I could have found Ron's email address based on information given me and sent this to him privately but there are some things that need to be said in the open about this issue.
Ron of CHATTER, you replied:
"You’re selling too many journalists short when you say you “get the feeling” they “never regret” what they’ve written. Journalists don’t stop being humans when they take jobs in the mainstream (or alternative) media."
What I actually wrote:
"I do apologize for being overly blunt at times at my blog, but even during those times when I think I might have been hard on, in this case Tony Messenger, I remember WHY I was overly hard on him. I simply don’t take blanket statements and generalizations about wide groups of people well and I see it all the time in his and the other editorialist’s columns in the News-Leader.
Why do I get the feeling that they (see immediately preceding paragraph) never regret making these blunt statements about others, never caring who they’ve hurt in the process while I am laying in bed unable to sleep at night because I’m afraid I was too hard on Tony or someone else?"
I think it was obvious who I was talking about. I was very specific. I'll be more specific. If there's ever been an apology made by any News-Leader editorialist for implying that any person who might oppose the comprehensive immigration bill that is before the Senate, or any person who supported the Missouri English language law has no reason but ignorance and xenophobia for their opposition and support of same, respectively, then I have missed that apology.
Those were harsh words and they were delivered at ALL Missourians who support the Missouri English language law, see this if you need your memory refreshed.
According to this May 2, 2007 Rasmussen Report, 60% of Americans favor all government documents being printed in English and only 29% of Americans disagree with that. The same report says that only 36% of Americans prefer a Presidential candidate for 2008 who wants to expand legal opportunities to illegal aliens for the purpose of finding jobs. As far as those who oppose this comprehensive immigration reform Rasmussen found that those who favored an enforcement first policy also favored a generous policy for LEGAL immigration...sorta shooting in the foot those who claim that people who oppose the current comprehensive immigration reform bill are bigoted xenophobes.
The Rasmussen Report Poll is in sharp contrast to this New York Times poll, Immigration Bill Provisions Gain Wide Support in Poll - New York Times.
The immigration issue has been treated unfairly in the media. People who oppose this comprehensive immigration reform bill have been treated unfairly in the media. Certainly, there may be a few people who oppose the bill for less than optimal reasons but to present the entire group of supporters of the English language law in Missouri as bigoted xenophobes is over the top, in my opinion. Show me an indication that one of the News-Leader editorialists has had a few sleepless nights over making this unfounded and outrageous charge and I'll apologize, in fact, I'll apologize anyway, but I will apologize for taking part in a dialog that has such vitriol at its center. I'll apologize for being sucked in to such a terrible argument, for not ignoring such an ignorant charge and stooping to involve myself. I've always had a problem with keeping my mouth shut when I feel someone is being unjust.
And I'm not the only one who does this. Look at the recent exchange between Larry Litle of Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind and Doc Larry of Lost Chord, some people on the left, including Doc Larry, took offense because they perceived that Larry Litle was accusing everyone on the left of celebrating Jerry Falwell's death. They wanted to defend themselves against the charge.
People, not just me don't like condemning generalizations and will defend themselves against them. I'm no different than anyone else and I don't think Larry Litle wrote anything particularly untoward, certainly not anywhere near as untoward as I have seen coming from Doc Larry in the past, but that's different? No, we know it isn't different, the only difference was that Larry Litle made an effort to clarify himself, the News-Leader's "Our Voice" editorialist hasn't, unless I missed it and you'd like to point it out to me?
I've not issued a sweeping generalization about journalists not being human and I think you know that. Let's make the argument about the argument just this once. Please.
An "Our Voice" editorialist once wrote about HB808, "We don't care..." whether you call it a voucher bill or a tax credit bill...well, I don't care whether you call the "Our Voice" piece that smeared every Missourian who supported the English language law as a bigoted xenophobe an "article," a "column" or an "editorial." It still smells.
2 comments:
Jacke,
Thanks for the kind words. It is interesting how both of us do apologize and clarify what we say.
It was my pleasure.
It's also nice to know that I might not have alienated EVERYONE in Springfield. :)
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