Are you completely unaware?

As I read various letters to the editor I often agree or disagree with the authors, but every now and then I read one that has me so dumbfounded that I feel the necessity to respond. The culprit letter-writer this time is Jacqueline Develle, who wrote in the March 1 paper, “Why do we have to be BOMBarded day after day with frightening, deafening and house-rattling explosions?”

Whoa! Do you think it’s possible that she was unaware that she lives right next to one of the largest Marine Corps training camps in the US? If she’s a homeowner, could it be that she neglected to read the disclosure paper stating that there are loud noises from next door? It seems that Jacqueline is unaware that the Marines (look up the definition of “marine”) need to practice near and over the ocean and that there just isn’t any available in the desert “far from human beings who live very different lives to the military.”

Poor Jacqueline continues to be confounded over the so-called prevailing attitude of “like it or lump it” in regards to living right next to a huge Marine Corps training camp. I imagine that she’s receiving that particular reply from people rather than the knee-jerk but maybe insensitive reply of “Are you STUPID?”

I am convinced that if we can all take a good look at our potential neighborhoods prior to moving there, we can intelligently decide if it’s right for us. If we choose to ignore the facts surrounding us (such as an enormous Marine Corps training camp right next door) we should just keep our opinions to ourselves so we don’t seem really dumb.

Liz Chandler