Councilman Lawshe Responds To Caldwell Lanternfly Controversy

Press release from Gordon Lawshe:

Feb. 16, 2023

My friend, who happens to be a black man, wrote the letter below on my behalf. He was going to submit it to the media, but I urged him not to, as I didn’t want him and his family to be subject to the same defamation and threats, including death threats, that I and my family have been subject to. The adage “a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes” seems appropriate here. I would like to thank my friend for his courage in trying to get the truth out.

The Letter:

My lifelong friend Gordon Lawshe has been in the news lately because in October he called the police on someone who was spraying an unknown substance on his neighbor’s property. He knew the neighbor was not at home and Gordon has been a part of an informal neighborhood watch team for more than 30 years. When the police investigated, they quickly determined that the person spraying was his black nine-year-old neighbor who was spraying lanternflies, a harmful insect that is invading New Jersey. When Gordon found this out, he apologized to the mother and daughter twice the day after the incident, but his apologies were not accepted. Because this story has “gone viral,” my good friend Gordon is getting smeared as a racist in the social media and he is getting, among other things, death threats. As a black person who grew up in the predominantly white town of Caldwell, New Jersey, and a graduate of James Caldwell High School who has known Gordon since Junior High School (for 58 years), I feel it necessary to state unequivocally that Gordon is not racist.

Since October, I have read, listened to and have seen, in newspapers, televison, radio, and social media, about this story. Since much of the information in the “viral story” is not true, I feel I can no longer remain silent about the lies that have been put out there about my friend. However, before I address whether Gordon is a racist, I would like to discuss several of the many factual representations that were made in the “viral story” that are simply not true. For example, and this goes to the heart of the story, in the January 20, 2023, Star Ledger, on page 1, it is represented that “[t]he 9-year old was in her own yard killing spotted lanternflies with a homemade, natural solution she created according to her family, who accused the neighbor of racial bias.” If the journalists at the Star Ledger fact checked this statement, I believe they would find that this statement is not true. In fact, she was on a neighbor’s front lawn, spraying the neighbor’s trees and bushes.

Another false statement is that Gordon called 911. Gordon did not call 911, as many news stories have reported. He called the police non-emergency line. In his call to the police, it appears that he was scared because of the substance being sprayed rather than the person. Gordon never used the term “hoodie” which, unknown to Gordon, apparently is a “trigger” word. When he called the non-emergency line and he was asked for a description, he correctly stated that she was wearing a “hood.” Gordon
did not know it was a child from the neighborhood and could not see her clearly through his neighbor’s bushes. He described the person as a “small black woman” in his call to the police. Several other false representations were made in the news stories.

Since the Star Ledger correctly noted that this story made “national headlines,” I believe it would appropriate for the journalists to fact check every representation that was made, report it accurately, make sure the truth also makes “national headlines.”

I think most people would be concerned if somebody, whether white or of color, came on their property and began spraying an unknown substance. As a former neighborhood block watch captain, I know it is the duty of residents in the neighborhood to report any strange behavior in the community, and provide a description of people, license plate numbers and other information to the block watch captain or police or sheriff’s departments and they should never confront anyone.

Certainly, an unknown person trespassing on a neighbor’s front lawn and spraying an unknown substance would be strange behavior and Gordon made a non emergency call rather than confront the person. When police arrived and assessed the situation, they quickly determined the facts that a neighbor was spraying for lanternflies and, for the police, the matter was closed.

Because the person involved was black, Gordon was called a racist, and he and his family have been threatened. I believe that once the truth is out, people will see things in a completely different light. Although everyone wants to hear a “feel good” story about a little girl who is doing a community service, no one - adult or child - can go on anyone else’s property without the permission of the property owner. I am asking the radio, television, news agencies and social media that created the “viral story” to come back and examine the facts in this case. In the event they determine that many of the facts are not true, report the truth. Once that happens, I believe it would be appropriate for the media that published the false information to publish the truth, recognizing the damage they have caused and apologize. In addition, I am asking the 1000s of others, who have formed their opinion based on the false information to reconsider whether my friend is racist.

I will now address the 1000s of accusations on social media that Gordon is a racist. As a black man that has seen and experienced racism, I can unequivocally state that during the span of 58 years that I have known Gordon, his (late) parents, brothers, sons and wife, I have never seen any sign of racism. In fact, in 1966, I attended the Naval Academy’s football camp. As it happened, Gordon’s father financially supported this through the Gridiron Club because he saw something special in me. I later went on to become, with Gordon, an integral part of Caldwell High School’s football team. Furthermore, in 2014, Gordon was the person who raised money to purchase round trip airfare from Portland, Oregon to Newark to allow a black classmate who had been ill for some time to attend our 45th class reunion. In addition, because of the many kindnesses she extended to me after my own mother passed away, on more recent visits to Caldwell, I would visit Gordon’s mom at Crane’s Mill Nursing Home and would always call her “Mom.” Finally, when I return to Caldwell, I often stay at the Lawshe house. He and his wife have always welcomed me when I return to Caldwell. Although Gordon is a Republican and I am a Democrat, and we have had differences of opinion on politics, we will forever remain friends. Gordon Lawshe is not a racist.

In conclusion, I think everybody, including Gordon, supports his neighbor’s efforts to kill lanternflies, her concern for the environment, her interest in botany, and wishes her all the best going forward. On the other hand, one of the lessons learned from this incident should be that children, regardless of race, simply cannot enter other people’s property and spray substances, or do anything else to the property for that matter, no matter how good it might seem to the child, unless they have permission from the property owner. Of course, without permission from the property owner, this would be trespassing. That seems self evident. Does anybody disagree with this? If we don’t teach our children this, there will certainly be more misunderstandings in the future. Another important lesson is that when making allegations of racism, it is so important that we tell the truth.

An Addendum:

My friend’s letter ends. I think he is correct that this viral story raises two very important issues that need to be addressed. The first involves false news. First, what is the obligation of the news media to tell the truth? Second, what, if any, obligation, does the news media have to correct false news that they have published? Third, should they apologize for the damage the false news has caused? As I am well aware of the damage that false news can cause, I am prepared to help address these issues.

The second issue involves the law of trespass. New Jersey has laws that make it clear that a person cannot enter other people’s property without their permission. This is called trespassing? Now, most people are not going to bring a charge of trespass on a neighbor’s child, especially when the child is trying to do a good thing. In fact, when I was a child playing ball, I often trespassed on my neighbors’ yards to get my football or wiffle ball. However, we have got to teach our children that they just can’t go on other people’s property, especially when no one is home, and do whatever they want. Since the Governor, the Attorney General, the Montclair Police Department and other state and federal agencies have taken an interest in this story based on the false news described above, perhaps they would be willing to provide some guidance in this regard. Does the race of the trespasser make a difference? I am pretty sure that if an unknown person began squirting an unknown substance around the Governor’s office or on his property, his security team would ask that person what they are doing.

Gordon Lawshe

This press release was produced by Gordon Lawshe. The views expressed here are the author's own.