Boundary Waters Get Rough.

• Author: Konen-Bulinski, Sharon
• Position: WE HEAR YOU

"The Battle for the Boundary Waters" (June/July issue) gave an insight I'm not sure the author recognized herself. The mayor's quoted remark about newcomers opposed to mining, "You've already got yours, and now you won't let them get theirs," was highly relevant. The attitude of the people in the anti-mining Tuesday Group seemed complacent and arrogant. Yes, they are right about the environmental issues, but they do not seem concerned that the individual household economies of their neighbors are becoming wholly unworkable. They expect to win "one funeral at a time," as local old-timers die off, and do not understand why their opponents are so bitter against them.

If you want to win people over to your position, you have to address the real concerns that have made them oppose it. It is not enough to go forth with self-righteous declarations that you...