Editor:
The viewpoint column, stand up and ban the bullies (Coast Reporter, Jan. 31) is a very sad story.
I too have experienced the pain of bullying, Ms. Roy, and still carry the emotional scars. Your suffering is obvious and I support you in your expression of that suffering.
However, this discussion is not about you. It concerns the actions of those Gibsons merchants who have decided to use their place of business as a forum for propaganda.
I have decided to withhold my patronage in protest of this practice. The businesses in question continue to display these signs despite my letter. That is their prerogative. It is my prerogative to shop elsewhere.
Please do not equate my simple right to choose with brutal child and spousal abuse. That is an insult to those who, like yourself, have suffered such torment.
Please try to keep this dialogue civilized. We will never learn to resolve our disputes if we cannot remain civil. Your column this week attacks me personally, in public and without justification. You did not contact me for my perspective. You chose to take an aggressive stance without reasonable input. That is, in fact, bullying in a most sinister form.
Jane Degnan
Gibsons
