Incivility in Wellfleet
To the editor:
When we bought our home in Wellfleet 11 years ago, we were excited to be part of this community full of nature, art, and eclectic people. But in recent years, the tone of Wellfleet has changed. It has become much more hostile.
Instead of a welcome, we see bumper stickers that read “Wellfleet Sucks. Tell Your Friends.” We see stickers on stop signs that say “Stop Moving Here.”
These are not the messages that a town that relies heavily on tourism and tax revenue from second-home owners should be sending.
As a Wellfleet voter, I’ve seen an increase in bullying, name-calling, and witch-hunting in local elections — much of it amplified on social media. This week’s special election has fueled a rumor mill of accusations against the candidates, ranging from being insurrectionists to threatening the safety of town employees.
Rather than engage in civil discourse at candidate forums, some citizens have launched anonymous smear campaigns, which only results in others not wanting to run in the future.
Requesting accountability for town decisions or policies should not be equated with being a threat. Uncivil behavior undermines democracy and could unhinge our town, which is already grappling with many years of financial mismanagement, difficulty in recruiting and retaining town employees, and a lack of affordable housing. We won’t solve these challenges by attacking each other without a closer look at facts and data.
I hope that Wellfleetians can come together and treat each other with respect while taking the time to understand and tackle the problems we face. An informed citizenry needs accurate and timely data combined with transparent, civil discourse. Let’s not allow the polarization that is plaguing the U.S. to ruin our wonderful town.
Lori Rutter
Wellfleet
Round of Applause
To the editor:
In catching up on the Provincetown Independent after a few weeks off Cape, I enjoyed very much Thomas Lyons’s reflections in the Reporter’s Notebook in the June 2 issue [“On Asking Questions,” page A2].
I particularly liked reading his comment on a reporter’s approach, since I was the object of it a few weeks back at the Eastham town meeting, at which I mistook him for the youngest town citizen at the meeting. He immediately took the opportunity to do a shotgun interview, asking my opinion of the meeting. While it was a brief exchange, I welcomed his open and engaging style and sense of purpose to get at least one quote from the crowd that night.
This was the second time I was interviewed by one of the Independent’s journalism fellows, both of them cordial, professional, and pleasant. Both instances were a reminder of how refreshing and valuable is the Independent as a grassroots hometown newspaper that one can proudly say is “our newspaper.”
As for Thomas’s query about a double home run, I say a ball passing around the planet and twice over the outfield fence deserves at least a player running the bases for a second round of applause.
Gene Toland
Eastham
