Dial down the rhetoric

To the editor,

Recent comments on the Friends of Willard Beach Facebook page responding to the South Portland park ranger’s post about new signage regarding the ordinance governing dogs on the beach are troubling, and suggest a lack of good faith.

One calls the signs “pollution,” another suggests they will soon be stolen, and that “they should know the rules by now.” Others call people who don’t enjoy being on the beach with unleashed dogs “haters,” “passive aggressives,” and “people from away trying to remake Maine into MA/NJ/NY/Ct.” Several suggest disregarding the ordinance altogether.

If this is the attitude that advocates of unleashed dogs bring to the table, the Dogs and Public Spaces Advisory Committee established by the South Portland City Council is unlikely to make much progress.

I love Willard Beach, but I don’t love dogs. I’m not from away and I’m not a “hater.” Please, let’s dial down the rhetoric and approach each other in good faith in hopes of a compromise that will last.

Andrea Thompson McCall
South Portland