Everyone's known a bully. I'm talking about the kid who walks up and pops you in the schoolyard.
Such fisticuffs may be playground politics, but grown-ups usually agree that tossing punches is no way to navigate life.
So the news this month that Albert Smith allegedly popped Mayor Fred Kondritz comes as the sort of childish spectacle most of us have left behind.
Make no mistake: Popping a guy because you don't agree with him is inexcusable. Hitting any public official is a serious offense. If Smith did the crime, let him serve the time.
"I actually feared for my life," Kondritz told the Southern Illinoisan. Smith "hit me in the forehead, almost broke my glasses," he explained to KFVS.
Without offering specifics, Smith's attorney alleges Kondritz "instigated" the incident. And hours before the encounter with Smith, an angry Kondritz appeared at the Evening News office, accusing us of printing Smith's many "fabrications" in our letters to the editor space.
I asked repeatedly what inaccuracies Smith had written. Kondritz never answered.
I attempted to question him further as he left the office. "You stay away from me," he said, as if I were about to attack him. I wasn't.
The next day, Kondritz took to Facebook to decry Smith's "malicious attack." Whether such online chatter is wise for the complainant in a criminal case is another topic. Today, we discuss temperament.
As mayor, Kondritz has a lot of responsibility. Community leaders work hard for little reward. They have to do homework to prepare for meetings; they take calls from the public seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I have seen Kondritz's love for Benton on display, and how well he can engage with members of the community. These are strengths.
Troubling, however, is how the mayor seems oversensitive to criticism. That's a shortcoming, particularly in the city's highest official. Criticism comes with the territory -- especially that which is fair and thoughtful. But there is always a small number of people who won't like you whatever you do, the kind of back-seat drivers who don't want the responsibility themselves but are happy to tell you how to drive.
Effective leaders learn how to cope. Getting caught up by the harping is ultimately self-defeating.
Kondritz has not spoken with us about the incident, the fallout of an obviously strained relationship. We would like to work to repair that, on reasonable terms.
Part of the Evening News' mission is to provide a sounding board for citizens to share their thoughts. To the best of our ability, we weed out statements we know to be erroneous. But sometimes it comes down to a matter of opinion.
And here, everyone's opinion matters.
