By participating in the interactive parts of To Be a Good Vermonter (comments, chat, etc.), you agree to be…well, good.

What does this mean in terms of an online community agreement?
It means:

• No hate speech. This is defined by the U.N. as ‘offensive discourse that targets a group or an individual based on inherent characteristics [such as race, religion, or gender] and, in doing so, may threaten social peace’. What is categorized as hate speech has nothing to do with liberal vs. conservative politics. Hate speech is hate speech. It’s federally and globally defined. It’s reprehensible and weak. Don’t do it.

• Remembering that tolerance is not a moral right - it is a social contract…i.e., in a “Who’s really the intolerant one here?” scenario, the first person who breaks faith with that contract by being intolerant of someone’s right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness is no longer entitled to the protections of the social contract that is tolerance. (Sorry not sorry, Nazis!)

• When in doubt, assume ignorance - not malice. (Not everyone is as smart as you are, friend. Some folks who seem malicious simply don’t know any better. Demeaning them will only cause them to dig their heels in deeper to defend their sense of agency and value as a human. Socratic kindness works much better.)

• Be aware of your intent vs. your impact. (In online settings, it’s easy for your words to have a different impact than you’d intended. Err your words on the side of being clear, concise, easy to interpret the meaning of.)

• When in doubt, be generally respectful and kind. Ask yourself, ‘Would I say this to my next-door neighbor that I’ll likely live beside forever?’ If you wouldn’t, don’t say it to anyone associated with this newsletter or its community.

• Be open-minded. This doesn’t mean “Be ready to change your politics!” or “Abandon your faith!” or “No [liberals, conservatives, libertarians, etc.] welcome!” This whole thing (what I’m doing, what you’re doing, what we’re all doing) relies on being willing to learn from others, and to consider ideas - and, yes, even entire personal realities - that are different from your own. If we can’t do this…well, folks, then we’re doomed. So please do it. I don’t want to be doomed, and I don’t want y’all to be doomed either.

I know the nature of TBAGV will inevitably spark passionate debates on a topic or two. In those times, please play it the way Vermont elected officials do during election season: you can say good things about yourself and your platform/opinions/history…but don’t attack the other person. Folks from away certainly do that, but that’s not how we do things up here. Be a good Vermonter, for goodness’ sake.

Finally, just like any good community, let’s keep each other abreast of real trouble. If someone is being a true dingus in the chat or comments - especially in a repeat fashion - then please notify me. That person will almost certainly be ousted. However, this doesn’t mean you should escalate things if someone simply ruffles your feathers. In my experience, we Vermonters have sage and patient ways of handling this amongst ourselves. It’s one of my favorite things about us. We know that conflict is not the same thing as abuse. We know that being misinformed is not the same thing as spreading disinformation. We give the benefit of the doubt…but if - after investigation and kindhearted attempts at redirection - a hammer still needs to be dropped, then by gosh we’ll drop it, and hard.

With all of this said, please do let me know if someone is engaging in obvious violations of our community agreement to be Good Vermonters. If you see hate speech, repeated attacks on one or more people, or general unkindness, wave the red flag. Thank you.

Warmly,
Jack Thomas