It was impossible to ignore the juxtaposition of the letter to the editor from Cindy Brown (“Time to wake from slumber,” Sun City West Independent, Aug. 17, 2022) and the Civility guidelines that appeared on the very next page.
Apparently, the editor of the letter section needs to take the pledge. Ms. Brown, in response to a very straightforward and civil letter regarding the wearing of masks in a hospital, gets the following responses from Ms. Brown, “...sheep and cowards living their life in fear,” “I understand the nurses and doctors likely being ‘required’ still to wear a ‘face diaper,’ “if you are fearful, afraid and a sheep stay home,” “The COVID pandemic, and I use the term loosely, has always been blown out of proportion and the only ones not seeing that are the sheep.”
The Civility guidelines read, “Take the High Road. Respond to the topic, not the person, refrain from demonizing others for their opinions.” “Be Respectful. Bullying, public humiliation, insults, name calling... Have no place in civil discourse.” “Be Truthful. Base your opinions/arguments on facts. Value honesty. Make only accurate statements when making your point and avoid exaggeration and stereotypes.”
Let’s grade Ms. Brown’s letter on just these three guidelines. It appears she has failed to meet all three, yet her letter gets published! It has been obvious to this reader that the editors of the paper share Ms. Brown’s views of the pandemic and many other extreme right wing points of view and those views are expressed fairly regularly in the opinion section of the paper. But even a progressive such as myself can spot the hypocrisy when it appears on the very next page!
Perhaps in the future consider putting more pages between the Opinions section and the civility guidelines so we sheep can’t spot it so easily!
