You can imagine my feelings when I discovered that my Facebook friend, Dan Hall, blocked me on Twitter (insert sad face here). I don't actively engage with Senator Hall on Twitter, so I am left wondering why he'd be bothered enough to block my ability to read and respond to his posts. I guess dissent is not allowed in District 56... And here I thought constituent engagement was a good thing.
Being a curious soul, I thought it would be helpful to look at our past in person interactions to see if I had done something to upset him enough to block a constituent.
All I can think of was an office visit to discuss environmental legislation this past session. Several of his constituents joined me in asking him to be more responsible with our precious environment by supporting forward-thinking legislation. The most interesting part of the visit, in my opinion, was Mr. Hall's initial assumption that the group of informed and concerned citizens in front of him were lobbying folks without connections to his district. Here's how it went down.
Mr. Hall greeted us with a smile as we made our way to a small conference room. The friendly welcome was appreciated because speaking out can be intimidating. A few of us shared our concerns about the health of our environment and what improvements we were there to support. Senator Hall's smile morphed into a sneer as he inquired where one of the speakers was from. From the look on his face, it seemed Mr. Hall was surprised, but not delighted, to be speaking with a constituent from his district in that moment. He then ask us to raise our hands if we were his constituents. When most of the group raised their hands proudly, Senator Hall's face fell. He composed himself, made small talk, congratulated us for taking time to visit, and took our information. He posed for a photo and became my Facebook friend after this meeting, so I'm guessing this is not the cause of me being blocked.
Lest Mr. Hall feel targeted, we also stopped by Representative Roz Peterson's office that day. She invited us into her office with a friendly smile (much appreciated). She listened as we shared concerns about environmental legislation not being effective at protecting our shared resources for future generations. Mrs. Peterson then explained that our environmental standards would be a tough sell to businesses. I suggested that Minnesota businesses could be environmental leaders, elevating our state's reputation and desirability. Yet another of my representatives' faces fell. She argued that business interests were not in line with tougher environmental legislation. Again, I combatted the premise that Minnesota business leaders could be champions instead of blockers of environmental protections. Representative Peterson then suggested that we speak to Pat Garafalo about environmental legislation (pretty certain owning a Tesla does not make one the go to environmental rep, but okay). I've been quite vocal about my disappointment with Representative Peterson's votes since that visit and she hasn't blocked me. Shoot, her political strategist and husband even follow me on Twitter.
So, what could it be that pushed Senator Hall to block this constituent? Maybe it's because I recently took a stand to support Planned Parenthood because there's a bunch of lies being spread about their services and funding. I certainly owe them a lot for the healthcare they provided me as a young woman lacking financial means to pay out of pocket.
Checkout these screenshots of Mr. Hall's Twitter account and decide for yourself why a vocal constituent like myself would earn a block.
Peace to you and yours (and even Dan Hall) - Jackie
