To the Editor:
Westporters — you are better than this!
As someone who loves to walk Compo South through Longshore and around the beach, I completely understand the appeal — especially these last couple of weekends.
What has been wildly disappointing is the level of entitlement and arrogance being displayed by so many people. Westporters, by and large, are a privileged group and should be better than this.
Fairfield county is the epicenter of the CT Covid-19 pandemic, with the most confirmed cases and the most deaths. During this time, the only ask of most of us is to wear a face covering while in public, and to stay 6ft from others.
I recognize the latter can be difficult to do given the number of people walking, running, biking, etc. However, the vast majority of people have been without face coverings, and it is these same people that don’t proactively move out of the way when passing others
This is so disrespectful to the people following the rules, and to all those frontline workers trying to care for all of us. It’s disrespectful to the families that have lost loved ones. And parents, It is also such a missed opportunity for teaching children the lesson of kindness and to think beyond their own needs.
A friend asked me if I thought writing this would improve the situation. My answer is -yes — some. Those individuals with a conscience will recognize that they are not being their best self, and they will change their behavior. Those self-entitled individuals won’t even get it.
I’ve lived in Westport for over 20 years. I know we can do better.
Patti Howe,
Westport
