Arrogance unchecked

A malady seems to be affecting certain Humboldt County citizens. I call it selective amnesia. And it is coupled with the side effect of attacking others instead of taking a look at one’s actions. The ultimate diagnosis: arrogance unchecked.

A recent example is the Dan Johnson controversy.  Raise your hands if you are sick of hearing about this local brouhaha. There is a valuable lesson to be learned by both sides.

Mr. Johnson, by now you must get what plagiarism is; perhaps you need to look at the definition of hubris. Your original apology would have been enough for most people. The reason this issue has become a mountain out of a molehill is because you chose not to respond to the original incident properly. When you finally did, you bragged about your contributions to the community and called others, “the self-appointed referees of good and evil”. You further added insult by saying, “But I'm comfortable in the knowledge that their intolerance, so readily on display, is a far more profound flaw than mine”.

At the recent board meeting when you were given a chance to correct the past mistakes with a proper apology which would have nullified any reason calling you to resign, you said, “There's nothing I could have said in that apology that would have been good enough for the haters. It's over. The board needs to move on.” The person who needs to move on is you. It is you who have dragged this issue out for months instead of giving a sincere apology. Your standing in the community does not entitle you to special privileges. You earn respect, Mr. Johnson, not demand it.

Some of your supporters should not be your PR advisers. Their advice has made you appear intolerant and insensitive to people who simply wanted you to say, I am sorry and mean it. 

Sometimes people get so entrenched in their egos and position. This coupled with personal issues make them lash out at others instead of admitting they made a mistake. Your apology and your resignation would have bolstered the belief of your friends and supporters who want people to see the Dan Johnson they know.

This controversy is embarrassing for the school district and your business. In a small community like ours, everything we do is under a microscope. Being human we all make mistakes. Sometimes those errors result in some people attacking us, gossiping about us, or lying about us. And the natural response is to defend yourself. It takes a strong man to know when to walk away and take the high road.  If you are being unfairly maligned, that action alone would speak volumes.

An elected official has to have a thick skin, especially in a small community. You are a self-made businessman that many respect in this community.

The people who have been disrespectful to you need to take equal responsibility because they took a honest mistake and blew it out of proportion. If Mr. Johnson apologizes from the heart, will you all do the same? If you still insist on his resignation after that, your actions are worse than a speech that didn’t get credited.