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The Rise of Snark, Slander, and Stealing in Local Politics
A perspective from Diana Newton
(Editor’s note: Diana Newton is campaign volunteer for Aja Kelleher’s campaign for Carrboro Town Council)
Dirty politics have been with us since the birth of our democracy. But now, in the age of rampant internet disinformation campaigns and a poorly-regulated social media landscape, the mud-slinging has become a mudslide of mammoth proportions right here in Chapelboro.
During the Fall 2021 local campaigns in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, organized antagonists of certain candidates generated bullying Twitter threads that went for pages. The anonymous Twitter account @lolchapelhill has used a parody persona to caricature members of the CHALT advocacy group as old, out-of-touch, white privileged, anti-development, NIMBYs who only want to retain their parking spaces. Its incessant posts used fake quotes and co-opted images of local luminaries such Michael Jordan and Dean Smith to draw attention to their messaging. On other platforms, erudite pundits write articles in which selective research is used to shame, blame, and divide, rather than inform and influence with a modicum of respect. A different point of view is framed as a character deficit. Policy challenges are derided as pathetic arguments based on white privilege.
Campaign sign stealing always happens, the local police tell me. But in the fall of 2021 Hongbin Gu, Vimala Rajendran, and Aja Kelleher had over 1000 signs stolen cumulatively. Is it a coincidence that they are all Asian-Americans? Or did they just hold “the wrong agenda” for the next generation of progressives who seem unable to tolerate any degree of moderation?
Now, in the midst of primary season, it is happening again. Case in point: Aja Kelleher, one of two candidates for the open Town Council seat in Carrboro’s special election, is having her campaign signs stolen every single night in what is a clearly organized effort to deprive her of a free and fair election. Yes, stealing campaign signs is against NC law—a Class 3 Misdemeanor—and is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. “Feel Free,” Carrboro’s progressive slogan, is showing itself to be threadbare when it comes to running for office. There is a new kind of vigilante night riding, conducted by bad actors who patrol Carrboro while running, on bikes and in cars in the wee hours looking for specific campaign signs to steal. Apparently these progressive militants think they are too clever to get caught or prosecuted. Some campaign supporters are resorting to wiring signs down during this election, only to have them stolen within hours. A Twitter opponent added Kelleher to a public list of bigots for an incident she had nothing personally to do with involving one of her campaign workers. Even so, she publicly apologized immediately and came out with a condemnation of all disrespectful, racist behavior. As a Korean-American woman of color, she certainly has plenty of experience being on the receiving end of it. That looks like leadership to me.
It is sad to see that filthy—not just dirty—politics seems to be winning the day in Chapelboro. Make no mistake, these tactics are influencing our elections.
What can we do? I hark back to Michelle Obama’s admonition: “When they go low, we go high.” Come on Chapelboro, together we rise, divided we smear.
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
