Rage-fueled rhetoric has no place on school board

The Whitefish School Board election will take place on May 3, 2022. Five candidates are running for two seats on the Board. It has recently been made public that one candidate, Jenny Paatalo, sent an email to the School Board on Aug. 12, 2021, in response to the board’s decision to require masks for some students. The email, which has been widely circulated on social media and verified as authentic, included the following statements: “Your school board is full of morons and child abusers, cowards, a kissers and science deniers. They are human garbage.” It went on: “May you burn in hell you Nazi scum. I hope you contract real sickness and die” and “F* OFF AND DIE”.

Perhaps even more shocking than the email itself is the number of people in this community who have defended it, describing the content as “spunky” or “passionate.” But it is neither. Instead, it is vile, hate-spewing vitriol. The twice-repeated death wish toward the board members should raise deep, deep concern in our community.

Regardless of where you stand on mask/Covid/vaccine issues, or, for that matter, on any issue, this type of rage-fueled rhetoric has no place on our School Board. Please vote responsibly for people who will work together to carefully and cooperatively consider and resolve important issues involving our schools and our kids. We must reject candidates (even those whose general views we agree with), who lack self-control and the ability to engage in constructive discussions.

Janice Mazur, Whitefish