Linda Terwilliger: Rep. Johnson should be held accountable for post

To The Daily Sun,

How can the leadership in the New Hampshire House of Representatives do nothing to confront Rep. Johnson for her hateful posts on social media? The NH House should not ignore this issue, especially when both the NH House and Senate passed bill #HB1135, which states, "The general court finds that intolerance, bigotry, antisemitism and national, ethnic, racial, and religious hatred and discrimination are incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy, and that such ideologies and practices, when unchallenged, can lead to genocide.” Genocide as defined in HB1135 causes, “serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.”

Without any doubt, Rep. Johnson’s anti-Semitic and racist posts on social media have caused serious mental harm to thousands of people throughout our state and beyond. Her posts were shocking to the public conscience, vile and contrary to the rules, morality and duties of an elected official. Her actions were inconsistent with the interests of the people in the state of New Hampshire. Her conduct was unprofessional, dishonorable and unworthy of her position as a state representative.

The NH House must ask Rep. Johnson to face up to and deal with her responsibility for and the consequences of her actions. She has clearly demonstrated that she doesn’t possess the understanding, sensitivity and viewpoint necessary to be a good role-model and influencer regarding our state laws. As an elected official, she has neglected her responsibility to uphold our democratic principles, specifically the right to freedom from discrimination.

Make no mistake. As reported in local newspapers, her posts on social media were linked to the Daily Stormer website, which is probably the biggest, most notoriously blatant neo-Nazi website in our country. The cartoon showed timeworn anti-Semitic tropes, including a caricature reminiscent of Nazi propaganda. The cartoon’s caption read, “Riggers, Jews . . . Bad News!” When her post was blocked by Facebook, she complained, “When you try to share truth, FB says NOPE we will not allow it.” Her angry apology in the newspaper was hollow and without remorse.

Letting it slide is not an option. Failure of the NH House to respond could unwittingly encourage more anti-Semitism and racist activity. Continued silence regarding this matter in the NH House could be considered by those with a personal bias toward bigotry and hate as acceptance and even approval. Rep. Johnson’s posting of the awful, hateful content from a neo-Nazi website crossed the line of acceptable social, ethical and moral behavior for any citizen and especially for an elected official.

To protect the democratic rights and freedoms of the people of New Hampshire, the NH House leadership must avoid the mistake of ignoring Ms. Johnson’s poor judgement, lack of control and insensitivity toward others. Saying or doing nothing to condemn her recent online posts, could create a situation where others think it’s okay to bully and harass vulnerable groups. The people of the state of New Hampshire deserve better. Her misconduct is sufficient to support her immediate removal from the NH House of Representatives.

Linda Terwilliger

Gilford