Outrageous Public Meeting #1

Jon Rowe

Jon Rowe is a full Professor of Business at Mercer County Community College, where he teaches business, law, and legal issues relating to politics. Of course, his views do not necessarily represent those of his employer.

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6 Responses

  1. Burt Likko says:

    There’s some context we’re missing. The writeup on YouTube describes the setup as follows:

    Village of Carpentersville [illinois] President Bill Sarto demands that his chief political opponent, Paul Humpher, be removed from office for being convicted of beating his wife, and due for sentencing. When trustees Ed Ritter, Kay Teeter, Judy Sigwalt, and Keith Hinz refuse to allow a motion for [discussing] the issue — Bill Sarto loses all control. He screams at his fellow board members, calls one a “convict”, says another trustee’s son commits adultery, and ends his speech with what other board members take as a death threat. Recorded April 1, 2008, at the Village of Carpente[r]sville Hall. (NOT an April Fool’s Joke!)

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    • nevermoor in reply to Burt Likko says:

      I think we’re supposed to react negatively to the video because of the rules of order make the peoples’ hatred of each other sound silly rather than the fact that the local politicians involved are, let’s say, low caliber.

      Not sure what the counter-proposal is (as usual), or what system would not look silly in these folks’ hands.

      Kind of reminds me of the McCain approach to trying to shame government spending: find something that sounds silly, no matter what’s actually going on or how little it matters. Then say it’s name sarcastically!Report

  2. Kazzy says:

    Wow… they ALL managed to look awful there. Well done.Report

  3. Miss Mary says:

    Yikes! I’d be so embarrassed. You have to find a way to support what you believe in without stooping to your opponents level or giving up from frustration and embarrassment. It’s hard to tell what all of this was about, but it went south for both sides.Report