Donn Esmonde and Clarence Schools

The Buffalo News’ editorial page applauds the election earlier this week of slates of reasonable and sane people to various suburban school boards. That’s nice.

Ten years ago, Buffalo News columnist Donn Esmonde went very, very far out of his way to use his space in the daily paper to give aid and comfort to the ancestors of today’s “Moms for Liberty” sunshine fascism crowd. It was such a profound betrayal for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that a person in Esmonde’s immediate household was a public school teacher and the 2013 budget debacle in Clarence did immeasurable, irreparable harm to – in this order of importance – students, faculty, staff, and the overall reputation of the town and its school district. The district is in far better shape today, having enjoyed competent, careful leadership in the interim years, but some things we lost were just gone forever, efforts by parents and organizations such as CSEF notwithstanding.

We no longer live in Clarence, and we haven’t had a kid in the district for some time, but as Maddy graduates this weekend, I am reminded of how important it was to us for those 13 years and how important it continues to be for all the kids and families who believe in and rely on a public education.

I continue to help my friends and comrades-in-arms with whom I fought alongside during the wars for public education in Clarence in 2013 and successive years, because “vote no” morphed into “unmask the kids” morphed into “the elementary school library is lending pornography to children.” All of these people are part and parcel of Esmonde’s legacy. His anti-public-school advocacy at the tail end of his shit career helped give oxygen to these absolute fucking ghouls, and my enduring, visceral hatred for him burns with the heat of a thousand suns, inextinguishable.

I was relentless and merciless in my parade of criticism and visceral hatred of Donn Esmonde for what he did – and helped to do – to my family and all of our families in 2013. He exposed himself to be a mark and a charlatan. A hypocrite of the highest order, misusing his then-immense position of influence over public affairs. I was overjoyed when he retired and bid him good riddance as he pissed off to go do what privileged guys like him are wont to do and – I don’t know, praise all of the Koch-funded astroturf public school destruction brigades on his own time.

I remember he wrote some editorial once about the investment property he bought and how it had become a money pit and how grateful I was to see him suffer, as he had caused so many others to suffer. For some of Buffalo’s intelligentsia who tolerated me, this was just a step too far! One of the local gay men’s choruses unfollowed me and condemned on Twitter, as did the librarian at the Historical Museum, but you know what? I’m still so happy he was caused suffering and loss. Not because I am naturally cruel, but because to me it was karma. I was overjoyed by the financial hardships suddenly visited upon someone who repeatedly, viciously, and intentionally did actual, palpable harm to my children’s education. That is not an exaggeration.

He can fuck off for all I care, forever in perpetuity. I hope he’s off at his property in DeSantis’ Florida, where he can sun himself and cavort in the heat with all the other fans of casually cruel neo-fascism.