Florida Official Resigns After Cursing Out Army Veteran As ‘Traitor’ On Facebook
THE PALM BEACH POST
By ALEXANDRA SELTZER
July 26, 2018
“My words were spoken as a private citizen, not in any professional or public capacity and should be treated accordingly,” she wrote. She also added her role in the exchange wasn’t “her finest hour” and she “let my Trump hate get the best of me and said some truly hurtful things.”
Patricia “Pat” Edmonson, who until Wednesday afternoon served on the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District, and U.S. Army veteran James Plowman, who lives in North Carolina, didn’t know each other before they met in cyberspace through a discussion on Facebook on July 16.
But their conversation turned extremely ugly — and has gone viral.
The two sparred over a Facebook post by another user regarding President Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin. After Plowman mentioned the years he spent in combat, Edmonson, wrote using an expletive, “—— you, traitor.”
Edmonson then launched into a vitriolic tirade of posts. “Do your dead brothers ever visit your dreams and ask you why you’ve turned your back on them?” she wrote. She also asked:“Do you smell the rotting flesh of those you’ve betrayed?”
Reached on Wednesday, Plowman said he isn’t concerned about being called a traitor. That’s comical to him, he said. But the comments she made about soldiers killed in battle “just can’t be forgiven,” Plowman said.
read more on Task and Purpose
In 2007 I was one of those idiots. I always complained about people crossing the line and getting to political, until I did it. That kept going on until I received an email from a Marine serving in Iraq, telling me he really liked the work I did but did not want to read my political BS.
I snapped back at him in an angry email and sent it feeling oh, so justified. That was until he responded with just one question. "Are you doing this for yourself or us?"
When I stopped crying enough to see the computer screen again, I made him and promise that from that day on, he would not read anything political unless a politician did something for them or to them.
It is not easy keeping my word but I did and have gone after elected officials no matter what party they belong to. Frankly after what I've seen, I have lost faith in both sides, including staunch supporters who would rather fight than communicate.
Anyway, the thing is, I have friends on both sides and none of them know what I think. On the flip side, none of them know when they are hurting me by publicly sharing their thoughts while slamming something I feel strongly about.
While their view is important to them, their view can destroy friendships, ruin organizations and, all too often, destroy a reputation.
It is not easy to remember to keep stuff to myself, so as a reminder, I left that embarrassment online all these years. I did not know who I was hurting back then either but the worst thing is, I was so self-absorbed, I did not even think about anyone else. That is why I cried when I read the Marine's email. I was doing that for myself.
