Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

For me, the most interesting part of last night's city council meeting actually happened after the meeting ended. I have debated posting about it all day, but ended up deciding to, because it has been on my mind, as it was such a strange and interesting experience.

I introduced myself to a resident who had spoken at the meeting, and when he told me his name, I realized that he is one of the people who have been commenting *very* rudely and nastily on my posts. But in person last night, he was very civil, well-spoken, and not at all rude to me - a complete 180 from his online behavior. I thought this was incredibly strange and fascinating, because I simply don't understand how a person can behave in such different ways in person vs. online. I called him out on it, asking him why this was and why he couldn't be civil online as well, and he just shrugged it off and said that's how he is. I told him that I thought he was doing himself a disservice by how he was representing himself online, which he seemed to take as a compliment.

We ended up standing outside, in the dark, drizzly, cold night, after everyone else had left, talking for almost an hour and a half. I never felt in the least bit worried for my safety, and very much enjoyed our conversation. We talked about a lot of different things, and found many points we agreed on. He even seemed to warm up to me and said he would consider voting for me, though I suspect that was just lip service. He was very complimentary of me for the way I have put myself out there and engaged and worked so hard at campaigning. He even admitted that it does make sense for the more progressive people in Nixa to have representation on council, rather than every council member being conservative. At one point, he asked if I wanted him to tone it down online. I told him that he's free to say what he wants, as it's a public forum. You might think that was a strange response, but it's the truth! He does have the right to say what he wants. Luckily, I have pretty thick skin and don't take any of it personally - if I did, there's no way I could be running for city council!

Honestly, I'm not even sure why I'm sharing this. It was just so strange to see two such different sides of a person, and it was interesting to talk with him and find the things we agreed on. As soon as I heard his name and knew how he had been treating me online, I could have just walked away, but instead, I chose to engage with him and talk with him, at great length. I hope that this illustrates to you that I mean it when I say I will represent and listen to ALL Nixans, even those who disagree with me or have very different viewpoints. Last night, I put my money where my mouth is. And I'm glad I did!