Kudos for Spivey

When my community was confronted with the knowledge that Larry Spivey and associates were going to produce a movie, a documentary of sorts, of the San Ysidro incident of 1984 I was one of many who became most vociferous against such a picture.

I was the first to write and release a letter “to the editor.” I did so because I felt once again the despair that had consumed this community and the world over this tragic moment. Along with other groups throughout San Diego, I adopted the slogan “Stop the movie.”

Well! The movie has been stopped, for however long. I have always believed that when I take a strong opposing stand on an issue, and in particular this one, after the smoke clears I should have the fortitude to be just as vocal for the good that resulted for all concerned.

Mr. Spivey, in my opinion, responded as a true artist, and is a great credit to his profession. It was he who made the rules that became the deciding factor whether or not the movie would be produced. At the meeting at Mt. Carmel Church on March 8, and at the outset of his opening statement, he said, “If one and only one of the survivors were opposed to the production, I will not make the movie.”

So, it will go down in history as such. I’ve been around for a few years. I have met many self-interested people who are avaricious and arrogant, and nothing will stop them in their pursuit for profit. Mr. Spivey is not in that category. He is a gentleman in the highest degree, a man whose feelings obviously run deep. A man who had the courage, in the face of great financial loss and even some pride, to walk away from this tough decision with complete humility. But of all the walks he may take in his lifetime, never, I am sure, will he ever walk away so tall with the gratitude of a grateful community. Thank you, sir.

DOUGLAS A. PERRY

San Ysidro