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Cook: If we can’t forgive former Whitwell Elementary’s David Smith, who can we forgive?

Staff file photo by Ben Benton / David Smith, of Whitwell, Tenn.
Staff file photo by Ben Benton / David Smith, of Whitwell, Tenn. Staff file photo by Ben Benton / David Smith, of Whitwell, Tenn.

By David Cook 4 min read

Let’s forgive David Smith.

Let’s assume the best, not the worst.

Let’s believe the people of Marion County, who have lined up in support of Smith – the well-known principal of Whitwell Elementary. (Literally lining up. A parade has been organized for this Sunday.)

Let’s judge him by the long arc of his career – filled with compassion, humility and selflessness – rather than one social media post, however repulsive it may be.

Look, I don’t know Smith. So when I heard about his recent social media post – something crude about Kamala Harris and Joe Biden – I thought: here we go again. Just one more regrettable post from some public figure.