bad behavior. No excuses. No “but Greg made them mad” with his words and his posts, so he deserved it. That’s not how this city should be. That’s not how adults should act.
When a community PAC starts to use public pressure campaigns and fake newsletters against a private person and attempts to get that person fired from his job, when does it end? How soon until someone comes for me and for you Matt? How soon does someone stop posting or commenting because they say, “this just isn’t worth it”.
If you abandon our public sphere to the bullies, you won’t get it back. And the bullies won’t always agree with you.
And that is the reason I won’t use my name here. Although I hope I don’t step on people’s toes, I am always concerned that someone could contact my employer about a post I author. This is the type of behavior that keeps me in the dark. I really value Village 14 and the type of conversation we all have here. I have learned about local schools, local politics, local business and I really love Newton. But seeking to contact my employer because I wrote something anti school union, pro school union, anti mayor Fuller, pro mayor Fuller is not something I want this village to come to.
When will members of Save Nonantum issue their apology for their incendiary language. Their tactics of saying outlandish things and bullying, and then crying that they are victims is a page straight from the Trump playbook. Greg was wrong to use the word McCarthyism. He should have said Trumpism. Get a backbone Fran Yerardi.
Thank you Greg for all you do, and thanks to Jerry for telling us the background for this letter.
@Matt – Greg has never controlled what could be posted here in the way you imply. None of us have to run our posts by anyone else before posting, and we are a miscellaneous group who have varying points of view – there are a couple of V14 posters I seldom agree with (and probably vice versa). And by the months leading up to the special election, he had resigned from V14.
Like others, I am saddened and angered that a segment of Newton decided that the way to deal with disagreement was to wage a campaign against someone’s job.
Regarding Save Nonantum, I will listen to any person or group that wants to talk about gentrification or ensuring their community is represented in local offices. Those are important topics. What I have zero time for is when groups decide to recycle imagery and symbolism that has undeniable racist roots to sway voters: when you describe candidates with new ideas about land-use laws and community safety as “extreme agitators” or “outside agitators,” you are 100% taking a page from Strom Thurmond’s PR playbook to deflect from talking about uncomfortable injustices. It is a form of othering, trying to deny recognizing someone as a neighbor. That language has been used for decades to discredit racial justice movements. If the word choice from SN’s digital ads was an honest mistake, a reconciliatory mea culpa message from the org would be a welcome step.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/us/outside-agitators-history-civil-rights.html
https://www.pushblack.us/news/history-racism-term-outside-agitators
As frustrating as I tend to find Greg’s communication methods, I’ve never doubted that his heart is always in the right place. This ugliness is uncalled for – sorry to see that Greg is targeted.
@FigNewtonville: “I *really* dislike bullies. This type of concerted effort to quiet any one of us from a public forum should be condemned. Going after someone’s day job for an online political post is never the right move. It wasn’t right when folks contacted Emily Norton’s day job over a city council vote, and this in my mind is far worse. ”
You must be new to Village14. Here are two searches you conduct to educate yourself.
https://village14.com/?s=Sierra+Club+Norton
https://village14.com/?s=Norton+Charles+River
Please identify a city councilor who has had the posts about them repeatedly tagged with their employer? Particularly posts trying to point out the opposite of conflict of interest. Over several years.
Anonymous posts by “Village14” are largely posts by Greg. Posts by Sean are by Greg’s cofounder. Posts by others likely tagged by those two or perhaps by Jerry.
So, the Board of Directors of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce issues a public apology for what they describe as the lack of professionalism and lack of civility in public posts by the Chamber President, and we’re supposed to believe it is because they were bullied into issuing this apology? They look like a pretty formidable and savvy group of business people to me. They hardly strike me as a group that would succumb to some outside pressure and throw someone under the bus if they didn’t actually mean what they said. I think they deserve a bit more credit than that. As for the background story – well in my experience there are usually 3 sides of any story; yours, theirs and then there’s the truth somewhere in between.
https://www.nnchamber.com/about/board-of-directors
Greg should put a disclaimer under his posts that he is posting as a private citizen under the first amendment and they are not affiliated with the view of the Chamber. Some readers may be too daft to recognize that those posts are his personal opinions and should not be ascribed to the Chamber.That way, Save Nonatum can’t go crying to anybody.
