Need Advice: Has anyone else been harassed for an LTTE?

[Hardrada]

I was annoyed by this religious right type who hates public education and who goes around our state sabotaging and defeating bond issues for school improvements. That is his line of work and is all he does. His wife is busy homeschooling their 11 children! He helps with this too. I have nothing against homeschooling and sell books to those folks but my wife is a public school teacher. I wrote a little letter to a big paper in our state satirizing him that he was rampaging around the state on his sinister crusade but I put it in a lighthearted manner. The man's wife responded by slandering both of us in SPAM-type emailing to many in our town. But our whole county is blue and their email was pretty much ignored. I thought their reaction was vicious and excessive. (Those people can NOT stand any humor at their expense). But the guy is not letting this drop but is trying to call us and reposted his wife's nasty letter to us and asked if we'd gotten it. Anyone else had this problem? How should one properly respond ?(I haven't). I have written numerous LTTE's over the years but have never before encountered such a nest of vipers.

[punpirate]

1. Send the emails and logs of the...

... phone conversations as a LTTE. :P

[Jamastiene]

2. Ignore them

They can be incredibly nasty and do not use logic at all. That type has no ability to reason, so you'll just get frustrated if you try to deal with them. Stick to your guns if you do decide to talk to them. Say you have said what you have to say about the issue if you do. Ask them to stop harrassing you and talk to a lawyer if they continue to harrass you.

[bluestateguy]

3. 11 Children?

This is what I have been talking about when I mention the baby gap. Fundamentalistwackos who, with the repetition of a vending machine, pump out kid after kid (talk about a family who is going to get a lot of tax credits on April 15!). They will probably be successfull at passing along their politics to all or most of the kids, and in a few years we will have almost a dozen new fundamentalistwacko voters in the electorate.

[prodigal_green]

5. Nah, if history (recent) is any example

at least half of them will grow up to be "liberal queers" like Alan Keye's daughter.

[roguevalley]

4. this is terrorist threats at most and harassment at least. Call the

police. They are threatening you. Or better yet, if they call blow a police whistle in their ear, then call the police. You could rite a letter that is very short and tell them that you have handed this stuff and their names to your lawyer and if they continue, you will sue them. I find it usually shuts them up. Also, have a chat with your local police department to give them the heads up. You can mention that in your letter too.

[Why Syzygy]

7. ditto

don't mess with these lunatics.

The paper who published the LTTE may have additional suggestions.

[Old Mouse]

6. You should get a restraining order at once.

It's possible to do without a lawyer, but easier (and more expensive)with one. Then if he calls or attempt to contact you again he has violated a court order, broken the law, and can be arrested.

Usually a restraining order calms people down, but you never can tell. It's better to have as much on record by the police as possible. Make a (non-emotional, dispassionate) record of every incident. And if anything they said or wrote so much as implied a physical threat it could be a felony and the police should be called right away.

But really, you threw down a gauntlet when you ridiculed him in a state newspaper. You should have anticipated some sort of reaction. If you thought he was sort of a nut, then you should have expected the reaction of a crazy person. That you began it can work against you in the eyes of a judge. You might want to write a letter saying you were speaking against him politically, and not personally.That you harbor him no ill will and would he and his wife please stop contacting you regarding this manner.

(info from my cop relative)

[PowerToThePeople]

8. I did not comprehend

that LTTE was letter to the editor. I googled it and got:
http://www.ict.org.il/inter_ter/orgdet.cfm?orgid=22
I figured that couldn't be right :) RWingers are getting very nervous. Kinda like a cornered animal they are lashing out at what they feel is a "threat".

[Blue Gardener]

9. Write another LTTE

And expose what these people are doing to you. Let everyone know what their tactics are. It certainly won't show then in a good light.

[KharmaTrain]

10. They're Looking For PR

You gave 'em the chance...and they're taking it. Say good, say bad, just say. They don't care if your friends think they're whackos, they are getting reaction and response. The next move is yours.

You can play with them and match their antics. A good way for this is to spam back their email...or find a TV reporter who is looking for a story and see if you can get on the nightly news and state your case and make them look like total fools. Nothing does it better than a TV camera.

Or, ignore them and they'll go away. Remember, "you started this"...by writing the letter. I would figure that if you totally ignore them, they'll find some other "heathen" to save or beat up on.

Many of these fundies believe they are being persecuted...even by your light-hearted barb...and given the chance they'll bleed all over town. Good luck.

[Hardrada]

11. I think the wacko has quite trying to call us

and I will take your advice and ignore him and "have the law on him" if he keeps bugging us. If people are in the public arena they have to expect a little flak and needling. I got some when I ran for state rep. (No luck but it was interesting). Part of the game. C'est la Guerre, mes amis. And to the repukes, GET OVER IT!