To the Editor,

I live-streamed the June 1 BOE meeting and want to share some thoughts with my Newtown neighbors. First and foremost, the students kept their books, hooray! Kudos students!

Thank you to the BOE for all the time and effort you put into this. I appreciated everything each of you said before and after the vote. I really appreciated your unanimous decision. Kudos board members!

Kudos to the assistant superintendent for your input! Double kudos to the superintendent for your input and crowd control efforts on May 16! Kudos to the board’s legal counsel — clearly you played an important role!

Kudos to The Newtown Bee for your coverage and putting up with us!

Unfortunately, there was one adult participant that deserves all our condemnation for their public behavior. My only intention here is to prevent this type of poor public behavior in the future. For full context, watch the meeting from 33:20 to 43:20. To this participant:

You victimized yourself to the point you unbelievably and offensively exploited the victims of the Holocaust by likening yourself to them. In response to myself and others calling out your bully behaviors, you publicly stated, “don’t tell a Jew being pushed into the oven that they are being a bully.” You outright trivialized the trauma, torture, and execution of millions of people in one of the world’s worst crimes against humanity.

Minutes later, you did the Nazi salute and gave yourself a Hitler mustache. There is absolutely no context that can possibly justify your anti-Semitic action. In fact, your action is so offensive that it is illegal in Germany and Austria, and considered a criminal offense in Poland and Slovakia.

None of your public participation at any point during this controversy was constructive, just extreme. When people were saying representation on May 2, you said Christofascism. When people were saying first and fourteenth amendment on May 16, you said fascist and fascism over and over. When people were ready for the vote on June 1, you did the Nazi salute and gave yourself a Hitler mustache.

The worst part is all of your behavior was on full display for our children to watch and learn. As well as our Jewish community and my Jewish wife and her/our Jewish family. Absolute condemnation for you!

Overall, so many residents in Newtown — parents, participants, leaders — on BOTH sides were so political that this controversy quickly became a joke to me. I hope we all learned that politics started, perpetuated, and ruined this whole ordeal. Finally, all of your politics overshadowed the few participants on both sides that actually cared about the children and were respectful, reasonable, tolerant, and kind — no kudos for you!

Your politics ruin everything and have no place in our schools,

Brendan Lukaniec

Sandy Hook