Defend Myrtle Woodward and Her Family!

[davemincin]

Yike so much for stealth!!  The Dover group really pretty much has it's hands full with
the election effort, but will mention it to them Saturday morning, perhaps some of them
might be able to make the protest in Hampton.

Lloyd my responsibility is to tube ward 1 in Dover, and really could use your help Sunday
if you are staying over.   It's really alot more effecient if two people can make the run.

Don't believe I can help much with the effort Saturday afternoon...though it slay me...
have to watch the Steelers play at 4:30pm. 

Hey it's a homeboy thing!!  Looking forward to them playing New England next week, and
just have to turn off the freedom stuff in those time slots!

Dave

[Karl]

What did this poor woman do to this guy, let her dog poop on his lawn?? Geez!

He probably thinks he is helping make sure every home is "safe" in Hampton.?

Although the building inspector may have been overzealous, I don't think focusing on him is going to produce much good; in fact it is a distraction.  The building inspector enforces the law as laid down by elected officials.  It is the elected officials on the ZBA who committed the primary wrong by denying a variance they should have granted way back in 2002.  I say focus on them, and forget about the building inspector.

[cathleeninnh]

I can't agree that we should lay off the inspector. He ought to be made at least uncomfortable in his job. He deserves lots of flak in my book. People should think twice before taking or staying in a job where they end up doing things that look bad and are bad. We need to encourage principled actions and living. He ought to be ashamed of himself. I hope he can't sleep at night.

Cathleen

[intergraph19]

I can't agree that we should lay off the inspector. He ought to be made at least uncomfortable in his job. He deserves lots of flak in my book. People should think twice before taking or staying in a job where they end up doing things that look bad and are bad. We need to encourage principled actions and living. He ought to be ashamed of himself. I hope he can't sleep at night.

Cathleen

I can't agree with that.  I don't mind tossing a few irritated comments his way while in a forum, but I think protesting him would be counter productive to the cause.  You don't want this sort of movement to be labeled as fanatical trouble makers by bothering people who are not responsible for what you are protesting.  The issue at hand is not in the inspectors hands to fix, so why waste energy on him when he has no real power?  Don't allow emotion to cloud your judgement on the action to be taken. 

[Russell Kanning]

I understand what you guys are saying, but I have to go with Cathleen. When do you stop holding a job or taking orders to fine little old ladies. 

[cathleeninnh]

I have been there. I left a well paying job because what I was expected to do was defensible but just not right. And when I hear the "he's just doing his job" argument, I can't help but think "there is someone who wouldn't stick to his own principles".

Cathleen

[Dave Ridley]

I think we are all able to name the town in Germany where the "I was just following orders" defense came to an end.

[intergraph19]

I have been there. I left a well paying job because what I was expected to do was defensible but just not right. And when I hear the "he's just doing his job" argument, I can't help but think "there is someone who wouldn't stick to his own principles".

Cathleen

I'm not defending this guy.  I'm saying why waste your energy on some one inconsequential to the fight.  He can't change the laws.  He's not my favorite inspector, and most of them do get quite high and mighty with themselves, but what can he do?  Other than soothing our own ruffled feathers over his pettiness, what would protesting him accomplish?  Nothing.  Paper the man's house and call it day if you must, but focus on changing the law, then he has nothing to use against this woman.

[Kat Kanning]

Yes.  According to Don Gorman, the inspector has no authority to use his judgement in these cases.  It is the Zoning Board that can issue a variance if they so wish.

[Russell Kanning]

He can quit and get a real job.

[Lloyd Danforth]

He can ignore all, but, the most obvious infractions of the law, like turning your ranch house into a 6 story apartment building or installing an assault driveway, or something!

[JonM]

When resources are limited, activities are best directed toward the action which will do the most good. ?Now whenever you're doing to do something that will require more effort than blinking, you should ask yourself, "What is the best possible outcome of this action? ?What is the worst possible outcome?"

The true results will land somewhere in between those two answers. ?If the best possible outcome is not far away from the worst possible outcome, then the action may not be worth the time taken to perform it (assuming the worst possible outcome is not a good one).

As I understand the circumstances, the ex-boyfriend is using the power of the state to get back at his ex-girlfriend. ?Don't attack the building inspector for doing his job, loathsome though it may be. ?If you're going to bring him into the fight, do it because he's a patsy of the ex-boyfriend, not because you think he's a fascist. ?Making that sort of parallel may diminish the value of our point.

If he indeed lied about the state of the apartment then he's not only a patsy, but he's a collaborating patsy. ?But we all should have plenty of experience between what reality is and what gets printed in the paper to know that you shouldn't lambaste someone because of what a reporter says they said or did.

[Russell Kanning]

Don't worry about whether we are wasting our time JonM. If you don't want to participate in a certain activity, just ignore us. Then when something comes along you like jump right in. I am having fun protesting the building inspector. Each one of us will emphasize a different idea connected with zoning and every other issue. Please don't rain on our parade. Some of us might be crazy, but it is a happy, friendly, good kind of crazy.
I promise not to question your ideas when they come along.

[JonM]

I am not questioning your ideas.

I am not questioning your effectiveness.

I am not questioning the value of what you are doing. 

Please do not suggest that I am.

My point may have been lost.  Protesting the office of Building Inspector a right thing to do.  The office of Building Inspector does not have friends and family who are culturally trained to defend it, even when they know what the office did was wrong.

The person who holds the office of Building Inspector has friends.  He has family.  Even if those friends and family know what he did was wrong, our culture has trained them to defend him against attack anyway.  Those friends and family have even more friends and family, who are also trained to side with those they know against those they do not.  While this particular building inspector may not have the right sort of friends and family for this thing to spiral out of control into the world of dire unintended consequences, there's no saying someone else down the line might not.

Now it is just my opinion, and I have never told you not to do what you want to do.  This is a low risk situation, but others may come later where that is not the case.  Bringing personal attacks into a policy matter detracts from the focus on the policy problem.  If too much focus is diverted to a building inspector who is not using his discretion to ignore what he thinks are violations of the law by trying to equate him to Nazis trying to exterminating an entire race of people, the rush of his friends and family to defend his person against these attacks may steal focus from the original problem, the government making unreasonable restrictions on what a citizen can do in his or her home.  In my opinion, that would be undesirable.

This sort of thing is why nationally we can't seem to make any progress on the big scary issues, too many people would rather attack the people proposing change than discuss the value of the change.  It may be a fantasy that we could break that mold, but I don't think I'm wrong in trying to move us towards that.  Since it's still a free country on paper, you're still welcome to ignore my nonsensical ramblings.  I know your goal is in the same direction as my own.

[Russell Kanning]

Good We can all work towards the goal of more freedom through different means.
I am not big on changing laws, but some people are so I say go for it. The NHLA is taking this case to the statehouse and I am glad.
I just like attacking the official who is bringing suit against innocent ladies. 
Since I am a long ways away from Hampton I am just trying to get the word out and attend a protest. JonM are you interested in helping these ladies or is this particular issue not that important to you? If you are, what are you going to do? Karl B might need help at the NHLA and some guys are helping pass out literature on Saturday.