In the years since I took on this column in 2017, I have tried hard to uphold my original vision: Not only to inform and educate readers, but to share thought-provoking perspectives that tweak our collective conscience and encourage us to become a more engaged, collaborative and inclusive community.
My last column – about the racist hoax at the Sarasota City Commission and its subsequent fallout – appears to have had the opposite effect.
In a perhaps naïve attempt to urge a “bigger picture” outlook that would make litigation over the incident unnecessary and lead to some essential conversations we continue to avoid, I inadvertently gave offense to the innocent targets of the hoax, who felt I had implied those responsible for perpetrating it need not be held accountable and the whole incident should be swept under the rug. Nothing could be farther from my truth.
At the time I wrote the column, I was not aware that Kelly Franklin – a citizen activist who was the target of the counterfeit Facebook post that Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie sprung on the public and his fellow commissioners without warning at a Jan. 16 meeting – had made several behind-the-scenes efforts to urge the city to launch an investigation that would clear her name and restore her reputation without her resorting to litigation.