flak

just got off the phone with a reader who wanted to share his opinion about my column this week. i think his first word was "hello" and his last were "i just think it's a bit insensitive." in between were many others. it went something like this:

-he was from a different town and he wasn't at the event, but he said that he thought the altercation could have been avoided if i would have asked permission to take photos before the event. [1) true. but i still wouldn't have been able to take pictures, and the principle of my argument would still apply. 2) i shouldn't have to ask permission to take photos at every event, like he believed i should. as the rare deloose put it, "journalists take a pad of paper. and. a. camera." pictures accompany stories. do you want to read a newspaper that's entirely text, sir?]

-he didn't believe "it" was newsworthy. [when i asked for clarification on his "it," whether he was referring to the event in question or my column, he answered the latter. which makes me not take anything he said too seriously, because it's a column, not a news story. and it wasn't an obscure column, it was responding to a current issue of cooperation in the community of coverage.]

-he thought it was "insensitive." [and you're entitled to your opinion. but i have the newspaper to voice mine. freedom of the press. but really, i could have been a lot more insensitive. and, as i said in my last post, i tried to err on the side of nicety meets disappointment, rather than an attack on the individual. by turning it into a community journalism issue, i hoped to avoid such criticism.]

so if i only get this one phone call, i'll consider it a success. if i get several more, or a few this weekend when i go back to fairfield, i'll consider it a success. a) at least i'll know people are reading, and b) that it at least made them think about what i'm saying. goulet, gauthier, dyer: finagle some brass knuckles and make some phone calls. if this turns into an inter-state rumble (a la greasers and soc's) i'll need you to have my back.