This morning, I received an email from someone using the fake name “Bryan Mills,” an apparent fictional character from Taken, asking me to become their public champion against a Washington County political activist, Shaun Porter.
Mr. Not Bryan Mills’ anonymous email was long, carefully worded, and insulting.
I’m only going to share a few bits and pieces from what they emailed me. Then I’ll explain how to move the dial on civic engagement in Washington County gently.
The anonymous writer – whose family members they claim work for Washington County Public Schools and who claims to be too afraid to use their real name – wants me to confront Shaun Porter.
You all know who Shaun Porter is.
Here’s the thing: Shaun Porter, unconventional as he is, has a platform. People listen to him.
What did Twain say? “Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel,” or was it”Never argue with a man with a social media following?
Somebody wants me to show up at Washington County School Board meetings, challenge Mr. Porter on social media, and expose what they call his “falsehoods.”
What?
They want me to be their gladiator in the arena while they watch safely from the cheap seats.
I own a business now (in Washington County). I live in Gaithersburg. I have two kids in college. I’m happily married to a woman far outside of my league, and I’m doing well – aside from going bald.
My business is rooted in Washington County. I’m interested in building business relationships and partnerships, coalitions, and doing good, with everyone – regardless of whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents – because I don’t care who they voted for or their politics.
Someone’s personal politics doesn’t interest me whatsoever; business in business, and I am building something from scratch because I have a sacred obligation to my grandparents and parents, all from Hagerstown.
So, I’ll be direct.
You Don’t Get to Insult Me and Then Ask for a Favor
The author of this anonymous email today dared to write: “At that time, you were a polarizing figure, and you were not broadly well regarded. I believe you were aware of that.”
Let that sink in.
This person opened their ask – their plea for help – by telling me that I used to be broadly disliked.
Fair enough. I’m a scrappy kid who isn’t afraid to speak up and speak loudly.
But over the years, people grow; they modulate their thoughts. They become adults.
I ran for the Washington County Board of Education when I was in my mid-20s. I’m 40 now.
This courageous emailer graciously informed me that my “public voice has evolved since then in a meaningful and positive way,” as though I’ve been on some rehabilitation tour, desperately seeking the approval of anonymous Washington County emailers.
Thank you. I know it has. I have evolved as a person. I got older, raised kids, made a dozen and a half more mistakes, and lived. I learned many hard lessons over the last ten years; there are enough people out there who saw the better side of me and gave me the grace to rise to the occasion.
Then came the real insult: “It would fundamentally reshape how you are regarded in Washington County, regardless of the past.”
Yeah, I’m not looking for your approval, whoever you are.
And it’s not your approval to give me.
The past is the past.
You either accept me for who I am, for whom I’ve become – or you don’t. Either way, I don’t care.
And I’m not losing sleep either way.
Hear this: I don’t need your approval, nor would I ever seek it out.
My God – have you learned about me, that I’m nothing but consistent?
Your email suggests you need to redeem me, that whoever you associate with, I need their approval.
Poor strategy. Do you see the imbalance here?
I run a statewide political publication that breaks stories, holds elected officials accountable, and is read by legislators, lobbyists, reporters, and political professionals across Maryland and beyond.
Want to know something truly private?
After my grandparents died, it changed me as a person. My grandmother died last summer, and I’ve changed – a lot.
A lot of it is grief, too. I don’t know who you think I am today – but it’s certainly not who you painted in your insulting email.
The piece on Mike Guessford that this anonymous writer called “simply brilliant”? I wrote that because it was true and because it mattered – not because I was auditioning for Washington County’s approval.
The late Popcorn Sutton said it best:
@lurkingvowel Original #popcornsutton ♬ original sound – Lurking Vowel
The Shaun Porter Comparison
The writer claims that “when Porter first emerged over a year ago, he was often compared to you.”
Mr. Porter is Mr. Porter. Do you think for one second that anybody tells Shaun Porter what to do?
Shaun Porter, I would imagine, would be far more insulted by the comparison to me, because I don’t have even a tenth of Mr. Porter’s audacity to confront detractors.
