Did Nichols’ opponents make too much noise?

The city of Newport Beach was considering making changes to Corona

del Mar State Beach and a reporter asked Councilman Dick Nichols if

he favored a plan that designated more grass area. His honest and

straightforward answer of “no” because “Mexicans” would claim and

occupy it for the day provided the Daily Pilot with fodder sufficient

enough to create the resultant, highly charged controversy.

It is worth noting that the critics of Nichols did not contradict

or challenge the accuracy of his analysis. Missing from the debate is

whether large numbers of Mexicans do use that beach’s existing grass

area, and if so was Nichols’ lamenting that fact because he harbors

hatred for Mexicans or was Nichols merely questioning the wisdom of a

large financial expenditure that might be used for a purpose other

than what the city intended (which, by the way, is what we elected

him to consider)?

Here are a few questions worth pondering. Is it bias in reverse to

assume his comments originated from a racist attitude? Are his

opponents, who for the most part are not new critics of his, making

this more or an issue that it deserves just to destroy him? If so,

why do they dislike him? Do they really consider him to be dangerous

or just annoyingly blunt? Is the real irritation that he doesn’t

filter statements through their version of politically correct speech

and thus he has become a threat?

Social analysts have warned that a segment of our population has

digressed into attacking the messenger instead of the message,

intentionally ignoring the real issue behind controversies that

deserve attention. In this case, the real discussion regarding beach

improvements has been ignored, but that is not the red-hot subject at

the heart of this firestorm. It is the impact legal and illegal

immigration has had and continues to have on our community, most of

which comes from Mexico. Many of the speakers addressing the last

Newport Beach City Council meeting testified they had seen and

experienced numerous problems associated with this unprecedented

immigration explosion -- an explosion brought about by a government

that ignores the very laws that were specifically designed to keep a

healthy balance on immigration for the well-being of its existing

population. That is the subject that deserves attention, but

mentioning it -- even referring to it -- causes accusations of racism

to be hurled at a person. Thus, open and honest debate is stifled

because who among us wants to be branded with the scarlet letter “B”

for bigot? It is one thing to have people disagree with your

opinions, that is fair and expected, but quite another to be

personally tarred and feathered for expressing them, especially

knowing very few will come to your rescue for fear that they, too,

will experience the same fate by association alone (ask Assemblyman

Ken Maddox if you don’t believe that).

Has it become acceptable to condemn, censure, fire or recall

anyone who dares commit the sin of voicing what the “elite” among us

have deemed to be offensive speech? If this practice continues, it

will soon destroy most people’s desire to debate or even discuss

controversial subjects. If the “elite attackers” (whether they are

political activists, elected officials, the media or even neighbors)

continue to stifle free speech and healthy debate through the

practice of intimidation, we leave an unobstructed path for them to

advance their own agenda of public policy and their version of

political correctness for us all. That is what seriously threatens

America. It is not one man making a statement he believes to be

factually correct. No, the real danger is that he is condemned for

making it ... even when most of us know it to be true.

* WENDY LEECE is a former Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Board of Trustee member.