COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
To say Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll’s guest column in the Saturday Press Journal distorts the facts regarding her opposition to a proclamation for Humanist Recognition Week would be an understatement. What Carroll is really doing is contorting the truth beyond recognition. She would have the public believe the recall effort now being conducted against her and Mayor Craig Fletcher has nothing to do with religiously bigoted statements they made during a City Council meeting, statements so offensive as to prompt a meeting of local ministers.
Carroll now wants the public to believe those who are tired of the verbal abuse she and Fletcher inflict upon members of the public who redress the Council are really only opposed to her position on the sale of Vero Electric. Carroll’s flippant dismissal of legitimate concerns about her lack of tolerance, civility and respect is in itself offensive.
What Vice Mayor Carroll chose to refer to as a “Thanksgiving proclamation,” during the June 4 City Council meeting was, in fact, a proclamation for Christian Heritage Week. The document made no mention of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Despite what Carroll claimed, the Humanists of the Treasure Coast did not object to the Christian Heritage Week proclamation, but to its sponsorship by the American Family Association, an evangelical Christian organization that is, by any reasonable assessment, promoting a right-leaning social agenda, including opposition to same sex marriage.
In fact, The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the AFA a “hate group.” None of this seemed to trouble Carroll when she supported, not a Thanksgiving proclamation, but a Christian Heritage Week proclamation sponsored by the AFA. The AFA is, if nothing else, a religious group, and yet Carroll was pleased to support their proclamation.
Now, in explaining why she refused to support a proclamation for Humanist Recognition Week, Carroll wrote, “I was also concerned this would open the door to all religions and such groups, each demanding their own “recognition week” — contrary to our fundamental separation of church and state!”
Well, Carroll didn’t seem at all concerned about separation of church and state, or about opening the door “to all religions and such group,” when she supported the Christian Heritage Week proclamation sponsored by the AFA.
Despite what Carroll may claim today, her remarks of June 4 are clear. She objected to the Humanist Recognition Week proclamation because, in her assessment, humanists are atheists. As least as articulated by Vice Mayor Carroll on June 4, her opposition to the Humanist Recognition Week proclamation did not arise out of any concern for creating a precedent of issuing proclamations for religious groups, since such a precedent had long since been established.
Vice Mayor Carroll’s June 4 statement stands for itself. “Mayor, I would like the record to show that I did not sign the proclamation either. I did not know what the word “Humanist” was, so I went on the Internet and found out the common term is atheist, and that is why I felt is was inappropriate to sign that proclamation myself.”
Indian River Guardian 
Well, gosh, a person has to watch out for those atheists – –like Thomas Edison, Carl Sagan, Katharine Hepburn, Kurt Vonnegut, Penn Jillette, Daniel Radcliffe(Harry Potter). If a Martian, a newly- registered voter of this City, stepped forward to the podium, that individual should be treated just like every other resident.. And with the track record of Mayor Fletcher and Vice Mayor Carroll, that could cause some serious intergalactic problems. Maybe, being highly-intelligent, that Martian-American would do the smart thing and remain “in the closet”…..and sign the petitions. I would ask Vice Mayor Carroll “Just why is being an atheist unacceptable to you?”
While I respect the faith of Mayor Fletcher and Vice Mayor Carroll, I witnessed their very unchristian acts in a government setting. In the beginning of the meeting when Mayor Fletcher wanted the Humanist proclamation taken off the agenda he stated that they don’t recognize Jesus Christ as their savior and he wanted no part of that. Later in the meeting after many awards were presented to others, the gentleman representing the Humanist’s quite humbly accepted the proclamation, never saying a word regarding Mayor Fletcher’s earlier outburst. It was at that time that Vice Mayor Carroll reintroduced faith, stating that she looked them up and they were atheists, which is why she couldn’t support the proclamation. The elderly gentleman attempted to tell her that she was spreading lies about their group since not all humanists are atheists, and some attend church. Vice Mayor Carroll told him this wasn’t a pulpit, although she had just made it her very own pulpit by reintroducing what she considered the faith or lack of faith by humanists. At that time Mayor Fletcher quite rudely told the man to sit down. While the mayor and vice mayor may make their government decisions based on their faith, what they did and said in front of an audience at a government meeting was not only quite unchristian, incredibly rude to a man who certainly didn’t deserve their apparent hatred, but they also attempted to erase the divide between church and state. It certainly makes you wonder how two people can be in a public governmental position, apparently believing they are all powerful, yet show such disrespect and a total disregard of other human beings, including humanists. I feel certain that Mayor Fletcher’s savior would have never acted in such a hateful manner and would want no part of it. Until the day of this meeting, I had never heard of humanists, yet today I have far more respect for the deeds of their organization than I do two of our City Council members.
The most offensive thing is that she now is lying to protect herself. to what level next will she stoop to pretend she isn’t a bigot. No wonder she never apologized, her inability to recall things correctly [“I am not a reflective person . . . “] leaves her imagining she is a hero of democracy.
Ty I would hope that you are a City voter and would be willing to sign the recall petition, if you are not, I would ask of you to spread the word that there is a petition circulating until August 1st and that it is available on line through this web site.
Ms. Carroll has blatantly refused to acknowledge any wrong doing as Craig Fletcher has. They now turn tail by telling everyone that this recall petition is being circulated to stop the sale of the utilities to FPL. That is a BOLD FACE lie. There isn’t any connection to the sale of the power plant and this recall. None what so ever. I guess she will next accuss the Code enforcement bureau of the same thing because of being fined for illegally renting her homes on the beachside.
They will stretch the truth and try any scheme to discredit this recall. There isn’t any group behind me on this recall except the older gentleman whom those vicious words were directed at. All expenses are mine and mine alone.
I feel strongly, very strongly about our Amendment rights and the oath that they recited upon entering that office. They obviously do not.
Ms. Carroll did NOT write that latest article she had printed in the PJ under Guest Columnist. She gives herself too much credit..she is not that articulate. One of her many “money” groups gave help with that.
As someone who was raised to be a Christian, I was also taught that my faith had to be applied in my day to day actions. Too many Christians in this nation today believe that you are a Christian if you attend church on Sunday morning. However, when they get to the Gates of Heaven, they will be denied entrance because they did not daily live by the creed — Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.