"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 18 September 2008

Remember the Hate Mail?

I have received many encouraging messages and comments to my Blog. Too many to respond to individually. I keep them and read them often and appreciate the time people have taken to let me know of their support.

There have been a few negative comments as well. The style and content are increasingly familiar and I think identify a single writer.

A few months ago an anonymous letter was delivered to all Aurora Councillors.The Councillors' room is secure. The question arose as to how the missive got in there. I received two explanations: the first was that they were handed in at the town's reception desk and distributed from there. The second came later and indicated the letters were brought across from the Mayor's office and distributed.

When I showed the letter, people agreed it was hate mail. I referred the question to the Police. The Chief explained a few salient facts; from the perspective of investigation and prosecution, "incentive to hate" applies generally to a group or organisation. Such a letter as this would be impossible to trace and prosecution would be equally unlikely. Therefore nothing useful could be done.

I've always thought a person's writing tell more about a person than a conversation. It's harder to hide in the written word.

I suspect the negative comments to my blog and hate mail have the same author. I believe it is a member of the current council and the sentiments expressed do more than anything to reveal the toxic dynamics of this council.

So, I intend to re-print the letter and the negative comments and invite readers join in the exercise of making the determination. Is the writer one and the same?

Councillor MacEachern has stated she did not write it. Councillor McRoberts expressed his regret that such a thing could happen. Councillor Collins-Mrakas offered her professional assessment of the matter. No other councillor acknowledged receipt of the letter. I know it wasn't me. Although I am sure the Mayor could find a way to suggest I am responsible. I cannot see how anyone outside the council could have written it.

The letter must be re-typed to produce it in my Blog. I have little facility with typing and organising so Heather Sisman will do it at the week-end.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

doesn't the mayor's office have to log all correspondence received?

did she get the letter and then make copies for you? if that's the case then why didn't she nip it in the bud? why circulate something so hateful?

or did you all get the letter at the same time?

From what I understand the mayor and council offices are locked up like Fort Knox so there is a real question as to who wrote the nasty letter and worse, who distributed it...

to quote the bard:
"Something is indeed rotten in the state of Denmark..."

Anonymous said...

what happened to Heather's transcript of the 'hate mail' and the corresponding comments?

Heather said...

I don't know what happened to the post, so I've put it back online.