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Last Thoughts: Overcoming Division

By Patrick White

Last week, Stockbridge had a mini-crisis over a fake social media posting related to last Sunday's Fishing Derby on the Stockbridge Bowl. Someone impersonated the event organizer and posted extensively on social media that trans people and immigrants were banned. For a day it was the top story in The Berkshire Edge.

To his credit, event organizer Joshua Christman quickly disavowed the post. I went to the derby on Sunday, and it was exactly what you'd expect: a family-friendly event where attendees were enjoying a winter day on a beautiful lake. There were no culture warriors, protesters, or counter protesters.

There is a time and a place to debate gender and immigration laws. While it was unfortunate that someone tried to hijack this event for political purposes, it was inspiring that those efforts were rejected by just about everyone, regardless of their position on the issues. I left that event proud of Stockbridge, proud of the Berkshires, and more cognizant than ever of the need to keep our disagreements from becoming divisions. Sometimes we are going to disagree. It doesn't need to be a poison that ruins everything for everyone.