Paul Goossens and I go way back to 1999 when we were both allies in the effort to keep the Edison school experiment alive in Duluth. He hasn’t changed much now that we are on opposite sides of the Red Plan. Because, I have become much more pointed in my criticism, and my criticism has become unsparing, Paul recently lifted words from my blog with no context, to demonstrate how “vile” I have become. Here’s a letter to the Budgeteer he’s just published with examples of my incendiary language. I have put a link to each word so that you can see just how I used it in one of this blog’s posts. See if you don’t think Paul is guilty of the same thing he accuses me of.
BTW, The Red Plan’s diminishing supporters are pretty free with their pejoratives too and I didn’t start this. Two days before the November 07 election, in which I was a school board candidate, Ralph Doty wrote a column saying I should be sued for libel.
Thanks to Ralph Doty for speaking out on what most of Duluth has come to understand about Harry Welty and Gary Glass: They seem to be driven by retribution, power and attention, and care not about the destructive result of their efforts.
I believe Welty has become the most divisive and destructive person in this city.
Attempting to follow the twists and turns of his arguments, it is clear that he doesn’t even know what he’s mad about anymore. It is time Duluth recognizes Welty for what he has unfortunately become: enamored with the power of divisiveness and community destruction.
A read of Welty’s blogs reveals the true nature of his destructive voice. He repeatedly characterizes the school board and administration as bullies, jerk, liars, thieves, stupid, dishonest, evil and unscrupulous.
A review of recent rants reveals his naming these persons tyrants, fascists, dictators, Gestapo and monsters.
Not enough to stop there, however, Welty blatantly and repeatedly suggests these individuals are due the same violent deaths accorded to Mussolini, Hitler and rabid dogs.
His attacks on citizens who disagree with him are no less vile. His words are powerful and destructive.
Welty knows words can incite others to ends he might not intend, but his intentions are not fully clear.
He has invested so much time and energy convincing people how oppressed they have become by these “Goliaths” and “tyrants” and that defeating them is equaled to a religious battle against the “forces of evil.”
These are destructive words, and the person hurling them needs to be called out and told emphatically by our community that there is no place here for such uncivil and vile discourse!
As Glass is an elected official of the School Board, and a core member of the Let Duluth Vote organization, I have called on him to publicly denounce his group leader’s divisive and destructive tactics and return the discourse to a more civil tone. Duluth deserves no less.
Paul Goossens
Duluth
I’ve followed the dictate that “the pen is mightier than the sword” as I’ve written blog posts. I’ve tried hard not to be hyperbolic. I can’t say the same for Mr. Goossens based on a review of my blog posts. And by the way, the first use of the word “vile” in Lincolndemocrat came courtesy of Mr. Goossens.
For those of you who didn’t bother to check the author of this quote “First God created idiots. That was for practice. Then he created School Boards.” It was Mark Twain. He said it not me, and no one can doubt Twain’s literary credentials.
