THE vile, aggressive, rambling letter that greeted an elderly Horsham man on his return home from buying a newspaper last week is simply abhorrent.
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The language used throughout the letter is so offensive that much of it required censoring in order for it to be published on the front page of today’s Wimmera Mail-Times.
The content that remains will, and should, shock and anger our community.
The anonymous writer took aim at 78-year-old Bill O’Connor.
Bill is a man who lives in his own home, requires some assistance from a carer – and who was simply going about his daily routine of walking to the service station for his paper.
It’s not surprising that Bill and his carer Rod Kennett were upset by the content of the letter – and they’ve reported it to police.
The content of the letter is confronting but it is real and it’s happening in our backyard.
That’s not OK.
Rod said it well when he told the Mail-Times: “I clean public toilets for a living and I’ve seen a lot of things in that line of work; this letter is worse than any of that.”
Everyone gets frustrated at times, sure.
But writing a letter? That’s next level.
No-one deserves such an attack and as a community, we should stand firm against this treatment of others.
It begs the question – what prompts someone to stop and write such a letter, and think that behaviour is appropriate?
It’s likely only the person who wrote the letter will recognise it. You should be ashamed.
Incidentally, today is the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
Bullying is experienced by all ages and in many forms. Its impacts on people’s lives can be long lasting.
Speaking at a launch of a community action plan against elder abuse last month, advocate Colleen Pearce said the topic was a complex issue and was just one of the recognised forms of violence.
National Ageing Research Institute director Associate Professor Briony Dow told Fairfax Media that elder abuse was a serious problem in Victoria “yet, like many issues that affect older people, it is treated as a second class problem”.
Not just on the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence – but every day – let us all take a stand so folks like Bill can go about their business without fear.
Jessica Grimble, editor