Just as some posters have expressed that they won’t vote for anyone endorsed by the NTA, I will certainly not vote for anyone who accepts the endorsement of Save Nonatum in the next election.
Jack: I would argue there is a difference between that and contacting every member of the board of directors of someone job, as well as the other actions taken Jerry describes. But point taken. I didn’t like that interplay either at the time. And my post references the very behavior that happened to Emily. You consistently condemned that as unfair, but what is worse behavior here you defend. Whataboutism isn’t a defense, it is an excuse. I’ll also note that Emily posts here as a representative of city government and Greg posts here as an individual. There should be a difference between private citizens and public figures. But at the very least shouldn’t you condemn both behaviors.
Lisa P: I can think of lots of reasons why a board of directors would issue that letter, not the least of which it is good for business to do so. A lot of folks in Nonantum were upset, they went after Greg personally, and I’m guessing that was the easiest path to move forward for the organization.
And as usual more than one thing can be true. Greg expressed his personal opinion which pissed some folks off. It can be difficult to wear the hat of a public organization and speak up as a private citizen without exposing your public organization to pressure that they would not want. And the pressure campaign used by certain folks to silence Greg and get that apology was personal and bullying.
I certainly remember the very Public post by Fran when he mistated the law of tax exempts lobbying and threatened Greg. And read Jerry’s post above. Contacting every board member? Fake newsletters? C’mon now. When a developer did that to Emily Norton folks were very upset and she still complains about it to this day.
The fact that an apology was issued due to that pressure campaign doesn’t excuse the tactics, it just meant that they worked. And when someone does the same thing to you or to me, one less voice to speak up about it.
There was an opportunity here for someone to be the bigger person. If take an apology in private. To have a conversation. Instead what was requested was a public flogging. The fact that Fran insisted the apology be posted here and it is on Facebook just reinforces that. But honestly, even if you disagree with Greg’s language, does anything that has happened afterward speak well of the person(s) driving these actions forward? Does the punishment fit the “crime”?
Just my opinion. I agree with Jerry’s title for the post. And I hope for a better election next time around, with less personal attacks and more community discussion. We will see if that can happen with different candidates.
Its always very difficult to separate professional and personal opinion. Especially when you are head of a private organization AND founder of a public forum
At times, v14 felt like a foghorn for newton businesses (pro development) rather than a ‘general’ site for Newton issues
This whole issue just highlights how good Greg is at his job. If i was a developer, i would want Greg in my corner. I like his brass knuckle style.
@Fig — First, Greg has done a world-class job over the past year for the city and its small businesses. He is a leader in the state in how he has done his job.
I’m not commenting on the actions of this Newton business owner and chamber member. I’m just reacting to your comments. I personally read the comments on V14 not the posts.
” I would argue there is a difference between that and contacting every member of the board of directors of someone job, as well as the other actions taken Jerry describes.”
I would argue that Greg is very savvy in SEO, and he was effectively contacting every employer with a search engine, current, and future. One could argue that has much more potential impact than complaints about a single incident.
” I didn’t like that interplay either at the time.”
At the time being 2015-2020?
“Greg posts here as an individual”
How many times, and how much text, would you estimate that Greg has posted here when a Newton resident (or chamber member) would reasonably assume he was nominally on the clock for the Chamber in that time period?
Jack:
I know you want to make this about Emily Norton, and I’ve acknowledged your point that sometimes this forum has focused too much on Emily and her opinions. But she is very much the public face of much of Newton politics. And she is a public figure, and I’d say she is also very savvy, and posts here when it suits her (and it often suits her). But even if I fully agreed with your comparison, whataboutism isn’t a response to this particular issue. It is just an excuse for bad behavior. And I still don’t understand how you can so strongly condemn behavior when it happens to someone you support, but defend that similar (and in my mind worse) behavior when it happens to someone you don’t. 2 wrongs don’t make a right (and hypocrisy isn’t something that should be encouraged). And you should really read the post here, it gives needed context.
