Letter: Boater ‘bum’ comment astonishing

To the Editor,

After reading the articles in the December 14 edition of the Beacon, which had to do with the Boca Grande Planning Panel’s discussions at their last meeting, I was incensed by a number of things. But I was astonished by the statement made by Lynne Seibert, who called itinerant boat people bums. From what I recall, she and her husband Tim first came here on a boat.

I am a third generation, born on the island resident. Over the course of years I have met numerous people who came here on boats and ships. Some of the most remarkable people that I have ever known were among them. I was the harbor master here for a number of years so I have first-hand knowledge of this subject.

Rules and regulations should be enforced, but to go beyond that, in my opinion, borders on harassment. And, in any case, how can you tell a bum from a non-bum? And what tribunal is going to do it?

Boca Grande has always had, what some people would call bums. I never remember any of them being harmful, except maybe to themselves. I always thought that they added color to our community.

Boca Grande has always been a colorful, and in ways, an eccentric place. A place where people could be themselves without too much restriction or interference.

I hope that the Planning Panel, in their zeal to make things better, doesn’t destroy the aspects of the island that have been here from the beginning.

It is very important that we preserve this intangible heritage, as well as our tangible heritage. We need people on the panel who are tolerant and respect Boca Grande’s history, not only the dates and places kind of history, but our history of welcoming new people into the community, even if they don’t meet the button-down mind mentality that seems to be gaining ground here. That attitude is not consistent with attitudes that have been built up over decades.

A community has a personality just like a person and I am here to tell you that some things that have been going on recently are enough to cause our island personality to become schizophrenic.

In fact I think that certain elements of it already are. As a case in point this one-way street thing.

What will it take to kill this proposal, which once again is inconsistent with our history as we have known it?

Maybe it is like Dracula. I guess we will have to drive a stake through its heart and bury it. If at sometime in the future it becomes obvious to everyone, that it is the only solution to an intolerable traffic problem, then we can dig it up and put it in place.

In the meantime I would urge the Planning Panel to not fix problems that don’t exist. In other words don’t fix anything that is not broken.

And while you’re at it, Honorable Panel, don’t do anything to limit our freedoms, or our independence, of which we are very proud.

Robert Johnson

Boca Grande