Defending Free Speech in Peabody

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there has been an collective sense of horror and denouncing of political violence that is all together right and proper, if not long overdue. This could have been a moment to speak to our better angels. Instead, the President and the most mendacious supporters decided to use the moment to settle political scores.

In this context, two teachers in the City of Peabody were suspended for the private opinions they expressed publicly. They did not call for political violence.

A concerned Peabody resident who wants to remain anonymous reached out to our campaign and provided the below thoughts. We are happy to post those words here. If you have an issue you care passionately about that affects our local community, feel free to reach out to us: Tristan@planforpeabody.com

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The Price of Free Speech, and The Cost of “Representing” the Peabody Public Schools After Hours

As the country mourns the abhorrent assassination of podcaster and political activist Charlie Kirk, we are seeing a national trend that exercising your right to free speech may cost you your life, and nationwide, it can cost you your job.

In the past weeks, there have been calls for the firing of staff from the Peabody Public School District in response to their personal views being expressed on their social media accounts. This city is far from the only one hearing these cries for consequences, especially from non-residents.

A doxxing (exposing someone’s personal information, workplace, and home address) website was created days ago, named “Exposing Charlie Kirk’s Murderers,” accepting submissions from social media users seeking to “expose” those expressing opinions that do not align with the values of Kirk’s following. As documented by many news organizations (local as well as national), this seems to be a concerted effort that reaches far past local citizens concerned for the education of their town’s children.

The site boasted over 30,000 submissions and promised to soon be a “searchable database— until it was taken offline. There was no legitimate form of information or identity verification, and anything was fair game. Even something as simple as saying you weren’t a fan of the podcaster warranted having your information uploaded to a website that is almost certain to pop up under a new address.

So, where does this leave us? Educators mourning this tragedy while simultaneously expressing their criticisms of Kirk’s beliefs are at risk of being doxxed by internet sleuths hundreds of miles away. Facebook posts by anonymous profiles have already sprung up on many of the local Peabody groups— and we can’t prove where they came from, or what agenda is provoking them to suddenly align with “cancel culture.”

How can we know that these are concerned Peabody citizens? And if they are not, how can we protect the identities of those that are under random, national scrutiny? Certainly not by publishing statements about the state of their employment. Let us be clear that these expressions of opinion did not condone what happened to Mr. Kirk.

What price are we willing to pay for accountability? More specifically, accountability for remaining critical while expressing empathy— all outside of the workplace? Are we willing to pay that price ourselves, at our own jobs, when the time comes that our opinion is

determined unacceptable?

-Anonymous

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Issues such as this highlight the need for principled leadership that will not hesitate to stand up for the freedoms of all Peabody residents without question and without favor. This is why we're asking you to consider voting for Tristan R. Brown for Peabody City Council, at-Large (#3 on the ballot). But, whatever you do:

Remember to vote on November 4th