There was a time, 30 or so years ago, if one were to have compiled quotes for a book entitled the “Wit & Wisdom of the Manteca City Council” it would have been in the running for one of the thinnest books of all time.

The slam was well deserved.

Barnum & Bailey were rank amateurs when it came to staging three ring circuses.

Nobody did it better for years than the Manteca City Council at twice a month gatherings that made the hey days of the Roman Coliseum look tame in comparison.

The ill will that derailed city progress for the better part of two decades after the decisive recall  election of 1980 is now barely reflected in Manteca’s review mirror.

It is why a quote offered up by Councilwoman Regina Lackey are 14 words that elected leaders should all strive to live by.

The words?

“A lot of people like drama. We’re not here to give it to you.”

The “you” are the citizens of Manteca.

The “we’re” are the Manteca City Council.

Lackey made her remarks following Tuesday night’s City Council meeting when she delivered what might be considered a non-soliloquy soliloquy.

Soliloquies, of course, are theatrical devices used to let the audiences know what an actor is thinking but not saying.

Lackey clearly is no actor.

And certainly there are plenty of elected leaders out their caught up in the reckless tsunami that political discourse has become are thinking what Lackey said.

Her intended audience probably won’t listen.

Not because they are deaf.

But they are incapable of hearing.

So what was Lackey talking about?

The echo chamber in the dregs of the Internet that thrives anonymously behind keyboards of your choice of devices.

More specifically, it is those who chose to embellish their arguments with a dab or two of racist overtures with a healthy sprinkling of conjecture.

Let’s be fair here.

At the foundation of it all, they have legitimate issues.

They don’t like what the City of Manteca is doing.

It might be they disagree with the need to raise water rates to keep H2O following through the tap and preventing aging pipes from converting into artesian wells bubbling up through the asphalt on streets.

They might not like growth where people buy new houses that come with tax bills five times what they are paying for the same services that they are in reality getting subsidized via others paying $8,500 in basic annual property taxes on an $850,000 home. Add community facilities districts and we’ll taking north of $11,000 a year.

They might not like brick and mortar retail growth not being as robust as possible while they on a daily basis open Amazon packages dropped off at their front door.

You get what you pay for is OK.

The problem is most people have a nasty tendency to want more than they pay for.

So it is easy to understand why people can be frustrated especially with inflation and other irritants in their life such as non-stop robocalls from desperate real estate concerns eager to buy your home and red light runners that make navigating city streets about as safe as running with the bulls in Pamplona.

Besides, no one in their right mind expects anyone to agree all of the time or even a majority  of the time with anyone else.

We are all humans with different life experiences, different values, different realities, and different perspectives  even if they are separated by degrees and not chasms.

And while it is difficult to make a case you disagree 100 percent with all actions another takes, there are those that believe that to be the case.

Make your point.

Be persistent.

But buying into the delusions fanned by racism, cliches, and artificial intelligence — or if you prefer a self-serving imagination — is not something that civilized people should do.

This does not mean kowtow to the majority, minority, or anyone.

Gary Singh is the dutifully elected mayor of Manteca and he is a legal American citizen, so get over it.

Associating him with every Singh that has committed whatever perceived acts is quite frankly religious bigotry given how the names Singh for men and Kaur for women are deeply rooted in the Sikh religion of Punjabis.

Not much different than brothers and sisters in other faiths except for the fact it isn’t officially part of their official name.

If you think Singh or Kaur is un-American, it’s time to do a reality check.

John Smith is supposedly a solid American name but it really is English.

You remember England? It was the country some of our forefathers went to war with to secure the right of  individuals not to obey the crown or follow only the official state religion.

To be technical, Chenoa is more of an American name than John Smith.

Chenoa is derived from an indigenous American tribe’s word for white dove.  The Navajo name represents peace and purity.

That said, there is probably no one among the anonymous social media warriors whose real name is Chenoa.

Disagree with people, but don’t disparage them.

Whether the root cause is bigotry or prejudice — yes there are definite differences that can be subtle or as obvious as a stainless steel Cybertruck parked amid a dozen red Yugos — both poison legitimate arguments.

If there is another reason for soiling the English we use by degrading arguments and points with vicious innuendo or good old-fashioned bigotry, then enlighten the world.

No one says you’ve got to agree with Singh or any one on the council.

You don’t have to love them either but the  level of loathing and borderline pure hatred directed at them occasionally by those  that exercise their fingers instead of their minds and hearts is disappointing to say the least.

That brings up one more point made by Lackey when she said “I’m tired of it.”

What did she mean exactly? The pettiness? The outright character assassination? Or is it the hollow repetitiveness of twisting the rudimentary addition of one plus one constantly to get the same answer, which, as far as they are concerned with the mayor, is 666?

There is another school of thought.

The Internet and social media instead of being a way of bringing the world together actually has torn us father apart.

Way too many use social media as if they were hamsters on a hamster wheel closed off in a cage.

Instead of scurrying around the world to learn new things and understand different perspectives, they are on a constant doom loop that reinforces their prejudices.

The funny thing is if they did what Lackey suggested — engage council members they disagree using their own name instead of attacking them anonymously on Internet postings laced with innuendo and wild-eyed assumptions — they might surprise themselves and find that rare earth known as common ground.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com