My son in Afghanistan recently told me about the Taliban quietly going around the city in which he lives, threatening shopkeepers with retaliation if they don’t conform to the Taliban’s notion of what merchandise may be sold. I was put in mind of this tactic when I read that a few citizens of Williamsville threatened a retaliatory boycott against the Eagle House on Main Street if it provided space for a public meeting on a topic they did not wish to see discussed—namely, the disincorporation of the village of Williamsville.

I read with surprise of previous meetings held “just outside the village,” and “well north of the village,” as if we were talking about special forces rendezvousing on the North Korean frontier. I read that Kevin Gaughan is viewed as “an outsider” by Williamsville and other folks, even though he pays taxes to the same county government, probably has friends in their towns and doubtless cheers for the Buffalo Bills.

Hold on, folks. This is America. If you don’t want to attend Gaughan’s meetings, stay away. But in this country people are free to discuss virtually anything, anywhere, even with “outsiders.” There’s no place for threatening retaliation as they did upon the manager of the intended Williamsville meeting venue (who, regrettably, caved easily).

Personally, I don’t find Gaughan’s ideas weird or subversive, and I feel his opponents probably aren’t listening to what he’s actually saying. But whether you like his ideas or not, to threaten even the low-key retaliation of a boycott for providing a forum to discuss those ideas seems reprehensible to me.

Angola