In a recent column and letter, writers Gregg Schwartz and Jonathan Fine have scolded School Committee member Michael Stein, dismissing his analysis of a public confrontation as “pompous self-involvement” and “absurd grandstanding.” Their critiques, while wrapped in a plea for civility, exemplifies the very hypocrisy and political deflection that is poisoning productive debate in Northampton. By focusing narrowly on Stein’s tone in response to an uncivil act, they obscure a more important pattern: a concerted effort to change the subject from the substantive crisis of school funding to the superficial politics of personal style.
Let’s examine the hypocrisy plainly. For years, a coalition of parents, educators, and advocates, with Mike Stein as a consistent elected voice, has presented data, shared personal stories, and pleaded for equitable investment in our schools. The established response from certain political factions has rarely been a good-faith engagement with these budget arguments. Instead, a common tactic, especially during elections, has been to deploy inflammatory national labels. Advocates for robust school funding have been called “Trumpian,” a deliberate, bad-faith attempt to malign local activism by associating it with a toxic national figure. This is the first, and most damaging, incivility: refusing to debate substance and instead resorting to rhetorical character assassination. This comparison to national politics and people being “Trumpian” was pushed by Bill Newman on his radio show at almost every interview during the election.
The incident at Stop & Shop, where the mayor’s husband verbally accosted Stein, laid this double standard bare. Here was a clear, personal act of aggression from a figure associated with the political faction that so often lectures others on decorum and civility. Yet, in their opinion pieces, Schwartz and Fine performed a revealing sleight of hand. They minimized this provocation and swiftly pivoted to dissecting Stein’s written response. They critiqued his framing, his vocabulary, and his analysis of power dynamics; in short, his tone. This is weaponized civility: the aggressor’s action is contextualized or excused, while the victim’s analytical defense is scrutinized as the primary offense.
In defending Stein, we must defend the substance of his response. He correctly identified the confrontation as an embodiment of a larger, corrosive political tactic: the “civility narrative.” This narrative is wielded by those in power to silence marginalized voices demanding change. By asking, “Why can’t you be more polite?” the question itself becomes a tool to maintain an unjust status quo. Stein’s post was not “pompous”; it was a necessary dissection of this political strategy. He connected a personal moment to a systemic pattern, which is exactly what thoughtful leaders should do. To criticize him for this is to argue that public figures should only offer superficial, personal apologies rather than substantive, political analysis.
The core goal of the commentary by Schwartz, Fine, and the political faction they align with is deflection. Their focus on a rhetorical analysis of a grocery store argument is not an accident. It is a tactic to drain oxygen from the room where the real fire burns: our underfunded schools. While they opine on etiquette, we are not having a sufficient community-wide debate about why we stockpile cash reserves while cutting programs, why we struggle to fully staff, or how we will meet the profound needs of our most vulnerable students.
Northampton must see this tactic for what it is and reject it. We cannot allow the weaponization of “civility” to shut down essential debates about justice, equity, and resources. Stein’s sin, in the eyes of his critics, is not incivility. It is his unwavering refusal to let the conversation be deflected from where it belongs: on the needs of our students and the future of our schools. I stand with that focus, and I urge my neighbors to demand nothing less from all our public servants and commentators.
Jamie Guerin lives in Northampton.