Your opinion is valid, but so is everyone’s Q

I wrote a letter to our local newspaper in response to an article that I felt was one-sided. It was about the state of the streets and the need for people to clear up and not drop litter. The small town I live in is so dirty, it’s unpleasant to walk around. There’s also

a great deal of plastic thrown out, which is very bad for the environment.

Since I wrote it, I’ve had several rather unpleasant responses forwarded to me by the paper. I feel very upset by this because it seems that only the view in the article will be heard.

Marion, Gloucestershire

AI’m not sure that’s quite true, as the paper printed your letter so it did also give space to your view. We have to accept that, if we write something for public consumption, we

need to be open to others’ reactions. It’s never nice if they don’t like our opinion but, like you, they have a right to express it.

If these responses are upsetting you, then ask the paper to stop sending them on to you. It clearly doesn’t benefit you to know about them. It’s important, though, that you accept that no single opinion is exclusively right, as each one is an individual’s perception and not a fact.