I am a blogger, a journalist, a business owner, an older adult advocate, a husband, a father, a volunteer for organizations I care about – a regular, normal 40-year-old guy, just trying to make it in life.
I run a small news publication. I report facts, cite sources, and adhere to editorial standards I take seriously.
Whatever criticisms people may have had of me over the years – and I’m sure there are plenty, many of which are fair – I have never done what Shaun Porter is accused of doing in this email.
I have never “fostered fear.” If somebody believes I have, I will listen closely, hear them, and understand their perspective – and I’ll reflect on it.
I have never built a platform that “thrives on provocation and personal attacks rather than facts.”
And if I have ever made any Washington County teacher feel they couldn’t speak publicly about me or other issues, even from a decade ago, then I am genuinely, unequivocally, and categorically sorry. That was never, ever my intention.
That comparison – even as a historical footnote – is profoundly insulting. It’s disgusting, even.
And the casual way this anonymous coward dropped that comparison into an email asking for my help shows a staggering lack of self-awareness.
The Cowardice Is the Point
Their family members are afraid to speak publicly, the emailer says. Okay, that’s a legitimate concern. They claim their niece is a teacher and is scared of being targeted.
“Many people feel paralyzed,” they write.
And their solution to this paralysis?
Apparently, it’s finding someone else to be brave for them.
“We genuinely need a hero,” they wrote.
I’m not it.
No, they don’t need a hero: They need citizens willing to put their names on things. If you don’t like something, find your voice; if that’s too hard, find your voice in another way. You’ll eventually figure it out.
You need people who will show up at school board meetings in their own name.
And you need parents, teachers, and community members who will publicly state their positions.
It’s your fight – not mine. I’m not involved in your problems. Don’t involve me, please.
That takes collective civic courage, not a lone blogger riding in from Hagerstown on a white horse.
You want to speak up? Speak up.
What I Actually Told This Anonymous Emailer
I told this emailer that if local Washington County officials and community members want to understand Shaun Porter, they should meet with him.
Listen to him.
I mean it.
Sit down and listen to Shaun Porter – without any pretext. Extend the olive branch. Listen closely. Then respond.
Drop your egos. Mr. Porter is far smarter than most people want to give him credit for. After all, you can’t figure him out, so you seek out somebody else to do your dirty work?
What a coward.
Oh, you don’t like Mr. Porter’s methods, his tactics? Tell Mr. Porter.
Because here’s something this anonymous writer either doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to hear: Shaun Porter is a human being.
He wants to be heard.
Did anybody think what a conversation could do, the bridges it could build?
Mr. Porter’s methods may be unconventional, and I personally dislike many of these tactics, including personal attacks on elected officials and a combative approach at public meetings.
That’s not my style.
But the solution isn’t to find someone to out-attack Shaun Porter.
No, the solution is engagement, not escalation.
Here’s the Bigger Problem in Maryland Politics
This email is a symptom of something that goes far beyond one county and one political figure.
Across Maryland – across the country – people have decided that civic engagement means finding someone else to do the dirty, hard work.
They want champions without being willing to champion anything themselves; they want accountability for others while hiding behind pseudonyms.
I’ve spent years building A Miner Detail into a publication people trust by putting my name on everything I write.
You hear me? I put my name on everything. Good, bad, ugly – I put my name on it.
Every story, every opinion, every analysis – it has my name on it.
That’s not because I’m uniquely brave (I’m not).
It’s because that’s the minimum requirement for being taken seriously in public life. You don’t get to shape your community from the shadows.
To the anonymous citizens of Washington County who feel “paralyzed,“ I understand the fear.
I do.
But the answer isn’t finding a proxy warrior.
The answer is to find your voice, put your name behind it, and show up.
That’s how communities change.
That’s how school boards improve.
Nobody is coming to save you.
Save yourselves.
Show up.
Speak up.
Use your real names.
That’s the only thing that has ever worked for me.
Ryan Miner is the editor and founder of A Miner Detail.
