Fairhaven Neighborhood News

“Handful” of residents tookon GoliathFor a dedicated group of Fairhavenneighbors it’s been a long and “crazy”road, a road that has led to a victory!We are those who Gordon Deane ofFairhaven Wind has called a ”handfulof residents.” Apparently this handfulwas more than he and his men couldhandle. Along the way this “handful”has taken on the Goliath that is thebig wind industry while providing avoice for those who were suffering.We’ve pulled the shroud off of thegreen energy myth and exposed it forwhat it is. We’ve played a role inousting long time political fixturesand in electing smart and compas -sionate leaders. We’ve been ridiculedand ostracized, called crazy andabrasive. We’ve made our case andwe’ve supported it with facts. We’vetalked and we’ve listened, screamedand cried, clapped and hugged andnow we’ve achieved historic success!In the 1940s my father; a scrawnykid from New Bedford Vocationalwearing taped and tattered shoes andagainst all odds ran to a nationaltrack championship. Sometimes ittakes a while to realize yourinheritance and often times it’s morevaluable than gold. For me thatinheritance, that gold, was PaulMethia’s fighting spirit andperseverance. And it was that spiritand perseverance along with theunwavering dedication of a “handful”of compassionate and caring friendsthat against the odds brought a win tothis fight.I am proud to call every one of myneighbors, those who worked andstood with me, who endured theridicule, who wouldn’t bow down orbe silenced, who persevered, myfriends. There is plenty of road aheadand rest assured this “handful” hasplenty of race left in us. We are stillstrong, determined committed andwill persevere until each and everyone of our friends and neighbors arefree of turbine torture all day andevery day. And then together the racewill be won and a truly unitedFairhaven will be our medal!John MethiaWriter of poison pen letterhas distinctive styleJust when you think you havewitnessed the most tawdry, lowlifebehavior imaginable, somebody inFrom our readersFairhaven goes out of their way toprove you wrong.An anonymous letter was sent tobusinesses in Fairhaven, libeling theFairhaven Neighborhood News anddefaming its editor, Beth David. Thishas to be some kind of a record in thecategories of nasty, disgusting, andhateful.If you saw the letter (which I giveDavid credit for publishing), you mayhave noticed how badly written thislittle rant was. Apparently, the ironyof calling someone a bigot and alesbian in the same breath wascompletely lost on the cretin whowrote it.If you happen to be the person whowrote the letter, you should knowthat calling someone a lesbian isn’tderogatory; it’s just another kind ofnormal like being tall, or young, orredheaded. It isn’t an insult unless theperson saying it is a shameless bigotlike you. In that case, it makes you adisgrace to the human race, a blightupon humanity.Now, I myself have a very keen earfor writing style, even when it is poorand juvenile. I recognize a style ofwriting, the way most people recog -nize voices. It’s especially obvious tome when the style is pompous andgrating. Others write the same waythat they speak, using the samesignature catch phrases and words inboth.So ask yourself where you haveheard frequent use of the imperial“We” from someone pretending to actas though they were empowered tospeak for every business in Fair -haven. Haven’t you heard someoneroutinely use phrases like “we havenoted that,” “as any business will tellyou,” “it is concerning,” and “moreproductive” (which appears twice inthe same sentence)? If that is notenough, the dead giveaway is theexpression “this weekly rag.” Theauthor might as well have signed it.If you are a regular reader of theFairhaven Neighborhood News,hearing it called a “rag” must surelyring some bells for you. Who iscapable of such a cowardly and dirtytrick as sending a poisoned letterwith the intent of damaging some -one’s professional reputation, ordestroying that person’s livelihood?To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton, Irecognize the hyena by its paw print.If you are a detective trying tosolve a case, you need only ask thequestion of motive. Who could be sobitter, angry, and aggrieved by theFairhaven Neighborhood News as tofeel compelled to take such an under -handed and contemptible action?Surely someone comes to mind. Whowould put themselves to such lengthsto be so vindictive?In an age when most newspapersare captives to large corporationsand the predilections of their largecorporate advertisers; small,privately owned papers like theFairhaven Neighborhood News areincreasingly a rarity. In the not toodistant future, I suspect that thesanctity of a free press will be viewedas a quaint anachronism.Fortunately, there are still manyhigh minded people in Fairhaven whorecognize and appreciate theimportance of this little outpost ofFirst Amendment freedom called theFairhaven Neighborhood News. Ihope that those of you who do, willcontinue to support it strenuously.I rarely agree with Beth David’seditorial comments. She hascharacterized me in ways that I thinkare completely inaccurate andundeserved, but I respect her right tospeak her mind. Since she routinelypublishes my editorial commentswithout change, despite ourdifferences; she apparently respectsmy right to free speech, too. If she didnot, you probably wouldn’t bereading this opinion now. That much,at least, we definitely have incommon. (I believe we also share alove of Lebanese food.) Beth Daviddeserves a full measure of respect forthe effort and contribution she makesto this town each week — whetheryou agree with her editorialperspective or not.The choice is pretty stark. You cansupport the Fairhaven NeighborhoodNews and your own First Amendmentliberty, or you can align yourself withthe treacherous little maggot who istrying to destroy them both withhatred.Curt Devlin, FairhavenI have decided to stickwith love. Hate is toogreat a burden to bear.Martin Luther King, Jr.Page 22Thursday, June 13, 2013Fairhaven Neighborhood News