In other words

Jason van Tol, Myocum

I’m partially sympathetic to Patricia Warren’s letter (Echo 6/1/21). People at the drum circle should follow regulations with regard to noise levels, social distancing, etc.  They can continue while abiding by these, which they generally have. Playing as a “backdrop” to the pub’s music is well within Byron Shire’s noise restrictions.

In several places Ms Warren speaks on others’ behalf as though in some official capacity, when she’s actually only speaking for herself. With regard to ‘those denied any sense of quiet enjoyment’ while holidaying in the Terrace, worth noting is that one of the residents living along the Terrace has joined the drumming several times.

The most revealing part of Ms Warren’s letter, however, is her cryptic remark about the drum circle ‘reek[ing] of no social compass’. Unless their social compass is exhausted by the music they play and how close together they stand, her comment might have more honestly been put as ‘I just don’t like those people’, and is blatant discrimination. I may not choose to hang around with everyone who turns up at the drum circle, but I don’t feel that gives me the right to use force to remove them. Tolerating others we believe have ‘no social compass’ is the price we pay for living in a relatively free society. 

These are my views only, not those of ‘the drum circle’.