On 8/8/23, Micah Beckwith [FN1] discussed civility in social media on John Schmitz’s FB podcast “Mouthwash.” John played my 2-minute clip “smalltalk,” about HEPL’s policy (now suspended) to review books in the young adult section, passed by a temporary 4-3 majority 1/11

of far-right wing people on HEPL’s board, one of whom was Beckwith. [FN2] On 10/14/23, Beckwith posted a photo & article, purportedly from a right wing website w/a headline: “Leftists Want the Same Massacre Here,” i.e., Hamas & Israel. That headline’s hardly “civil.” 2/11

First, the actual headline w/the photo, “Many Americans Support Israel, But One Party’s a Bit Lacking,” [FN3] isn’t nearly as inflammatory. Second, the far right has been the source of far more acts of domestic terrorism over the past 20+ years. [FN4] “According to the data, 90% 3/11

of the cases of US terrorists are classed as domestic. Of the domestic extremists, 95% are far-right.” [FN5] Heated rhetoric leads to violence. Beckwith loves guns & has weapons training for members of his church. Worse, Beckwith claims to talk to “God” about politics. W/o a tape 4/11

to prove a conversation took place, no one should let a person grab power on that basis. Most people w/whom I’ve spoken don’t take a Beckwith seriously about his talks. Others are scared when a person seeks power & claims “God” talks to him. In the show’s comments a person 5/11

wrote: “It’s delusional to think God talks to us? Classy as usual from Mark Small!” [FN6] “Classy”: “of high class, rank, or grade; stylish; admirably smart; elegant.” [FN7] I question the legitimacy of Beckwith’s claims that he “talks w/’God’” while Beckwith seeks power. 6/11

That’s “admirably smart” in my opinion. [FN8] Beckwith wants to vault to power by making people scared of people like me, but I don’t own a gun. I want to hear a tape of one of those talks. 7/11

Footnotes: FN1. Beckwith, a Hamilton County preacher, ran in 2020's GOP primary for INCD5 and lost. He says he seeks the GOP nomination for Lt Gov in 2024. office; FN2. Hamilton East Public Library; FN3. The policy attracted ridicule and has been suspended. 8/11

Footnotes: FN4. Https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2023/10/13/yougoveconomi..., last viewed 10/15/23 at 10:40 a.m. 9/11

Footnotes: FN5. “Far-right violence a growing threat ...” NPR, 9/5/23. FN6. “Experts warn ...” The Guardian, 5/28/23, quoting Michael Jensen, senior researcher at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. University of Maryland. 10/11

Footnotes: FN6. “Mouthwash,” 8/8/23, comments at 10:04. FN7. Dictionary.com. FN8. I quoted Beckwith accurately. 11/11