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Why I miss my hate mail“It’s an odd thing to admit, but in a perverse sort of way, I actually miss the wretched river, the rancid flow of puerile, nasty, sickeningly homophobic email I used to receive on a regular basis from the ultra-right and the Christian right and the Mormon right and the Bush-impaired whenever I would post a friendly, pointed column full of tangy liberal attitude. . . . . Oh, I miss all the lovely and positive email too, which outpaced the nasty stuff by a huge margin. But the hate mail was very special indeed, great fodder for live readings, for the reaction of horrified disbelief of anyone who saw it, for the charming reminder of just how ugly and violent and grammatically challenged the human animal can be.”
RED-LETTER DAYS
Today in History: 1979: China invades Vietnam AND “Prairie Home Companion” premieres; 1972: Nixon departs on historic China visit; 1968: Record-high U.S. casualty count in Vietnam war; 1947: Voice of America begins broadcasts to Russia; 1933: Newsweek born; 1911: First automobile self-starter; 1904: Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” premieres in Milan; 1865: Gen. Sherman sacks Columbia, S.C.; 1801: U.S. House selects Jefferson president over Aaron Burr (See History.com.)
The continuum on which human thought and behaviour is expressed is fascinating and horrifying and depressing to observe...
ReplyDeleteWhile its fascinating to see what we do with our reasoning skills and conscious awareness (or lack thereof), its horrifying to watch the destruction we mete out on ourselves, our fellow human beings and the rest of creation...
And I'm frequently, depressingly reminded by my own less than admirable behavioural track record that most of the time we are each functioning as poorly as the neighbours to whom we compare ourselves favourably...
In fact, I think those who put their ugliness and violence out there for all to see are probably more 'moral' than those of us who wear the facade of sophistication, gentility and altruism but inwardly carry the torches or arrogance, bigotry, pride and entitlement...
I think Sahila may overstate the case for the devolution of human beings, but she (and Morford) have a case in terms of the quality of human communication. Anyone who has been on email through its expansion--over the past decade, say--knows that one of the costs of e-communication has been reflection, informed and measured response, simple courtesy.
ReplyDeleteAs a (very!) veteran university professor, I can attest that many perfectly pleasant people in person become abusive (and illiterate) on email. Students email things to their professors that they would never utter face-to-face. Do they think they are anonymous? If so, they are craven. Do they think different rules apply in cyberspace? Maybe so, but not between students and professors, or workers and bosses....
Count to 10. Then hit delete.
Professor Pease: This is not related to the question at hand but is something I want to pass on to all of you in the journalism department. For a couple of years you have sent budding journalists to Nibley City to cover our meetings. They have always tried to do a professional job and, as city manager, I have been interviewed many times for back ground material, etc. I compliment you for the quality of the studnets and the fine job they have each done. Being a small city we don't get regular coverage by the local daily and I have thought many times of how we could get the coverage and stories of these student journalist to our public. The city sends out a monthly newsletter but anything we put in it may be seen as tainted (although we never spin it in how favor!!??) Thanks for a great service but think of a way to brouden yur coverage so that more citizens can see a third party's report of Nibley's and other's meetings.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work and best wishes to your students
Larry Anhder
Nibley City Manager
PS Candice Mattson deserves an A!