It occurs to me we could have easily predicted how people would behave during the pandemic by looking at how they behave in cars during snow storms.

There is a clearly identifiable threat to the public. People are warned. People see abundant evidence of the damage ignoring the warnings can cause. People say fuck you I have rights, and just for spite I will put myself and you in danger because this is America and I am entitled to behave this way.

I feel a bit sick after reading paragraph about the mayor. Unnecessary, unhelpful language. Not in the public interest.

"I want to be the mayor of a city where no one can know where I live" shouldn't be a thing. Good riddance, Jenny.

I agree @2. Terrorizing the mayor (even a shitty one) isn't amusing, but such behavior routinely gets the no-big-deal treatment on this blog.

You're not a nice person at all Hannah.

This right here, why Seattle is ungovernable, led by a string of one-term mayors. So easy to write snide articles from your couch while the world burns and real humans work on guarding schools, plowing roads, making difficult decisions no one wants to make (because, death threats). You wonder why progressives get painted as out of touch elitists.

"Rich wrote about the cops guarding her house in January if you're curious."

Publishing the confidential address of an individual in the Address Confidentiality Program was a dubious choice when Rich did it a year ago. What was the editorial process involved in linking back to that article today?

I am pretty sure if I was getting death threats, I wouldn't want my address online. This seems pretty reasonable, right?

@3 Durkan's concern, as you probably know, stems from the killing of Thomas Wales. Surely you don't fault her for trying to keep her and her family safe?

@12: I believe that @3, along Hannah, Rich, and most of the TS staff would definitely fault this mayor for trying to keep her family safe.

@11,

I just went and re-read the linked article from Rich and don't see her address posted. In fact, the most direct reference made to the location I noticed was about as vague as can be, "north of the ship canal." What am I missing?

@14: That the address was later removed from the article.

@3 What is the public benefit of knowing an elected officials home address? Even though they are in the public eye shouldn't there be some places that are off limits? We provide safe spaces for college students who feel unsafe on a university campus for a variety of reasons yet elected officials are supposed to endure harassment, hateful graffiti and threats against their family at their home? TS and those of you who continue to normalize this anti social behavior really need to rethink your perspective on this.

@11 You're missing nothing. Raindrop and his sock-puppet friends will crank up the outrage machine over anything that threatens capital. It's part of the act. Sing along if you know the words.

@8 I wouldn't exactly call those protests, "Uninvited."

@16 College Students aren't elected officials living in the public eye. If you don't like freedom of speech then I guess stick around and keep voting GOP.

@15,

Huh, interesting. Also seems interesting that, given the seriousness of the accusation, no record of it seems to exist. There's not even a single comment relating to it which, again given the seriousness, also seems odd, in particular w/ respect to this crowd. And a google search of "did the stranger publish mayor durkan's address?" yielded nothing to corroborate it either. Do you have a cite or screenshot to share?

@19: I have no proof. Rich should be clarifying the matter and I respect his word.

I'm sorry if Durkan feels unsafe, but it's 100% on her -- not Sawant, the Stranger or anyone else. You can't be a public official and expect to keep your personal address private. It's just not realistic. As a former prosecutor, Durkan may well have legitimate reasons for wanting an extra layer of privacy, but if so she should have known better than to run for mayor.

@1: I have been saying a similar thing as well, but my rant is the 'public transportation' version. I uses Sound Transit from a suburban area pre-covid. Passive aggressive seat hogging is common. I've seen people stand in the aisle for the 90-minute ride because they are too shy/intimidated by a seat hogger that plopped their purse/gym bag in the empty seat, refusing to look up from their phone to see if anyone needs the space next to them.

@23: What happens to our society when fewer and fewer people want to risk public service when the climate is "have known better than to run for mayor".

Unfortunately, that is the case now. Unless you allow a measure of decorum and civility for our public officials, even with adversarial views, we're closer to losing our democracy.

@18 Get f'ing serious. Threat of violence, including especially death threats are not protected free speech.

@23 So if Sawant has no responsibility in our eyes, I assume you do not hold Trump responsible for the riot in the Capitol.

@22,

Eh, I think there's a precedent set by most of the current staff to indicate they pretty rarely weed into the comments these days. I'd say the burden of proof is on yourself and the previous commenter who made the allegation. And if the allegation is false, then it's kinda fucked up.

@26: Point well taken.

For the record, what was the primary cause of the anti-Durkan sentiment?

So the official position on death threats is: they're okay when they're directed at people we don't like, but they're a very big deal, requiring immediate action, when directed at people we do like.

If I put my tinfoil hat on, the real reason Durkan hides her address is that her partner makes ungodly amounts of money and she's trying to hide that she's extremely rich. There's a reason they haven't gotten married.

@12 If Durkan wanted to protect her privacy, she shouldn't have run for mayor. There's a reason we call them "public officials."

@26 "Eh, I think there's a precedent set by most of the current staff to indicate they pretty rarely weed into the comments these days"

They read every single comment, on their own articles especially.

@33,

Perhaps, but they rarely comment or reply and I can't imagine why Rich would bother replying to a baseless accusation of journalistic impropriety.

@34: Nevertheless, it's good practice for any writer to respond to a request for clarification.

"There's not even a single comment relating to it which, again given the seriousness, also seems odd, in particular w/ respect to this crowd."

Indeed. Not even the resident Karen raindrop, who commented on that thread said anything about the impropriety of publishing Durkan's address. Sure does seem fishy.

Do people not understand that the property tax rolls are public information, and that any bozo can walk in off the street and look up any taxpayer by name, whether it's Durkan, her partner, or anybody else, and see all the properties they own in King County, and the addresses of those properties?

If people want, or need, to keep their names and addresses off these rolls, maybe they should rent. If they own the property where they live, there is no expectation of privacy.

@38: Sure, but that doesn't negate the power and ramifications of doxxing.

“But Sara Nelson—not that Sara Nelson—the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, argued the new policy meets corporate needs rather than keeps the public safe.”

well
Fuck the
Public then
and Fuck the
Citizenry whilst
you’re at it always
be Making a Killing
Capitalism* sure Rocks

don’t She?

*UN-fucking Fettered
plus Soulless!

@38 -- now
you've Done it

I can't imagine being a public servant.

@40 kristofarian: Welcome back to the comment threads! You were greatly missed.

So, the Stranger has come out as pro-harassment. Jenny Durkan's co-worker was murdered in his own home, his murder has never been solved, and then Socialist Alternative's rent-a-mob vandalized her family's home after CM Sawant led them straight there. Sneering even at a mother's concern for her own children's safety, the Stranger has hit an all-time low.

@15: 'In fact, the most direct reference made to the location I noticed was about as vague as can be, "north of the ship canal." What am I missing?'

If you're refering to "the cops guarding her house" link, here is the third paragraph, in full (https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2021/01/25/54875346/cops-dont-like-guarding-mayor-durkans-mansion):

'Cops who need to use the restroom while working "the Windermere detail," as the 24/7 assignment is known, end up using the facilities at a nearby 76 gas station.'

Windermere is not a large neighborhood, and that particular gas station is at one end of it. So, Rich gave his readers as close a fix on Durkan's family home as he could, without exposing himself to legal trouble. (I'm guessing this was his typically jejune thumbing of his nose at anything he happens not to like.)