Sharon Teacher Hires Attorney To Write Threatening Letter After Being Exposed Bringing Children To New Hampshire Hockey Tournament While Demanding Schools Remain Closed
In September I published a blog about Sharon Middle School teacher Kristen Phinney, who is an active member of a union that sent out disinformation about why schools shouldn’t reopen, despite crossing state lines with her own children to go to hockey tournaments. Read it here.
She even posted pictures of her kids in hotel rooms with other kids at these tournaments in New Hampshire, while her union fought against schools reopening because kids coming in contact with each other could spread COVID.
I very much enjoy exposing hypocrites like this.
Well, today I got a letter in the mail from her attorney Michaela Lancer, dated from a month ago, threatening deformation lawsuits.
Hey Kristen, a great way to remain on TB’s radar is to pay out pocket to have an attorney send me a demand letter like this. I actually forgot about you and had to search for your name to remember what a massive hypocrite you were. Your attorney Michaela Lancer probably charged you a few hundred bucks for this letter and you naively thought it would work. Of course Michaela knew it wouldn’t either, but she just felt like running the bill up on you because, why the fuck not?
She works for a very serious law firm.
Allow me to explain how dumb this letter is.
“Under the law a person’s picture cannot be used for advertising purposes or the purpose of trade without his written consent.”
Except I’m not using the pictures of you, which were uploaded to Facebook by you for the world to see, for advertising purposes. I was doing it because I was commenting on a matter of public concern to point out what a hypocrite you are. You made yourself a limited public figure by signing a letter to members of the community explaining why you didn’t want schools to open. As a parent and a taxpayer I have the right to comment on that.
“includes screenshots from Ms. Phinney’s private Facebook page with photographs of her minor children.”
Clearly her Facebook page was not private if I could see what I screenshotted. And even if it was, making your Facebook page “private” doesn’t mean it’s actually private. The only way to make a truly private Facebook page is to make sure you’re the only member of it. I actually have a few pages like this where I store information so it’s easily accessible that I don’t want anyone else to see. Anything else you post is done so because you intend on other people seeing it.
Additionally, I specifically cropped out the faces of her kids. She, on the other hand, irresponsibly posted pictures of them on her Facebook page while traveling across state lines for recreation during a pandemic. Others pointed this out to her and she commented on it.
“Ms. Phinney has not authorized the use or dissemination of photographs of her minor children be publicly featured on your website”
Yea, the thing about that is I don’t need her authorization. Once you put it on Facebook it’s public for the world to see dear. Welcome to the Internet. She also used pictures of her kids in an attempt to make an argument that the schools in Avon should be remote like they are in Sharon.
I didn’t do that, she did. I just pointed it out.
“the article states that Ms. Phinney is making up knowing families that have experienced COVID, and refers to her as a liar and a lazy hypocrite who thinks everyone’s children should be deprived of things they love”
Well, it’s my opinion that she is in fact a liar and a lazy hypocrite. Ya see, this is what your lawyer should’ve informed you was something called an “opinion.” I also didn’t say she was making up stories about other families “experiencing COVID,” I said I thought she was lying when she said that she knew people whose kids had gotten sick from COVID.
“Kids do get it, do get sick.”
There is a difference between being sick with COVID, and simply having COVID. If you have COVID and you’re asymptomatic then you’re not sick. You just are a carrier for a disease that could potentially make a more vulnerable person sick. There’s a big difference. But by all means, if you have friends with children who have been hospitalized with the virus I’d love to be proven wrong. Your lawyer forgot to include that in her letter.
“Ms. Phinney has received a threatening call from a person stated to be a parent of a student in the Sharon school system.”
And this is my problem, why? Oh right, I should cease from having opinions about teachers who refuse to do the job we pay them to do because a third party might figure out her phone number and call her up on my behalf. That’s how free speech works. For sure.
“Mr Phinney’s primary concern is preventing dissemination of photographs of information that discloses the physical location of her children and locations where they have participated in sporting activities.”
If Kristen was concerned about the dissemination of pictures that disclose where her kids were then she probably shouldn’t post those pictures on Facebook and tag their locations.
Just sayin. When you do that you’re choosing to show the world exactly where you are at what time. I didn’t make that choice, she did.
The funny part about this is that if Kristen had just been an adult and emailed me and asked me to black out the kid’s names, or explained how I somehow misinterpreted what she posted, I’d hear her out. I’d definitely be more inclined to help. But when you go crying to a lawyer and you think you can intimidate me by paying them to write some threatening letter like this, it only strengthens my resolve to expose you. Google me. Im not afraid of attorneys and I don’t back down from a fight. I’m undefeated in court for a reason – because I know the law. And I know a greasy, money grubbing attorney who’s running up the bill when I see one. Just ask Michaela.
Kristen and her colleagues should spend more time figuring out how they’re gonna get back to work and less time whining about it on the Internet.
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