By Michael Steinbruck.

This is an open letter to the Franklin Community… with deep appreciation and gratitude.

Thank you and congratulations on your resilience to tolerate such a crude public offense for so very long. Gratitude is especially due to those who endured it on a daily basis… the neighbors and commuters who lived in line of sight. No one should have to live in a climate of such bitter vitriol. 

Franklin remained and remains high when others stoop so low as to intentionally scar and confuse the eyes of our children with profanity, hatred, and what could easily be interpreted as a threat of sexual assault. It shows the strength of our town that we can stomach such an extreme lack of respect and neighborly consideration in the name of the 1st Amendment. 

And whether it was the sad soul who erected the offense and/or an affiliate who under false flag destroyed the signage, or if it was someone who could finally take the abuse of it no longer, the takeaway message is clear. Franklin overwhelmingly supports freedom, respect, and Democracy. And whether the signage was brought down by the former or the latter, our community has been resoundingly clear on its condemnation of the extralegal and unsafe means of its removal.  

That signage is an example of a known tactic whereby hateful extremists relentlessly antagonize, verbally offend, and psychologically assault others in order to bait reactions that might afford them a false platform for baseless accusations, political attacks, and frivolous lawsuits. Supporters of this tactic and its message will quickly chime in with attacks on social media seeking to capitalize on a brief moment of attention to what otherwise is of little or no interest to others. 

These failed methods are designed to sap the community of its strength and resolve. They are the desperate and fearful acts of the lost and small-minded who cannot adjust to the fact that they are not in the right, and their views are not of the majority. It is an age-old dynamic. They have wounds so deep and views so distorted, that to survive they must believe themselves to be smarter, better informed, and in sole possession of the knowledge needed to remedy what plagues them… and it goes beyond any one political affiliation. 

Imagine being a neighbor having to endure that day after day. To tolerate such a callous actor who would exercise a first amendment right so carelessly as to sacrifice the health of the community and erode and confuse the moral lessons we try so hard to teach our children about civility, peace, and justice.

Franklin remains an exemplar of the best values of community and humanity and she is due our admiration and thanks.