I am writing this as a response to a Letter to the Editor written by Michael Bednarek in the Aug. 5 edition of the Cape Gazette. Mr. Bednarek openly states " Rehoboth day trippers are the real menace."
I looked up the meaning of "menace" in the Webster New Collegiate dictionary.
Menace may be used as a noun or as a verb: 1: A show of intention to do harm: Threat. 2: One who represents a threat: Danger. 3: A person who causes an annoyance. 4: To make a show of intention to do harm. 5: To represent or pose a threat to: Endanger.
In a direct quote from his letter to the editor: "We have experienced nosey neighbors on occasion. To me, that annoyance pales in comparison to what has happened to our beloved beach. Evidently, Rehoboth Beach has become the preferred beach destination for thousands of people residing in the thousands of new homes built in non-oceanside communities of Sussex County.
Rather than taking advantage of the spacious Delaware State Parks, these day trippers flood into Rehoboth, parking on residential streets and trudging to the beach with their loaded carts to set up encampments on the beach. Town policies that make the town's beach preferable to Delaware State Parks for those not residing in the town limits undoubtedly have done far more to destroy the quality of life in our beach town than occasionally nosey neighbors."
To grant him the benefit of the doubt, maybe Mr. Bednarek meant that the day trippers were only a personal annoyance to him, and threatened his myopic exclusionary view of what life should be in Rehoboth Beach. Not everyone can afford to live in your town Mr. Bednarek, so they visit for the day.
In the last paragraph of his exclusionary and discriminatory diatribe he refers to the election in Rehoboth Beach: "If there is one candidate that represents my vision, than I will cast a bullet vote." We can only be thankful that people like Mr. Bednarek only exist in a tiny vacuum of a minority in our society, and that none of the candidates are as short-sighted as he is and do not share his discriminatory views. Try to keep in mind our basic concept is "We the people," not me the people, Mr. Bednarek.
Frank Ali
Long Neck
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