As for the question on the chamber reasonably assuming he was on the clock for the chamber, my assumption would be when Greg posts online under his own name he is a private citizen. And he stated that more times than I can count. If you are trying to make an argument that he was posting on “Chamber time” as a way to agree that the Chamber was somehow connected to his posts, that isn’t the way the law works for 501c3 lobbying.
I’m guessing Greg stepped away from the forum to focus on his day job. That is his right, and frankly, probably makes sense. But he should still be able to post here without having that day job threatened. Or is that just reserved for cherished political candidates?
I’m with NewtonMom. Actions like this have a chilling effect. And I feel we should call out the bad behavior when we see it. This was bad behavior.
@Fig — Jerry’s post above doesn’t specify at all what Greg did or said, nor does Greg’s letter. Jerry doest finds plenty of things to quote from his opponents.
I just commented on a long-term pattern of behavior on Greg’s part. I would agree that Greg is as aware of the rules of 501c3 lobbying as he is of the impact of search engine optimization.
Greg’s letter does say ” the chamber does not endorse and has not endorsed political candidates and will not be endorsing candidates in the future.”
To me, there is only a legal distinction between endorsing the candidates you like and spending your days attacking the candidates you don’t, and then for good measure ensuring the candidate’s day job and career profession is linked to those attacks.
While I wont get into a back and forth about that specific situation involving the save nonantum PAC and Greg et al, I will add this. I think going after anyone at their workplace is 100% unacceptable. I think targeting people for anything (politics, occupation, sexual orientation etc) is unacceptable.
I’ve got to ask though, isn’t this exactly what some (Newtonites) did with the proposed Gun Shop? Doxing the landlord of the building by name, trying to figure out what “other businesses” he was involved in just to ruin them? Its crazy, the landlord most likely has nothing to do with those small shops/stores. Basically killing a small business for no other reason beyond differing opinion’s. There’s more to the world than Trump vs Biden, sad that’s what it seems to always come back to.
Derek:
I think many of us are not trying to dox the gun shop owner or landlord, but would like to engage in a conversation. But point taken. I’m not a fan of mob justice of any kind.
Jack, as we’ve danced this dance before regarding Emily, I think I’ll let you have the last word in our conversation. I’ve said my piece here on this issue.
Back to the issue at hand – has Save Nonantum and Fran Yerardi in particular crossed a line. In my original post (written on my iPhone – never a good idea), I was reluctant to use the word “bully”, but it’s safe to say this Mr. Yerardi has used bullying tactics to get his way over the last five months. If he’s heading Save Nonantum, they too are engaging in bullying tactics.
He needs to figure out what place he wants to hold in this city because he’s done serious damage to his personal reputation, and that’s a shame. I’d always heard great things that his family had done for Nonantum, and now I think he’s nothing more than a playground bully.
That these actions are just now becoming public information makes them all the worse. If you’re going to be a bully, at least have the courage to do it openly.
It’s not just about Greg’s voluminous statements about me. There are other individuals who have felt belittled and demeaned by him. Bugek says “I like his brass knuckle style” and that’s a perfectly valid opinion, but others have been driven away from this blog and indeed from participating in the Newton Needham Chamber due to that “brass knuckle style”, and that does not serve our business community well, IMHO. I think it’s a good thing that he apologized, and hopefully from now on he will adopt a more respectful and productive tone toward everyone, elected official or not, and whether he agrees with them on whatever issue, or not.
I would like to say that Fran Yerardi is a quality person who cares a great deal about Newton and Nonantum, He like me, probably wants to preserve the Italian culture in Nonantum for future generations . During the last election some candidates maybe did not support some of Nonantum’s celebrations and culture saying that they were not inclusive which in my opinion only is a load of crap. To say that Fran is a ‘bully’ is another load of crap in my opinion. I would like to thank Fran and others for taking time away from family and other commitments to assemble ‘Save Nonantum’ during these pathetic cancel culture times. The real bullies are the cancel culture morons out there!! Thank You Fran and all of Save Nonantum ,your efforts are appreciated !!
