My previous column, Kindness is Wisdom, published in the June 26th issue of our local newspaper caused “quite a stir,” to quote someone who sent me a scathing email. In my estimation, it was deeply misunderstood and as a result, a few people in the community took it very personally.
I wanted to include here copies of their letters to the editor, both for my own record in this ongoing life saga and because they deserve to be heard. My opinion on what they wrote isn’t important at this point. (Note: the second letter was published in the same issue as my response column.)
I’ve been meaning to comment on this for a while. Sometimes it’s good to generate a little “heat”, don’t you think? People often misunderstand our intentions but I have discovered that we cannot always worry about this. The fact that it caused a stir means that people are paying attention and they care. To me, that is worth it.
I think the responses are interesting especially when I went back and read your original letter which did not have “accusatory” language in it. People read in all kinds of meanings sometimes, but it is more about them than it is about you.
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