O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

On Sept. 6, I was stopping at the grocery store on Hannaford Plaza after work to pick up some mozzarella cheese and dog food when I saw a woman yelling at a homeless man camped on the island in front of the turn into the plaza.

“I’m the Alderman of Ward 6,” she yelled while holding her phone out to videotape the homeless man. She went on to verbally berate and shame the man.

From my rearview mirror, I realized that I was watching my newly-elected Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor.

I am a resident of Ward 6, and while I did not vote for Alderman Kantor, I respect the fact that she won a fair election and respect her position as an elected official.

However, her actions appalled me. It indicated an obvious lack of actual problem-solving skills, as well as gross unprofessionalism and a complete lack of human empathy.

This was a red flag for me. I felt like I was watching video footage from Florida, where a Trump supporter was channeling their bigotry and hatred as a solution.

I didn’t expect this in New Hampshire. I didn’t expect this in Manchester. It is insidious and corrosive.

These types of toxic, hyper-aggressive demonstrations, particularly by our elected officials, do nothing to further the city, or the nation.

I’m extremely disappointed and embarrassed. Ms. Kantor does not represent my values, or my worldview. Homelessness is certainly a problem in this city, but harassing the homeless is no solution.

We need intelligent dialogue, not TikTok videos.

Please, Alderman Kantor, while I will never vote for you, do better.

Editor’s Note: We reached out to Alderman Kantor for comment but as of this posting, we did not get a response.

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