@Jack Prior – I didn’t quote what Greg did or said because I don’t know what the complaints were aside from the reference to “McCarthyism” that was in the letter. The quotes from Save Nonantum aren’t something that were said in a comment or in a Facebook group. They are the PAC’s organizing messages from the front page of their web site.
@ Jamie – I’m with you on preserving Italian culture in Nonantum, but you lost me on “cancel culture”. Isn’t orchestrating a campaign on an opponent’s employer the actual definition of “cancel culture”?
You say “during the last election some candidates did not support some of Nonantum’s celebration and culture”. If that’s the case tell us. Which candidates? What did they say? For a few months now Saving Nonantum has been loudly proclaiming that unnamed elected officials are trying to undermine Nonantum’s culture but nobody ever says what actual things have been done by what actual people.
Allow me to clarify.
On multi occasions Greg actions caused concern for many in our community.
1st time was from his personal FB account where he used the term “ McCarthyism”.
Greg received a pleasant message in response inviting him to chat with us.
Next was on village 14 where he said Nonantum was “in the sewer”
This was from his chamber account ( just click on his Post above and see if it takes you to the chamber website).
After that it was on the chamber daily message which goes out to all chamber members.
Then again after the election, let me repeat- after the election- it was on the chambers daily message again, out to all the chamber members for now a 4th time.
When someone is on company time, using company resources, contacting the company’s database it’s absolutely appropriate to bring it to the organizations attention.
The chamber board, reviewed the situation and issued an apology and specifically asked that Nonantum “share this with anyone who you think may find it of interest”. Many folks from Nonantum (against my advice) wanted it posted on village 14, as that is one of the platforms Greg used.
What Emily said.
By any definition of “bully” Greg has been exactly that at times on V14. His advocates call it bad behavior or “not liking that episode” but it was unacceptable online behavior. When folks can’t simply acknowledge those facts, they’re the issue too. Bad behavior is bad behavior. Folks like Jerry and Fig excuse it or minimize it, to the detriment of V14 and the community at large. Greg has been a bad actor on V14 far too many times.
Greg is a paid advocate who has continually blurred the line in V14 between his professional duties and founder of this site. This site is better off with him no longer having an active role. Bias and moneyed interests aren’t a good thing.
I thought it was mean of Village 14 to agree to publish the apology letter and then use the letter as an excuse to trash Save Nonantum one more time. Village14 should have discussed the contents of the letter instead.
There was a smug Gotcha! quality to the whole Village 14 post about this.
@Fran Yerardi – You continue to recast criticism of your PAC’s tactics as criticism of the Nonantum community. You’ve been claiming for some time, and in your comment above that Greg said “Nonantum was in the sewer”. He said no such thing. Here’s his comment
Greg is a smug, arrogant, pompous, twit , and him being that finally caught up to him, be a decent person for once
@ Jerry Reilly. Yours and Village 14 Candidates Barash and Ranalli lost and lost BIG!!! Accept it and move on…. Nonantum will not be pushed around by liars and wannabe political thugs
I hope Greg will respond to this thread, especially accusations made by Emily Norton ( who herself can be as acerbic as Greg) and other posters.
I also certainly hope that Greg doesn’t feel he has to choose between keeping his job and expressing his 1st amendment rights.
“he said Nonantum was “in the sewer”” is a lie. Look up the quote.
I keep thinking about all the good that the Chamber has done for the city, its businesses and its residents throughout this pandemic. Thank you, Greg. We are fortunate to have you working for all of us.
@Jerry Riley
Shameful try, but here is the link to Greg’s original “in the sewer” post.
Greg’s original post before Village14 changed to fit their narrative:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:fee0dd35-f4ea-4201-8786-6cfc83c53a2c
On Village14 the facts always seem to change to fit yours/ Greg’s desired outcome.
Nice privilege
So tell us, who altered the post you or Greg (who supposedly is no longer connected to village14)?
@Fran . Thanks for sharing. The comment about dragging through the sewer clearly states in both versions that he is referring to the people involved with the Save Nonantum PAC dragging the reputation of the village of Nonantum through he sewer. That is an opinion about the PAC, not the Village.
