Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 20, AUGUST 3, 2009, THE ISLANDER
Matthew J. Permar
Publisher
Hunh?
Like my mother, the late Elise Per
mar who not only originated Back
Talk but founded and published this
newspaper from its inception in 1972
right up until she lost her eight year
battle with breast cancer in November
of 2003, I too receive more comments
about this editorial column than any
thing else in The Islander.
Sometimes people agree.
Sometimes they don't.
And while opinion almost always
varies, my editorial stating the Glynn
County Commission needs to regulate
the use of golf carts on public roads has
found universal support from those
who call, e-mail, talk to or write me let
ters... almost.
Early last week I received a letter
of opposition from a reader that stat
ed the following, verbatim, including
under linings:
Mr. Permar,
I APPROVE of golf carts on the
highway.
Stop being a NAZI and trying to be a
HITLER COP.
Let the County Commission stay out
of this.
Regards - Freedom Seeker
P.S. Please lose 75 lbs - we are con
cerned your are going to have a heart
attack.
You are a nice man but bull headed
on some issues.
Good luck on losing weight and hav
ing less stress.
I should also note that there were
two 'smiley faces,' one at the beginning
and one at the end of the letter, so
maybe the person isn't as mean as the
letter would indicate.
My mother had a strict policy about
unsigned letters... they went straight
in the trash. But I decided to address
this one, because, well, I'm not Elise,
who had the gift for being able to let
things go.
First, let me address the 'Nazi' and
'Hitler cop' comments.
I am of German descent on my
father's side of the family.
Rest assured my great grand par
ents, who came to this country before
World War II, were not members of the
National Socialist German Workers'
Party, so I take a little offense at that
comment.
Greg Gutfeld, host of the late night
comedy-news show on the Fox channel,
Red Eye, used to sign-off his editorials
with the tongue-in-cheek outro, "And
if you sir, disagree with me, you are
worse than... Hitler."
Gutfeld started doing it because,
according to him, it seems to be com
mon on uber liberal websites like the
Daily Kos and the Huf&ngton Post to
compare conservatives to Hitler.
So Gutfeld mockingly turned the
tables and used their own words
against them.
I think it's interesting that my critic
would do exactly what Gutfeld, and
other conservatives, claim is a liberal
tactic and compare me to one of the
worst human beings in history - oh, but
with a smiley face.
Then, there's Godwin's Law, com
monly used on internet websites, that
states when, during a debate, one side
makes a Nazi reference against the
other side, they automatically lose the
argument.
Texas attorney Michael Godwin,
who is now general counsel for Wiki
pedia®, came up with 'law' in the
internet's infancy.
Now, everyone who knows me
knows I'm a conservative who opposes
unnecessary government regulation
and interference in our lives.
But, I also know that a certain
amount of regulation is absolutely nec
essary, because without it we would
live in anarchy.
As I said in the golf cart editorials,
I worked on golf coruses for about a
decade prior to coming to The Islander.
I drove not only golf carts but a number
of various utility vehicles used on golf
coruses.
Without fail everyone of them had
a warning sticker on the dashboard
stating the vehicle was NOT safe nor
intended for highway use.
They do not have the safety features
that are required on automobiles. That
speaks for itself.
And the golf carts on St. Simons
roads are quite often driven by children
who do not know the rules of the road,
much less what they are doing.
Trust me, when it comes to golf cart
versus auto, the car is going to win
every single time. It's just not a fair
fight and the people on the golf cart are
going to be seriously hurt, even when
slow speeds are involved.
This is not about "freedom" as Free
dom Seeker would have you believe.
Try riding a bicycle on 1-95, I guar
antee the GSP will be on you like stink
on something that smells bad, real
bad.
There are just some things that are
illegal because they aren't safe.
For example, the law that requires
drivers and passengers in cars to wear
seat belts.
Last Thanksgiving, as I drove across
the F.J. Torras Causeway on my way
to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's
Turn to Page 6 - Back Talk
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