Gene Rosen, a Connecticut good Samaritan who harbored six survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting, has become a target for “Truthers” accusing him of being a liar and/or actor. Yet another element of the Sandy Hook conspiracy , if you believe that sort of thing. How it come to be that an innocent bystander – some say hero – is now being harassed for it? On the morning of the infamous shooting, the Newtown, Conn., resident was feeding his cats when he discovered four terrified children hiding out in his driveway. They told Rosen their teacher was dead, and he listened to their chilling account of the tragedy that was still going on at the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School. Rosen, 69, was subsequently interviewed by many of the media outlets that descended on the small community, his anguished face flashed across TV screens around the world. The sincerity of that anguish has since come into question by a group of Sandy Hook conspiracy theorists who call themselves “Truthers” and have made his life difficult. These individuals have so far posted Rosen’s personal info online, created fake social media accounts using his name and harassed the Newtown resident via email and phone. “I don’t know what to do,” retired psychologist Rosen told Salon . “There must be some way to morally shame these people, because there were 20 dead children lying there, an eighth of a mile from my window.” “I thought of an expression, that this ‘adds insult to injury,’ but that’s a stupid expression, because this is not an injury, this is an abomination.” Unfortunately for Rosen, it is an abomination that has gained traction. Websites have questioned Rosen’s motives for sharing his story, even suggesting that he made an “audition” tape and accusing him of “pedo under-tones.” A YouTube video suggests Rosen is a actually Screen Actors Guild thespian, and that “The only thing consistent about this clown’s act, is all the fake crying.” “The man has never shed an actual tear in a dozen interviews.” Yet another conspiracy theory blog calls Rosen a “bad crisis actor” who changes his story and focuses on the sound of Adam Lanza ‘s gunshots for political effect. His explanation for being so public about his experience? “I wanted to speak about the bravery of the children, and it kind of helped me work through this,” Rosen told Salon of his decision to give multiple interviews to the media. “I guess I kind of opened myself up to this.”
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Gene Rosen, Sandy Hook Samaritan Hero, Harassed By "Truthers"
