Last night, in response to these accusations, I posted the following status to Facebook. I am sharing it here now for those of you who are not my friend on Facebook:
I am not a homophobe. I have no problem with people who identify as homosexual. None whatsoever. It breaks my heart to even have to defend myself on this issue, but I feel like something has to be said because the personal attacks on my character are getting ridiculous. In a recent blog post, titled "Why So Not Serious?", I did not attack the candidates. I criticized a campaign tactic. And because of it, I've been called small-minded, a suppressor of self-expression, a homophobe, a gay basher and a number of other things I don't care to include here. Most of the people making these accusations don't even know me. They're basing they're opinion of me off a single blog post.I feel I need to remind everyone that this is a blog. And on this blog, I provide coverage of the election and express my opinions on the candidates and their campaigns and platforms. My opinion is not gospel, and I've never pretended that it is. You are free to disagree with me, but I please ask that you do so in a respectful manner. I respect your opinion and I believe everyone is entitled to theirs. All I'm asking for is the same treatment.
If you are among the people who believe these accusations to be true, I invite you to message or call or e-mail or even Tweet at me. We'll go get lunch. Maybe a cup of coffee. And we'll chat. We'll have a civilized discussion. You think I'm a bigot? Find out for yourself. Get to know me. But I'm done sitting here and listening to people attack my character because they simply disagreed with my opinion.
I will not be commenting on the recent release of KaLeigh and Alicia's new campaign video, because doing so would, unfortunately, continue a conversation I'm frankly no longer comfortable having. I would've loved to have had a civil, intelligent debate about the professionalism of campaign videos, but very few people seem interested in doing that. Instead, people have resorted to condemning me, attacking my character and throwing out deplorable accusations that are simply not true. You are free to express your views and opinions about KaLeigh and Alicia's campaign video in the comments below, but I will be excusing myself from the conversation.
I agreed to do this blog because I think NISG is important and I feel like this blog is a great forum for students to be informed about student government and engage in thoughtful discussion about the issues that matter to them most.
I stand by what I said in my previous post and you are free to disagree with me, but I'm not going to add more fuel to the fire when clearly people are not willing to listen to reason. It's just not worth it. Nothing in my post was meant to be ignorant or hateful and I truly am sorry that some people got that impression. But I also find it disappointing that, in an election where "Every Student Voice Matters" has become a rallying cry, that one student voicing his opinion has resulted in what ultimately feels like a witch hunt.
You have a voice. I implore you to use it. Not to bash or insult the character of other people, but to voice your beliefs and opinions. You can start by voting in the election on Tuesday. I can talk all I want on this blog about what I think, but what really matters is what you think and who you want as your student leaders.
I will continue to provide coverage of the election over the next few days to the best of my abilities. A recap of last night's debate will be posted later this afternoon. I hope we can all set aside our differences and remember that this election is not about the opinion of a single student. It is about finding the two candidates most qualified to lead and represent the students of this campus. Thank you for reading.
I sit with David on the NISG Senate, and everything he brings to the floor is insightful, intelligent, and student-oriented. His motivation is the students, and I love that. I personally don't know Katie, but a friend of mine has told me that she is the hardest worker he's ever met. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders, especially given her own challenges in her family currently.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I agree with you. Think of this- I am studying to be a music teacher, and there is a good chance that I will be in a classroom situation with elementary students. My demeanor with my third graders will be different than my demeanor with my Principal, and the same with my friends on the weekend. If I talk about my Sunday hangover with my students, I would be fired. If I tried using the Rote process to teach my Principal how to sing Alabama Gal, he would probably give me a stern look and brush me away (because no one has time for music). If I talked educational psychology with my weekend friends, they'd find me boring.
My point is, there is a time and a place for everything, including levels of professionalism. Would you dress in drag for a job interview? Unless you are Barney Stinson, would you dress up in a suit at a bar on the weekend?
Speaking of job interviews and professionalism, if a potential employer offers me a chair, I wouldn't stand up after every question s/he asks me. Those at the debate last night understand what I'm talking about.
It is truly unfortunate that you felt so threatened by what was happening. Sadly, you must now realize that in fact your words do have an impact.
ReplyDeleteWhen you decided to cover these elections, you decided as well to become a public figure. You knew your words would be carefully analyzed and scrutinized.
As an author, you write and then cast these words off into the world and leave them open to interpretation. A number of people found your piece to be offensive or at least off-base. And while you may consider this to be a "misinterpretation," it is in fact the text that speaks for itself. When you composed it, you made a series of decisions that left the text open to such interpretations; in the act of publishing, you invited such interpretation.
It is indeed disturbing that at the first sign of distress, you set down the pen. You created a frank discussion about the role of self-expression in student government. And while many different students had different interpretations of your text, it was worthwhile nonetheless.
Some of the greatest authors of our time have also caused the most controversy. You're letting down your readers and yourself by giving up.
You're a public figure and these students are constitutionally protected in attacking you. So why not craft another piece that continues to engage the students in a true dialogue? UNI doesn't see many of those because we're all too nice. Reality is messy, and instead of hiding that fact under the rug, why not embrace it? For once there is controversy on campus--and that's a good thing.
This has gotten out of hand. You hurt a group of people. Apologize and stop blaming them for the backlash of some poorly chosen words. It was a video, not a job interview, not even an actual student forum or anything.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't believe you didn't see that coming. Why blog unless you expected people to read and react?
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ReplyDeleteFixt for spelling, it's dark here.
DeleteIt may feel like a witch hunt, but you were the one that brought the torch to the party and you cannot expect people to keep their mouth shut when you offend them based on something like someone being transgender.
Had you waited and checked out all the videos and condemned along with David's dancing, the silliness of eating Great Wall Sushi "for your vote" then maybe you would have looked reasonable.
The fact that now you are cowering and don't want to continue the conversation you started doesn't really do much for your credibility on this point.
A tweet, an email, a cup of coffee is not going to reveal your character. Writing things like "when clearly people are not willing to listen to reason" (about people who disagree with you) absolutely does.
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