Stories: Grudge

"What the hell's a 'little' bad news? Did he finally go over the edge and shoot my wife?"

Summary

Small-town politics turns ugly when a losing candidate in a closely-fought race finds a novel way to strike back at his opponent.

Story Data

Major Characters

• Gerrold McElroy
• David Lynch, attorney

Dates of Story Events

• Jan. 7, 1997
  • Era: Schism And Stalemate

Locations

• McLean County, Kentucky, USA

Significant Cameos and References

• The main characters' discussion of The Executive Order points out their mutual dilemma: How can you tell an unchanged theri from a human?

Trivia

• Gerrold never did sue for libel -- but he did fire back with a public accusation that Tom had fabricated the story out of vindictiveness. The sudden surge in media interest, and a quick and decisive dismissal of Tom's case, produced a surge in public sympathy for Gerrold. Ultimately, Tom would quietly move out of the school district at the beginning of the summer, and the feud would die away.
• This case caused a minor stir in the days after The Executive Order; a few national pundits caught wind of it and used it as an example of the sort of trouble false accusations could cause in a world where theris' right were removed.

Read it at

http://www.tomorrowlands.org/journal.cgi?date=11282003∞

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CategoryStories StoriesByBaxilDragon BaMoTTuSto