Editor: In response to George Brauchler’s social media remarks and Denver Post column defending his public calls to identify Douglas County teachers who called in sick to work earlier this month to protest the firing of that district’s superintendent.
Political Pundit and former DA George Brauchler would have us believe that requesting the names of Douglas County Schools teachers who called in sick on Feb. 3 be made public so that parents could “confront” (his word) them was a benign gesture.
Brauchler has been accused of calling for “doxxing” teachers. He has spent considerable time pushing back against the accusation, mostly pointing to how the word is defined.
We know the subliminal and literal meaning of “confront” implies intimidation when used in a person-to-person context. With recent threats of violence against local school boards and education leaders, we have seen how intimidation leads to threats of violence. Thus, this gesture becomes reckless and injudicious.
Now that there has been deserved pushback on social media toward Brauchler about his initial statement on why those names should be released, he is lashing out at the people who reported and commented on it.
Backpedaling, making excuses, and blaming others for our actions are things we teach our children not to do.
Call it what you will, but doxxing, by any other name, would smell as sour.
— Kathryn Holland, via letters@sentinelcolorado.com
Calling him a “pundit” is being kind. I just refer to him as “the ego that is George Brauchler.”