LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Where did it all go wrong?

Wimberley used to be synonymous with the picturesque view of what everyone desired in small town America - Neighbors who would drop everything to help one another, people genuinely cared for one another and the community loved getting together. Then the sewer debate heated up and now Wimberley is everything people despise – Extreme hateful disrespect is spewing out from everywhere, neighbors villainizing one another and calling horrible names like middle schoolers, threats being made against people. Where did it all go wrong?

Have we truly become a society where civility it no longer residing? Are we incapable of having our views and allowing others to respectfully have theirs? Is the need to be right and “win” this debate more important than having a community that cares about one another and the community as a whole? Will we allow in-fighting to completely destroy what Wimberley once was, or can we possibly get all the craziness in check and rebuild lines of respectful communication and heal the town bringing it back to the VILLAGE everyone can agree they loved? Where do we go from here? What can be done to repair this disconnect? Regardless of the decision of city officials on the direction to take with the wastewater treatment plant, this community needs to come to the reality that not everyone will be happy with it and we need to work on curbing the hate and hostility and the vile behavior on full display by many on both sides of the debate and move forward to make Wimberley the best we can. We need to agree to disagree and do it without disgusting “presents” being sent via the mail, profanity and threat filled emails, obscene shirts and Facebook pages filled with utter detest. This kind of behavior needs to stop and we need to learn to accept our differences and deal with our “losses” and move forward to be productive, not destructive. A community built on destructive behavior will fail. Is this what we want for Wimberley? The past is gone and unchangeable, the present is where we live, the future is impacted by our present, so what kind of future do we want to have? With the current situation in our community, the future doesn’t look too bright, but that can be changed. As we have all heard, be the change you want to see, so please - Be Kind. Be Reasonable. Be Respectful.

Angie Nettles-Pereira