Councilor Norton, I found it a bit ironic that you would quote Bugek describing Greg as having a “brass knuckle style” and criticizing Greg for that. Considering the very active role you took in the last election against a prior political opponent, your defense of some of the tactics in that election, and of course the post you make above, I’d describe you the same way. I tend to favor more bridge building and consensus building in my public officials, but everyone chooses their own style. Or as one of my kids says now, you do you.
For some of the folks above, including Emily, Jack, Alec, Jamie, and I’m sure others, the defense of what has occurred here is that Greg was tough to deal with on Village14, that he was mean and bullying on Village14, and that therefore he got what he deserved.
A few points on that:
1) Greg has his own unique style, and he isn’t shy about stating his opinions.
2) As I’ve said a bunch, it isn’t bullying to call someone out on their lies or B.S. It also isn’t bullying to take an opposing view of someone who is passionate about something. If you don’t want disagreements, post on your facebook page or a listserv with a cultivated audience.
3) Greg sometimes went too far in his posts in my view. He sometimes got hyperfocused on an issue. But often times the folks criticized hated being called out publicly. Sometimes are public officials have thin skins. And political supporters often times take the side of their “team” vs responding to a valid question or criticism.
4) Most Importantly, the idea that anyone “gets what they deserve” for having their online discussions posts on a blog like this impact their personal life or professional life is just something I fundamentally disagree with. Some things should just be off limits. Doxing people. Kids and families. Marital status or comments. Racist posts. Trying to destroy someone’s career or job because you don’t like their online opinion.
The Board of Directors of the Chamber is Greg’s boss. You don’t go on a campaign to contact each member of someone’s boss unless you are engaging in a personal vendetta. The election was over. This was overkill, and it was clearly personal. Many of the folks on here complained bitterly when a developer did that to Emily Norton. And now, crickets from you. Spare me the whataboutism and the justifications due to Greg’s prior posts. We shouldn’t have two standards of behavior depending on what side you are on.
I don’t know Greg personally. I’ve never met him in my life. (actually he did sit down next to me once at Brewer’s coalition, but I didn’t say anything). I’m not his friend or his acquaintance. I’m just trying to be fair and call out crappy behavior when I see it. And this was crappy behavior.
And I will end with this: This has been a horrible year, and many of us are stretched past breaking. Newton needs more voices working towards compromise. We need more kindness and more conversations. We’ve lately become a increasingly bitter and angry town and the factionism has increased. Maybe that is inevitable. But what isn’t inevitable is that we can be DECENT to each other. You want to tell me I’m an idiot online, fine. Don’t make it personal. Don’t go after my family or my job. Attempt to understand my point of view. Try and be the bigger person. And maybe try and forgive a bit as well.
We all need to live in this fishbowl together, and this is water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbAH5DAs1oU
Thank you, Fig. Well put.
Fran Yerardi:
I’ve tried to look at your complaints about Greg’s posts as fairly as I can. From everything I can tell, he is referring to the actions of the PAC, including in both iterations of what you just posted. The line about McCarthyism was what you got the apology for (although I’d argue going after someone’s job in such a direct manner might merit the comparison). But I can understand why someone might be offended by that, although again, he was responding to the actions of the PAC, not your community.
As for the hyperlink if you click on Greg’s name going to Chamber, honestly, I’m guessing you were on the only one who noticed that at all. I certainly didn’t. He wasn’t posting in his Chamber capacity in my view, there is no reference in his posts to his position, etc.
Regarding your actual complaint, Is that really it? That is what produced this vindictive response? How many hours did you and your friends spend trying to push the Chamber to punish Greg?
My recollection is that you did post a very angry response on this blog and on Facebook regarding how Greg was ruining the 501c3 status of the Chamber and was violating federal law. All that was incorrect. I’m happy to walk you through the rules regarding lobbying and 501c3 status, suffice it to say there are safe harbors for any online post, even if made from Greg’s official email. You’d need a concerted lobbying effort on behalf of a candidate to even begin to trip the rules. I assumed then (and now) that really your response was just an attempt to get Greg to quit posting during the election and criticizing Save Nonantum.
