Legislator Compares Children’s Museum to Nazis
Republican attacks Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum's mask policy, citing the Gestapo.
Shae Sortwell. Photo from the State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2019-2020,
An attack by a Republican Assembly representative that compared a nonprofit children’s museum to the Nazi Party has members of the community rallying to the museum’s defense.
On Friday, Rep. Shae Sortwell, of Two Rivers, shared a Facebook post by Stevens Point’s Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum about the museum’s mask policy. Like many national retail chains, the museum is asking people older than age 5 who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to continue to wear masks during their visits to the indoor space. The museum said masks would be optional for those with vaccination cards.
The Gestapo were a Nazi police force, directly responsible for torturing and killing political opponents of the regime and coordinating the deportation of Jews to death camps.
Sortwell did not respond to a request for comment from WPR on whether his use of the analogy trivializes the systematic murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust.
Sortwell’s post was shared hundreds of times on Facebook, and as of Monday afternoon, the original post had more than 500 comments, many of which include misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine or the false claim that a business requesting to see proof of vaccination is violating a health information privacy law.
Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, compared the nonprofit Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum to the Nazi Gestapo.
It also led directly to a torrent of negative comments on the Children’s Museum’s social media sites. Rusch said he spent all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday responding to angry online comments, phone calls and other harassment by people from all over the country who were joining the online pile-on in response to Sortwell’s post.
Rusch said he and the museum’s two other staff members were shaken by the experience. He said he hadn’t heard from Sortwell, though he acknowledged he hadn’t checked messages Monday.
“I’m not afraid to say that that was really hard, and I need to catch my breath before I go back to it,” Rusch said.
In the meantime, though, members of the Stevens Point community have begun to rally support for the museum, which they say was unfairly attacked by someone with no real connection to their community.
Sortwell “doesn’t represent any place near Stevens Point,” said Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza. “To the best of my knowledge, he’s never been to the children’s museum. … I’m wondering what personal beef he has with Stevens Point or the children’s museum in making a comment relating to the Gestapo.”
Wiza said he had written to Sortwell on Monday and had not received a response.
“First of all, I said I think a public apology is in order,” Wiza said. “And secondly, I’d be curious as to what your thought process was on posting something like this.”
Stevens Point resident Nerissa Nelson also wrote a letter to Sortwell signed by 30 people, mostly from central Wisconsin, also calling on the elected representative to apologize.
“Our children’s museum in this town is an important part of community life here,” Nelson said. “And for a state representative to say something like that … is a horrible thing to do. He needs to rectify that, with a public apology.”
Rusch said the experience of being at the target of so much anger has been exhausting and dispiriting. But he said the museum has also gotten some donations and new memberships from community members who were witnessing the online attacks.
“People have shown us support in many ways: private messages, donations, memberships, virtual hugs,” he said. “It’s really amazing. And all those people, every one of those messages counts for so much.”
Listen to the WPR report here.
Assembly Representative Attacks Nonprofit Children’s Museum With Nazi Analogy was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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What a horrible human being.
I wish members of the Assembly would stick to matters that are really important to Wisconsinites rather than stir up disharmony with dreck like this. What purpose does this serve? Is it protecting the freedom to be an a**hole? It seems like that is the direction of the Republican party these days.
Yet another gleaming example of the immaturity and closed mindedness of the people who hold elective office throughout Wisconsin.
“In the last 10 years only 3 Wisconsin state legislative seats have changed parties. In 2020 18 state Assembly races and 5 Senate races were uncontested. In 2016 over half of all state positions on the ballot had no challengers. In these races candidates didn’t have to run a campaign or offer competing ideas.” Grass Roots North Shore, 6-8-21.
Public figures such as Shae Sortwell should face legal consequences for inciting violence with blatantly false FB posting. Facebook is quick to shut down any angry or frustrated BIPOC posting. I know a number of people who have been in Facebook jail for expressing anger/frustration with continued police brutality. However, false postings with the intend to rile up angry Trump supporters are left alone. Facebook has an obligation to fairly police the platform. Just because Sortwell is a politician, should not earn him a pass for his Children’s Museum post. It is a clear call to violence against an organization that IS NOT IN his district.
It is time we protect our community assets from these vicious, hate-filled attacks from outsiders who then claim it’s “free speech.” It’s time to impose consequences for using “free speech” to silence others.
Comments like that should heighten public awareness of the depths to which The Grand Old Party has plummeted.
Imagine what those socially progressive folks who gathered in Ripon back in 1834 would think of today’s GOP. While they were anguished by the enslavement of black Americans, today’s GOP is intent on curtailing their hard won right to vote.
The historical ignorance exhibited by Mr. Sortwell typifies the superficial nature of current Republican “thinking” and would undoubtedly leave Republican Party founders disheartened at what Nixon’s southern strategy has wrought.
He’s a shithead.
i really wanted to say something pithy and original about mr.sortwell’s post. however, all of you said it all.
Rep. Sortwell did not sort it out all that well. He promoted potentially damaging ignorance. He should apologize and/or step down.
Sortwell did not sort that out all that well. He promoted a potentially damaging bit of Nazi propaganda in the guise of being anti-Nazi. He needs to learn how to distinguish good from evil.
Rep. Sortwell should apologize and/or step down.