I've had a chance to mull over the Dillingham blogger issue since I read about it in the Tundra Drums, and I'm a bit troubled by it. I think three things are true, here:
- She's absolutely right about how horrible rape, domestic violence and alcoholism is.
- She came out as very insulting.
- Point number 1 doesn't really matter.
But despite that, it doesn't really matter. I've said things that some groups would find incredibly offensive, without a hint of apology, because I believed them to be true. In some instances, people hadn't talked to me again after, but it is their prerogative to not talk to me as much as it is my prerogative to state an opinion. Eileen said some stupid, hateful things, but it's her god given right to do that. I don't think she should have lost her job over it. People have the right to hate her, but I don't think she should have lost her job.
What's interesting is that the blog hadn't been updated in 5 months before all this came out - that's how dangerous old posts are! To check how much hot water my own blog could get me in, I poked at some of my archives. Luckily, I've only been mean to Anchorage in this blog, and I've got no desire to work there, anyhow (Just kidding, Anchorage!).
1 comment:
Hmm. Censored? No, the government wasn't involved.
Poor taste? Bad judgment? A failure to appreciate how tiny and connected this state really is? Yep. Wishing in print for a fatality to write about? Dumb. And kind of jackassy. When it's your friends and family providing fodder for the news cycle, you have less patience for reporters (or EMTs or firefighters) wanting something exciting to do.
She wouldn't have been able to do her job (being a reporter) in the environment she created. Whether she quit or was asked to resign, it would have been tough for her to continue there. As a former rural resident, I remember getting pretty fed up when somebody new came into town and began the patronizing commentary.
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