Last week’s “Speakout” section of the Bristol Phoenix contained a personal attack against me by an anonymous caller regarding two separate letters I wrote to the newspaper — one regarding the proposed bike path from the downtown area to the Mount Hope Bridge, and the other stating my opinions on racial injustice. While I feel the two issues are totally unrelated, for the benefit of the anonymous caller, I’ll attempt to clarify my opinions on the two unrelated matters.

On the bike path issue, I stand by my previous comments, as it’s a proven medical fact that exercise and proper nutrition are key factors in preventing very serious and potentially fatal medical conditions, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, to name just a few.

And as far as racial injustice, I also stand by my previous comments that we as a town, state, and country have a long way to go in the battle to end systemic racism.

Finally, if the anonymous coward who chose to personally attack me in the Speakout section wishes to be taken seriously in the future, that individual may want to consider having the courage to put their opinions in writing and state their name and address, rather than taking the cowardly road and hiding behind the cloak of anonymity.

While I personally enjoy the Speakout section of the Phoenix and find it rather entertaining, I take every comment in that section with a grain of salt, as the vast majority of callers simply utilize the Speakout section to make baseless and outrageous statements that they would be ashamed to state publicly with their name and address attached. And while I will continue to read and enjoy the Speakout section of the Phoenix, I’ll also continue to publicly identify myself when stating my opinions in the Phoenix, rather than stating them anonymously.

Mike Proto
Bristol