Listen closely, I’m whispering

John Merli
Published: July 31, 2008

They say if you want to get someone’s attention, it’s better to whisper than to shout. While that may be true, I’ve found that if you whisper too low, the other guy can’t hear you and you wind up repeating
yourself, which can spoil the mood, especially if you’re angry and want to stay that way.

But I’m lucky. When I really want to glean the attention of the populace, I merely have to write a column about: 1) illegal immigration; 2) Corey Stewart; 3) or a combination of both. And, surprisingly,
despite some rather biting commentary in this space last week about this hydra-headed issue that has divided Prince William, I was chagrined to find that of several follow-up e-mails to yours truly, only a
mere handful could be categorized as truly ugly and hateful. I must say this is a vast change from only a few months ago, when a similar column brought out the rage and wrath in far more in the region.
Maybe some of you have changed your views? Or moved.

Some correctly pointed out to me that although I suggested the next election might be used to correct a few misgivings some of us may have over the current county board of supervisors and its illustrious
young chairman, alas, it will be a while before any such election will be forthcoming. Others took the time to point out that you, too, have lived in the region for many years and have never seen the county
as divided, and divisive, as it is today. Many of us agreed (like an adjacent editorial on this page last week) that while we still have a lot going for us here, the county’s clumsy approach to immigration
would do far more harm than good, at least in the long run.

Of course, last week’s column did prompt a few of those insightful and well-measured responses, which usually began with some salutation worthy of Shakespeare, such as (and I’m paraphrasing): “Dear
Mr. Imbecilic Moron: Who made you judge and jury?! I have lived here forever, which is a heck of a lot longer than you! Corey Stewart is a savior to this county! And by the way — you’re a no-good liar, to
boot!!”

Another couple of notes that, quite frankly, at least to me seemed to lack genuine warmth, started out with something like: “Dear Mr. Imbecilic Moron: I am not a racist! And I am certainly not a bigot! Just
who do you think you are?! Maybe you are a racist and maybe you are a bigot! Well?” (Perhaps you can tell that not everyone who e-mails me has served on a debating team or taken any logic courses
in school.)

While it may be true some of these folks would be lost without their exclamation points, the fact that this is a family newspaper prevents me from sharing with you exactly how some of these particular
missives ended. But let’s put it this way — if I were physically able to take at least one letter writer’s closing advice, I would now be heading to Beijing as a proud member of the U.S. Olympics
gymnastics team, vying for gold in the double-jointed acrobatic competition.

So for those of you who added your two cents’ worth to last week’s ongoing debate, (whether it be online, in print, or via e-mail), pro and con, thanks for paying attention — which cannot be said of a
growing number of people these days on many issues. Perhaps this year’s presidential campaign is changing that, perhaps not.

In the meantime, a bit of whispering may be a nice alternative, now and then, to the constant shouting matches all around us. And I say that, of course, as your much beloved and bona fide Dear Mr.
Imbecilic Moron.

John Merli has been a Prince William County resident since 1984 and a Potomac News columnist since 1985. He has worked in the media for more than 30 years. E-mail him at .