Dear John and Others--

I think that the video clearly shows that the crowd did not heckle Mr.
Shers. When Mr. Shers mentioned that Home Depot employed 150 people, I do think that someone in the audience said something, and that's when the Council president asked people to calm down. I have heard Mr. Shers at other meetings, and although he's a confident public speaker, he did seem more agitated on Monday night than in previous presentations.

While I do not agree with Mr. Shers' point of view, I listened attentively
to what he had to say, and I think that the majority in the room did also. No one heckled him as he spoke. It's obvious from the tape that those who would characterize the limited whispering in the crowd as "heckling" really do not know the definition.

As you point out, John, a crowded meeting does add to the pressure of
speaking publicly, and so does a citizen reporter sitting in the audience
with a camera and laptop. I applaud you for your efforts to get information about town meetings to Portsmouth citizens, and I applaud everyone who attended Monday's meeting, including Mr. Shers. I have only compassion and sympathy for him and his family. Nevertheless, I don't think that anyone at the meeting is to blame for his unfortunate collapse, and I resent the suggestion from Jill Rodrigues and others mentioned in the press that somehow those with opposing positions brought on his sudden illness.

In response to the blogs regarding the most recent town meeting and Mr. Shers unfortunate collapse, I have to add my own experience. I was not present at that meeting. But I harken back to the very first time I left my kids home on a school night and ventured forth to the town hall with my husband to attend a very heated meeting on the high school gym a few years back.

I listened and watched my fellow townsfolk with increasing horror at the acrimony and lack of complete common courtesy and respect exhibited by both the crowd and the elected officials towards one another.

I watched as a high school student felt free to openly and loudly insult one of the elected officials by calling him a liar. I had initially attended the meeting as a concerned parent of one high schooler with [redacted] more to follow who had a former elementary school cafetorium for her gym in which the entire school body could not be accommodated. But my concerns began to shift as the meeting progressed and I could not hold my tongue as the public comment period ensued.

I found myself at the podium, and believe me public speaking is not something I relish or enjoy in any manner whatsoever. Especially in the face of so much blatant hostility
and disrespect. I addressed the group with the usual introductions and then proceeded to say that I had chosen to shirk my duties as a parent at home in order to attend the meeting because of my strong opinion that our kids needed a new high school gym. BUT, I continued, sitting through my first public meeting in the face of such hostility, it became clear to me that we might need a gym, but even more importantly, we needed to teach our children respect and common courtesy for each other by modeling those behaviors towards one another. And I went home to tuck my kids in bed.

Do you really think that it’s necessary to demonize a whole room of
people to further your own agenda? That’s really sad. A murmured
comment does not make a gibe nor does it constitute persistent harassment,
badgering, or "the like"…sorry!

I looked up the definition of “heckling.” I would like to share it:
“to HARRASS (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.”

I think given this definition, everyone present Monday night would agree that “heckling” is an inappropriate word for what occurred at Town Hall.