Hate mail - and response

I've been receiving a fair number of fairly unpleasant responses to this petition. So far I've been called a 'disgrace to the Peninsula', told I 'am killing the dreams of thousands of children' and must be 'the most unhappy person on earth' with 'the most pathetic life ever', told to 'stay home' (which I will certainly do once I am allowed to return home!) and 'move out of California in August if I don't like classic cars' as well as much more too nasty to print. Car Week is a passion so great for some that any remote critique is apparently too much for some, but I can still continue to try to suggest reason! Here's my reply to one of the nastier letters: "Thanks for your note. I understand that Car Week is important to you. Perhaps you have misunderstood my intent. The purpose of the petition - and my efforts in general - is to get organizers & officials to PLAN so traffic from Car Week doesn't impede firefighting efforts or other emergency services. In the past, even without a general emergency like this one, traffic from Car Week has blocked emergency vehicles on Hwy 1 & Carmel Valley Road and there has been a very troubling lack of response when concerns are raised. This is not too surprising since none of the car week events with the exception of those at Pebble Beach have been through a planning process. A successful plan would of course benefit both visitors & residents alike. In addition, accommodations throughout the region are normally completely full during Car Week - including ones that currently house firefighters & people displaced by the fire. Law enforcement officers usually available to help with Car Week are working overtime & coming in from elsewhere now to address fire needs, and much more. All this, too, needs attention in my view. I hope the petition will work to bring attention to these concerns. I feel certain that it will not harm Car Week, which is obviously too big to fail. My intent here is to suggest what some of the less obvious interests & impacts may be, and to provoke engagement in solutions. I hope you enjoy Car Week and are not in any way inconvenienced by the 60,000 acre uncontrolled wildfire next door. And by the way, the air quality in Carmel Valley where several events are normally held is officially "unhealthy' due to smoke & ash, so you may wish to take appropriate precautions. BRgds mvd