Taking my lumps

Even though only a few Red Plan supporters showed up at Tuesday’s school board meeting they had a field day roasting me on the Trib’s comment page. If you too are mad at me you may enjoy this.

The audience wasn’t happy last night and they acted like tens of thousands of angry audiences before. They were far more tame than a couple audiences I faced down as a Board member but the angry questions hurled at Board members and the initial booing which tapered off after the first twenty or so minutes didn’t serve their cause. It mostly gave Red Plan lovers a reason to call them impolite.

I understand this. When I was on the Board getting beat up I always told my supporters that “if you can’t get passionate about your children what can you get passionate about?” I mentioned this to Mimi Larson today when she saw me at, of all places, Mount Royal Fine Foods. She genially walked over and we talked about getting together over a cup of coffee.

In the same way I know the catcalls stiffened the resolve of the Board members the comments directed at me have only served to stiffen my resolve.

Chairman Mao once said, and he was probably paraphrasing some other tyrant, “the nail that stands too tall gets hammered down.” My critics will need much bigger hammers.

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