In an amusing twist, last night I finished reading Meg Sheehan’s lawsuit and opened my email today to see Andrea Estes’ article about it. As she reported, Meg is suing town officials and business leaders for [what she says are] vicious attacks against her in public places, online, and in print.
It took several sittings for me to read the entire lawsuit, which meticulously describes events and clearly documents public comments in which Sheehan was derided, ridiculed, and threatened. It seemed clear to me that these events were not fabricated.
I became aware of the South Shore sand mining operations this past March after walking to the edge of the property where I live in Cranberry Village in Carver and seeing A.D. Makepeace’s vast sand mining pit. I met Meg Sheehan shortly afterwards at a forum sponsored by Community Land & Water Coalition. I have attended many CLWC events and town hearings with Meg and am truly impressed with her forthrightness, intelligence, warmth, compassion and humility. All of Meg’s environmental work is pro bono – free of charge. She does it for her love of the Earth and its creatures and to serve as a voice for those of us who would otherwise have none.
Merriam-Webster defines “pro bono” as an English abbreviation of the Latin phrase “pro bono publico,” meaning “for the public good.” Meg works for that. The focus of the people named in her lawsuit is money and power; I don’t believe they can imagine anyone working for less than that. In her article, Estes quotes Edward Cooley, the lawyer representing plaintiff Opachinski in Meg’s lawsuit as saying, “[Sheehan] seeks to silence or punish those that disagree with her, challenge her, or otherwise seek to invoke their own rights, all under the guise that these parties ‘chilled her free speech.'” This is so incredible to me and so chilling – those are exactly the charges Meg Sheehan is leveling against those named in her suit.
I have seen Carver Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Stephen Gray and Carver Earth Removal Committee Chair Scott Hannula repeatedly disrespect Meg Sheehan by interrupting her, silencing her and ridiculing her at multiple committee hearings. While I was shocked by her lawsuit’s descriptions of her detractors’ conduct, I am not surprised given what I have witnessed myself.
– Linda Jacobs