Editor,
I found the letter to the editor in the March 8 edition titled “Consider apology, donation to PTE” submitted by Diane Hannah to be quite curious. In her letter, Mrs. Hannah admonishes Unify Carmel for “viciously attacking” Prairie Trace Elementary Principal Kimberly Piper as being “racist and divisive” for her e-mail to faculty about the 1619 Project. Mrs. Hannah also admonishes Current for publishing the Unify ad and calls for an apology and donation to the Prairie Trace Elementary PTO.
In the Feb. 22 edition of Current in Carmel, Mrs. Hannah is featured with three other Carmel parents in the cover story, “We want to be that voice,” which highlights their creation and leadership of a local Facebook group called “Keep Carmel Clay Schools Inclusive.” In that article, Mrs. Hannah is quoted as saying “what keeps me up at night is the lack of humanity that I see a lot of people directing towards neighbors.”
Ironically, in the Jan. 28 Current in Carmel Facebook post titled “Experts weigh in on backdrop In Moms For Liberty photo,” Mrs. Hannah writes numerous comments insinuating that these Carmel neighbors and mothers are fascist, racist, antisemitic and divisive. She uses a singular example and illustration to smear other mothers and neighbors, similar to the approach used by Unify Carmel in its Current in Carmel ad. She takes this approach in spite of the fact that historical experts and simple research contradict her assertion, which, at a minimum, renders the available evidence inconclusive at worst. Her behavior is stunningly like that of Unify Carmel, whom she admonishes.
I have and will continue to publicly call into question those who demonstrate this type of behavior and approach – it is not an attack. Unify Carmel, Keep Carmel Clay Schools Inclusive, their leaders and their members need to stop the omnipresent perfidious media attacks that attempt to assign meaning, intent and categorization to others. These attacks are neither unifying nor inclusive. They are nothing more than hollow and disingenuous attempts to discredit those with whom they disagree.
For this community to be at its best, we need to look for the common ground from which we can build together. If there is so much disdain where seeking common ground is not possible, then these groups, their leaders and their members need to stop focusing on one another and turn their focus to promoting themselves and what they bring to the table for our community in an honest and genuine manner.
Jon DeBoer, Carmel
