As a response to my latest article about the legal trouble at the Rio Linda Water District, I received in my email last week a threatening correspondence accusing me of a hate crime. The author is Mary Harris, one of the candidates running (once again) for a water board seat.
The letter goes something like this:
To: “John Todd” <johntodd@gmail.com>, “Erwin Hayer” <erwin.hayer@gmail.com>
Cc: <daoffice@sacda.org>, <macglashanr@saccounty.net>, <Kim.Wilhelm@cdph.ca.gov>
Subject: John Todd Defamatory statement- see Jan Scully’s letterThe Headline … claiming that I was the subject of a criminal Investigation is totally false, defamatory and another example of your reckless disregard for the truth. As you must know, and if not, there are laws against transmitting a story with the knowledge of its falsity means that the publishers of the story knew it was not true but still communicated it to the public. Please retract your Defamatory statements about me on the RLnet, your online blog and remove my name … from your smear campaigns.
For many years, false and defamatory attacks have been waged against me masquerading as facts, leaving me no effective way to rebut what is being said and/or written… it will no longer be tolerated. In my opinion I feel that what has been happening to me is a hate crime because it meets the two criteria:
• A crime must happen, such as physical assault, intimidation, arson or vandalism;
• The crime must be motivated, in whole or in part, by bias.
We’re going to break this down, piece by piece.
First, note the CC line:
Cc: <daoffice@sacda.org>, <macglashanr@saccounty.net>, <Kim.Wilhelm@cdph.ca.gov>
Does she -really- think that the Sacramento County District Attorney, Our County Supervisor, and the State Department of Public Health gives two thoughts about what I’ve written? Contacting the District Attorney is a HUGE waste of time, and I’m sure they got a giggle out of the bunch of illiterate hicks in Rio Linda once again turning a local water district election into an issue of National importance.
Secondly,
The Headline … claiming that I was the subject of a criminal Investigation is totally false, defamatory and another example of your reckless disregard for the truth.
From Wikipedia, Defamation is is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation a negative or inferior image… In Common Law it is usually a requirement that this claim be false …
The thing is, there’s nothing false here. When the check in question was written, Mary Harris was president of the Board of Directors and most importantly, SHE SIGNED THE CHECK! Her signature is on the thing! Mary Harris signed the check and the DA assigned a criminal investigator. These are all indisputable facts.
Please retract your Defamatory statements about me on the RLnet, your online blog and remove my name … from your smear campaigns.
Nothing defamatory here. Move along. Nothing to see. Also, I WILL continue to expose her twisted, obscure, unsound views for what they are.
For many years, false and defamatory attacks have been waged against me masquerading as facts, leaving me no effective way to rebut what is being said and/or written… it will no longer be tolerated.
If you find anything I’ve written here, or anywhere on the site that’s non-factual please just let me know. All my claims and assertions are backed up with documentation. The comment system here and on Facebook are both available to the public, without censor. This is also true for the RLnet mailing list. If you’re looking for highly edited, hand-picked commentary look no further than the North Country News. Vivien Johnson has never printed a letter that’s disputed her propaganda and lies.
The next section is just pure insanity, and a desperate plea for attention;
In my opinion I feel that what has been happening to me is a hate crime because it meets the two criteria:
• A crime must happen, such as physical assault, intimidation, arson or vandalism;
• The crime must be motivated, in whole or in part, by bias.
Let’s talk about hate crimes for a minute.
I don’t know where she gets her definitions from, but Wikipedia is pretty clear;
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined byracial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, sex, or gender identity.
A hate crime is a category used to described bias-motivated violence: “assault, injury, and murder on the basis of certain personal characteristics: different appearance, different color, different nationality, different language, different religion.”
She dares to suggest that my article about her involvement in a criminal investigation constitutes a hate crime. Places me in the same company as the Ku Klux Klan, or Skinheads.
She suggests that me, the father of a son that was a victim of a hate crime, is guilty of a similar, disgusting act of violence.
To suggest such a thing is as offensive to victims of hate crimes as she is offensive to the town of Rio Linda. Should she accidentally get elected to any public office, she should be removed before she has the opportunity to do any more serious damage. How any level-headed, reasonably sane person could mistake my writing as a hate crime is unthinkable.
Mary Harris was ousted from her Water Board seat 4 years ago and is once again trying to worm her way back in. She knows that election seasons around here are nasty… She’s been on the giving end for many years. If she can dish it out but can’t take it, perhaps she needs to find another hobby.
A final thought… the truth must have struck just the right nerve in order to cause such a mental derailment.
