We are doing the Thursday night Indymedia round up. I am late and getting started (my apologies). I'm going through the e-mails quickly and seeing that there's a problem (again) over someone's commentary.
I saw it, we didn't highlight it.
We won't. That's just nonsense. There's being a brave voice and then there are the scattered, nonsense ramblings of someone who, for whatever reason, seems to be setting themselves up as the new Christopher Hitchens of the net. Hopefully the person is just having a bad week. If this is a permanent shift, however, we will delink.
Those who are getting angry, when they visit the site, should probably just avoid it. Rebecca read it to me over the phone today or I wouldn't have known of it. (It also continues to post increasingly later each time.) There's a lot of anger in the post today and possibly that's why there's no coherent argument?
I don't know. I know I'm tired of being teased, tired of being told that this or that will be addressed. I can understand time constraints and developments making someone forget they've long promised something. (Here, members will press on what matters to them -- if they didn't, I'd be far worse on that score than ____.)
He's very angry. That comes through very clearly. That's also why his arguments, such as they are, make little sense. I belive he's got a larger point in his head, but it's not coming out. What is coming out, reads too many, like a lack of awareness (at best) and a defense of racism (at worst).
My own personal feeling on that is that it's having a huge point in his head and the topic being a difficult one to address so between thought and execution, something (something huge) is getting lost.
He obviously intends to insult a great many people. I don't, however, believe that among those he's trying to insult are members of a certain race. (I could be wrong.) The steady touch is off and he's stumbling with his arguments. I think that's allowing him to be misread. (And that he bears the blame for that. He's too smart not to grasp how ill focused the posts he's doing are.)
The result is that he's coming off sounding like a Hitchens. (Again, should that be where he finally arrives, we will delink. I have no tolerance for racists.) Maybe he'll pull it together soon. If he does, we'll certainly invite him to the table. As it stands now, there's a place set but he's not showing up drunk and trashing the party.
I understand you're angry. Rebecca's angry as well and should have a post up about this. I haven't read it yet (and honestly don't have time -- I'm tired, it's late, we've got entries to do here) so go read her. She wasn't able to reach Cedric (and he's e-mailed a highlight for tonight's roundup and notes that he's not even going to read "the nonsense" that's going up at that site). Betty spent the day taking one of her kids to the doctor. I returned her call while I was reading through the e-mails. Her attitude is that no matter how he intends it, it's hurtful. She has no time for it. (A point echoed in the e-mails.)
I realize that people are upset. I'm bothered by it as well. Maybe he'll pull it together shortly? (And a post will finally address whatever issue he's trying to raise in a manner that people understand what he's trying to say -- which I honestly hope isn't what people feel he's saying currently.) Maybe he'll drop the topic soon? I have no idea. But we're not highlighting it because the entries are beneath him and they are hurtful to too many in the community.
I hope that clears up where we stand on this as a community and that, in e-mails, we can move on to other topics.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
