To the Editor:
For the last several days, this site has been the scene of a somewhat bittersweet debate precipitated by my published Letter to the Editor on or about April 5 (“Fine People’ Among Us”) in which I condemned the person or persons who set deliberate, destructive and criminal arsons of three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish near Lafayette, La. As a result, I not only received responses from the usual Trump lovers who I suggested shared some culpability what with his hate-filled racist rhetoric both before and since assuming the role of POTUS, I also elicited some of the most ignorant comments from those Trump lovers, including one under the anonymous name of CyanHelmet who wrote, in its entirety: “Daniel Andrews is evil, a hater, a descendant of the Devil. Devil, get your facts straight. Your info has already been disproven. These fires were reported as lightning strikes, electrical, etc. Now, BEGONE SATAN!!!”
This troglodyte emerge from his “Cloak of Invisibility” cave to demean the parentage of my dear-departed and sainted mother and father. He also used the typical “shoot the messenger” response rather than responding to the message. Well. for the benefit of CyanHelmet and his ilk, if it looks like a duck, and it waddles like a duck, and it squawks like a duck, it is a duck. And in this case, the “duck” has a name. Local, state and federal authorities in St. Landry Parish have announced the arrest of 21-year old Holden Matthews as the perpetrator of these crimes since the young man left a trail of surveillance video, cell phone information and debit/credit card receipts that even a blind man could follow. Young Holden also happens to be the son of St. Landry Parish Deputy Sheriff Roy Matthews who, when faced with the news by Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, “…was shocked and hurt as any father would be…” and “…he broke down.” I like to think that I am not given to gloating, but only seeking to find and disclosing the facts and the truth. I empathize with Deputy Roy Matthews; and I sympathize with the parishioners of the three churches that were destroyed. But I have neither empathy nor sympathy with the morbid ignorance of such as CyanHelmet and his fellow cohorts of The Donald. It is obvious that they cannot handle the truth. And for them, I have only pity to offer. To paraphrase CyanHelmet: “Now, Begone Ignorance!!!” Go back into your cave and don’t venture into the sunlight again until and unless you have something productive to offer. I assure you, you won’t be missed!
Daniel Andrews
Village of Winifred