I do not know Sarah Pope, and I try to always give the benefit of the doubt where I can, but I can think of no good motivation other than writer’s block and extremely bad decision making that could have led to the column “Free food was a day-long investment” (May 28).
When she asks herself “Should I feel bad if I am ungrateful?” I wonder if the questions should have started sooner. Maybe start with “Am I food insecure?”, “Is ‘free’ Cabot products a reason to take food from the needy?” or maybe simply “What is my motivation in this?”
Journalism often involves going to places where the journalist wouldn’t otherwise be, but to take part in a food distribution, feel discomfort at the “loud” people in nearby cars with their engines running, and wonder if you “still want to go to Costco” is feeling discomfort about the class divide in our society, and, apparently, ignoring it.
Andy Hooper
Middlebury