When the election was over, most folks lay down their swords. You chose to take up your again and go after Greg personally. Revenge being a two edged sword, I don’t think that has reflected well on you personally, even if you got your apology from the Chamber. As you used to serve on the Chamber yourself, this certainly seems to many of us to be a personal vendetta on your part, especially as it has continued so long after the election. The ends don’t justify the means.
As for the idea to post it here and rub Greg’s face in it, I don’t think that worked out the way you wanted.
So where do we go from here?
First of all, I’m hoping you will let this go. You got your apology from the Chamber. I doubt I’m going to convince you about the PACs or your past actions, and I’ve said my piece about what you’ve done. I don’t know how to reverse any of it, so I won’t try. But we can all choose to move forward.
Second, building an active community political organization is something to be admired, even if I disagreed with your ads and your methods in the last election. There is a lot you could do with that PAC, along with the other folks who passionately started it. And I’m sure there are issues where you could build consensus in both Nonantum and the wider North side of the city, if not all of Newton. Getting Nonantum businesses a larger piece of the stimulus funds, encouraging city funding of village improvements, maybe funding for a village day on or near Columbus Day. I spend a lot of time in Nonantum, and I’m sure there is a lot folks can agree on.
Fignewtonville,
Its nice to see both sides finally calling out “cancel culture”. If more ppl on the left speak out against it, it will disappear
Bugek,
I’m never really been a fan of cancelling anything, including my cable subscription which I haven’t used in years.
I’ll note that the right seems awfully fond of cancelling MLB, Coke, Delta, and lots of other folks. They just call it something different.
The use of activists and true believers to use the issue of the day to move public opinion against individuals or corporations happens incredibly fast now. I have trouble keeping up.
For the rest of folks, going offline to enjoy the day. I may even sneak in some ice cream. Don’t tell anyone.
First I’d like to thank Jerry for posting this and the many people who’ve pointed to the good work the chamber has done during the pandemic.
I’m especially proud of our efforts to help our restaurants, retailers, other small independent businesses and nonprofits get the resources they needed (PPP loans, state and local resources, protocols guidance, etc.) to get though this pandemic. Not all of our businesses made it, or will, but the chamber is committed to fighting to help each and everyone have a chance.
Nothing has been a higher priority for me, or the chamber, this past year.
I also want to thank the Nonantum residents who contacted me privately to thank me for my apology. A smart rabbi taught me that all you can do is apologize, whether or not it’s accepted is on others.
I do want to say that when I comment here or on other media or social media platforms, I am always conscious of my day job. Heck, before I decide if I’m going to cut someone off in traffic while driving down Beacon Street, I’m conscious of my day job. I accept the responsibility that comes with my role. I appreciate that I have a board of directors that wants me to be a strong advocate for issues that matter.
As for this blog, I explained why I stepped back from Village 14 here. I will add today that, absolutely, I have been guilty of throwing a sharp elbow in political conversations here and elsewhere. But I’ve come to realize that, in these polarized times, respectful and productive conversations are in much shorter supply than sharp elbows. So I’ve decided to strive to model more of the former and less of the latter.
That doesn’t mean I won’t be advocating strongly for those things I believe in. That doesn’t mean I won’t speak up when someone is acting dishonestly, disingenuously or destructively. Doesn’t mean I’ll never lose my cool or pick the wrong words.
But it does mean I’m going to strive to communicate in ways that seeks to bring people together and is more productive and less destructive.
I would like follow up on Greg’s comment. As he admits, he definitely crossed the line in the past. Hopefully, he AND his supporters will be more respectful in future discussions. The suggestion that someone is anti-environment merely because they don’t support some massive development is ridiculous. So is the argument that if you’re not in favor of a developers too dense plan, you’re a NIMBY, a bigot, or a racist. Why is the idea of compromise so objectionable to those in favor of whatever development comes down the road? Let’s hope everyone else who contributes to this blog seeks to be a uniter and not a divider. Thank you and be well.
@EmilyNorton. Can you describe your participation in this coordinated effort? Did you reach out in any way to Greg’s employer, the board or in anyway participate in this effort?