Letter from Richard Beatty published in 10/11/2007 issue of Bayside Gazette:

Critical website upsets Ocean Pines resident

Editor:

As former President Ronald Reagan once said during a memorable presidential debate: “There you go again”!

Well, my good neighbors and friends, “there he goes again” – Joe Reynolds (the self-anointed protectorate of free speech and the American way), using the OceanPinesForum (which he owns, and from which he derives profit) as his bully pulpit to once again stir the pot of community dissent and fan the never-ending flames of controversy and personal animosity. All this, he would have us believe, in the unselfish interests of the democratic process, the American flag, and apple pie.

Bull! I believe there is far more here than meets the eye!

His recent public insults hurled at the all-volunteer Board of Golf Governors, and uncalled-for personal attack on our General Manager Tom Olson (as posted on the Forum), are but one more example of how Joe, in my opinion, attempts to bait his prey and skillfully manipulate his position as Forum webmaster/owner for his own personal enjoyment and financial gain!

His all-to-frequent use of aggressive verbal battering, insults, and unkind remarks (which appear his trademarks) seem purposely calculated to taunt, demean, anger and publicly humiliate others.

So I am told, many in the Ocean Pines community have long witnessed this kind of caustic behavior from Joe, as he routinely employs his trademark aggressive and offensive tactics to badger, intimidate and anger others – thereby generating fodder for use in his newspaper articles and Forum postings.

Too often, this is at the personal expense of others. His mean-spirited tactics, in my opinion, remind one far more of a school-yard bully then a caring, responsible community leader.

Where does this guy get off insulting well-meaning citizens, who have freely volunteered their time, and cavalierly lecturing the senior management of our community as if a recognized expert in the field of community management? Further, where does this guy’s expertise come from?

He is not on any committees and yet he has the gall to stand aloof from it all and criticize the volunteer efforts of his fellow citizens, who are struggling to improve our lives in this community. Is this type of arrogant and destructive behavior really helping us? I don’t think so!

After what the community just went through with the past OPA board, and contentious issues surrounding the community center referendum and pool enclosure, do we really need this kind of help? Aren’t we all just a bit tired of this negative, destructive behavior and, with the new board, wanting to move on to a more positive, constructive environment designed to find real solutions to our problems and better serve the interests of our membership?

Disagreement and diverse viewpoints have long been the bedrock of the democratic process, and clearly play a critical role in fostering positive change and improvement. I therefore applaud those of you who, in a responsible way, have taken the time to get involved and make your opinions heard, whether through the OceanPinesForum or otherwise.

You are the catalyst for change and the champions of the democratic process. I salute you for caring and getting involved.

However, when outright insults and mean-spirited personal attacks (as employed by Mr. Reynolds in his recent Internet posting) become the lightening rod for stirring controversy and undermining the reputation and work of good people, this is no longer the kind of healthy democratic process to which I believe most of us subscribe.

Further, consider this:

In the newspaper business, controversy, when combined with sensationalism, sells newspapers. This generates higher advertising revenues and more profit for the publisher. Likewise controversy, combined with sensationalism, attracts increased traffic to Internet websites. The more persons who frequent a website, the more advertising dollars roll in and the higher the profits for the website owner.

In short – controversy pays!!

Could there possibly be a connection here? Beyond the thin veil of community service and altruism, is there something else at play beneath the surface? Could it be that someone, who has strong newspaper ties and owns a for-profit website, promote and exploit community controversy and dissention principally for their own self-interest and financial gain? Could that be possible? One would not like to think so.

You be the judge!

Perhaps, it is high time for the Ocean Pines Association to consider sponsoring a “true” community website forum (paid for by OPA, operated by community volunteers, but operating under guidelines that promote individual respect and human decency), where honest, caring people can take legitimate issue with OPA policies and practices in a constructive, meaningful way without the need for insults, personal attacks and outright viciousness.

Many websites already have policies that prohibit such behaviors, but still encourage freedom of speech and diversity of opinion, without the need for destructive behavior.

In my opinion, such an OPA-sponsored Internet forum should go well beyond simple criticism and civilized debate of the issues. It should also provide the community with the opportunity to explore and recommend creative, practical solutions to some of our more pressing problems.

There is considerable untapped knowledge and talent in this community that, given the opportunity, proper venue, and a little encouragement, might move us light-years ahead in satisfying our longer-term vision for the community’s future.

Also, I might add, the advertising revenues derived from such a community-sponsored venue could possibly go a long way toward healing some of our financial woes. Could it not?


Richard H. Beatty

Ocean Pines