Letter in response to the letter “Never again” published March 25
As an avid hiker, the anonymous letter from the woman who was verbally and physically assaulted while hiking a narrow trail disturbed me on multiple levels. The obvious: Being assaulted while doing something that brings peace to your soul is jarring. It creates a seed of fear that grows every time that place is visited. I have been personally hit and knocked to the ground from behind by a speeding downhill mountain biker, scraped, bloodied and bruised, while he, without a word, turned and ran and was gone by the time I made it to my feet. I was alone on the trail. There was no way to file a police report because all I saw was the back of a person for a split second, no face, so no one to pin it on. Every time since, there is an element of anxiety on that stretch of trail.
The second and more pervasive disturbance: the conclusion of this hiker, to never say anything again in the face of evil doing will let evil win and take over society. Too many are silenced by aggressive bullies, and this silence is freezing over the minds of mankind, to live our lives quietly in the face of immorality. Do not be afraid to speak up in the face of wrong, press charges in the case of assault. Do not be intimidated by the bullies of this world.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [people] to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke. Dearest hiker, please be strong, take courage and continue to fight the good fight.
Barbara Collins