EIA, MEG,MPOA, BHF,…You name it….or not! We live in a day of the acronym. Instead of simple names that describe quite well what an organization is all about we, instead, want to shorten it to the point where it has no more than three or four letters. Sometimes, unfortunately, that efficiency can be quite inefficient. Several groups with similar interests, then, can easily be mistaken one for the other, and it probably happens a lot more than we realize.
During the recent active discussions and activities surrounding the proposed site for sand mining and a jetty, individually concerned homeowners, and members of several other equally concerned groups somehow got mixed into the same alphabet soup.
Thus, it was a confused CM who went on the air and attributed a nasty email he said received, to the MPOA, Montserrat Property Owners Association. An easy mistake to make, for sure, since there are so many concerned homeowners in the area. Some of those homeowners belong to that particular group, and some to one of two others, as well as individuals belonging to none of them.
Therefore, with so very many people concerned about the site of the mining, including several different groups, it’s no wonder the CM’s head was spinning, and he publicly cited the writer of the email, which irked his ire, as belonging to the largest of the groups. However, the writer in question was absolutely not writing as a member of the Montserrat Property Owner’s Association, and hadn’t been a member in over two years! When the purported email was read to the public, it was obvious that it was from one person as opposed to representing the views of the MPOA.
Rather than focusing on an isolated incident from one disgruntled individual, it might be better to see the bigger picture in this instance. This is it. There are clearly a large number of homeowners (confusingly large, apparantly) who are beyond upset that their neighborhood will be turned into an industrial zone that will, ultimately, result in their having to vacate their homes. They find it particularly hard to accept because it’s totally unnecessary with two other possible sites, NEITHER of which involve an inhabited area.
Whether any of the people impacted by this almost unbelievable situation belong to any group or not, the underlying fact remains that they all feel equally upset and betrayed by the government. Group affiliation aside, they are all facing the same consequences, if government approves the Isles Bay site. They are united by a very strong emotional bond that transcends group affiliations. The feelings and desired end results are the same. Individual philosophies may differ, but the desired end results are the same.
The CM may, in his confusion, call a rose a petunia, but both are lovely plants and seeds from either will have the same end results…a beautiful flower. Different organizations composed of people with similar needs compose a mass that can work together, though separately, toward bringing about the same desired end results. When that desired end result is threatened by pitting one group against the other, people will work together.
Concerned Homeowner
