Larry's comment - The following is correspondence between Long Lui and myself concerning a comment on a thread in ThurstonBlog. I'm going to encourage the commenter to clarify his/her own comment, as I do not wish to inflame this issue any more than it already is.
From: Liu, Long
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 8:30 AM
To: Larry Hill
Cc: McGee, Tammy; Wakefield, Jerry
Subject: Death threat against The Olympian employee Tammy McGee on your blog
Larry, We have discovered a “Death Threat” to our employee Tammy McGee on your blog by the user name “Anon the Great” yesterday morning (4/20). You mentioned in the past that every comment was screened before it appeared on your blog. This is a very serious issue. I have attached a screen capture for your review. We urgently request that you delete this comment immediately and take appropriate action. Thanks for your understanding and corporation.
Long Liu Assistant Managing Editor/Interactive
My response to Liu -
In the spirit of good community, I will delete said comment and advise the author. I think we need to clarify some issues.
I do not monitor every post that goes into my blog. It is a member’s blog and all members have access to comment. One other blogger and I have administrative access to moderate all comments.
Now, unless Olympian employees have time to moderate my blog, as opposed to their own comments section, I’m going to suggest that this was sent to you by another reader. Frankly, if someone has a problem with my blog, they should contact me and not The Olympian. None the less, I’m going to alter the comment.
I have to say that anyone labeling this as a death threat is pushing hyperbolic garbage, as I do believe the spirit of the post was meant in humor – somewhat novelistic in nature, as opposed to a true death threat. I’m going to publish this email on the blog, and allow the blogger to speak for himself/herself as to the context of their statement, as opposed to the typical misrepresentation from the Right Wing Sound Machine readers of The Olympian.
I have witnessed, of late, veiled threats of violence made against Evergreen students by the crowd that thinks that one student doing wrong makes the entire college wrong. I would only hope that The Olympian can react as quickly to such threats as they did voicing their concerns over this comment.
I’ll close this email by quoting to you, what was sent to me by Tammy, when I was questioning some of the content directed at me by your readers:
And I’m quite sure by now, most people know that just because something is posted to a comment thread/ or anywhere on the Internet, for that matter, doesn’t necessarily make it the truth.
Tammy McGee
The Olympian Newspaper
tmcgee@theolympian.com
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15 comments:
No comments posted to a blog or comments posted to newspaper articles by one individual should ever be taken as stand-alone expressions. The rest of that individual's comments over time MUST be read before making decisions as to the seriousness of a single comment!
For example, if someone is known for making facetious comments, being a "joker", or being sarcastic, then don't assume that any one comment not apparently in the same vein shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt. The same must be considered if someone known for posting reasoned and sane comments posts one off-the-wall comment not at all in concert with the rest of his/her commenting.
This looks to me that one of the people who consistently "attacks" members of this blog on the Olympian's comment sections has reported this particular comment to the Olympian. By taking that report this seriously, the Olympian has given undue credence to that side of the spectrum. Where is the "fair and balanced" attitude that the Olympian should be holding to? For example, I don't personally read SondraK's site, but it's my understanding that some of the comments there are relatively nasty and pointed towards the Olympian. Does the Olympian contact her about what is posted there? That would be the "fair and balanced" thing to do. (But then perhaps I am expecting too much from the Olympian?)
Good points 98507.
I recall a couple of years ago, SondraK.com had"
"Emma is a cunt" as her heading.
(sorry ladies, I'm quoting, I shall not use that word again)
If someone would have called The Olympian, they would have told them that their problem was with SondraK.com.
Now, if this concern was originated by Tammy McGee, she could have easily contacted me. My email address is registered with The Olympian.
There is no question that this is purposeful in terms of an attack on the author.
I could have refused, citing Freedom of Speech, but chose to show good community to see if The Olympian can do the same in kind.
It is rather ironic that Ms. McGee was the one to tell me that people don't believe what they read on the internet.
My bad. For the record my comment was meant to be a parody of the Death to America cry and never intended to be a threat, but I do understand how in the current environment my comment could be a source of concern. For that I apologize.
Now let us see if the good folks at the Olympian pay as much attention to the veiled and overt threats issued on their own web site by this community's right wing nut bags.
Thank you, Anon. Along with the first paragraph of your post (they'll have to log on to read the rest), I sent this email to The Olympian crew:
"This comment was left in response to my publishing the correspondence between Lee and I. As I had thought, it was satirical in nature.
I would say for the record that this will be the last time that The Olympian will put pressure on me or my blog to censor content. If you are going to be a mouthpiece for the Right Wing Wackos hyperbolic complaints, I can’t take your concerns any more seriously than I take theirs. If you think that you have a real case of a death threat or something illegal, contact the police or county sheriff. I have nothing to hide.
As far as Lee stating to me that he wishes we could have conversation to find a better middle ground for comment moderation, I would respond that you first must understand when you are being used as a stooge for a Extremist.
Only when you realize that ThurstonBloggers are not the enemy, will you find that there is the beginning of common ground.
The way I see it there is a world of difference between "death to _______" and " I will kill _______". Even saying "I would like to kill _______" isn't a threat. It's like if I were to say my scrotum should be placed just ever so as to eclipse the one who Shall Knot be named eyes and my manhood draped across her nose is not the same as to say I will give the one who Shall Knot be named a roman soldier helmet. Or if I were to say that the conservative nut jobs of the Olympian comments section should all experience forced penile asphyxiation to the point of unconsciousness really isn't a threat like as if I were to say I will make them all....well, you get the drift.
Don't sweet it Anon. It's a lot to do about nothing.
Just for the record, I will give her a roman soldier helmet.
Lost......one more of those and I'll delete the comment for my own health and sense of rational behavior.
Of course, I HAD to look up "roman soldier helmut" in the urban dictionary.....
LMAO
I thought a teabagging would be too obvious.
Hmmm, it was pretty clearly a "death to ______" parody to me.
The whole "Death to America" thing is overblown anyway. There's Rick Steves Iran episode where Rick is in a taxi in a traffic jam. The taxi driver says "Death to traffic". A conversation then ensues where it's revealed that "death to anything that happens to be even slightly annoying me" is a common turn of phrase there.
So, one of the bad actors who hang out at the Olympian decides to run and tattle about something they saw HERE? Fer cryin' out loud, somebody needs to get a real life and give up this phony shit.
Larry, this is your blog and you can do what you want w/ it. IMO, your response to this bit of petty ridiculousness was reasonable to the point of accommodating a childish and silly request. With all the mean-spirited trash talk that can be seen any day of the week on THEIR blogs...
Thanks, Winer.
The more I think about this, I realize that this was a power play on the part of The Olympian. I recall Tammy McGee's public "we can do what we want" statement, in essence saying that they own the blog and they call the shots.
I'm not to be bullied by The Olympian or McClatchy Newspapers. I'm not their lackey, I'm not their employee and I don't work for a non-profit any longer, where they can withdraw their support because I disagree with them. (yes....the former publisher DID do that!!!)
If I see something on the blog that I think is beyond our boundaries, I'll edit as I see fit. Otherwise, if they have a complaint, take it to Helen Waite.
I was glad to see robarton reads our little effort here and then laughed my ass off after his day's efforts got yanked for his Obama flying the Bird avatar. Fucking moran.
Anon, you'll note that I pushed the envelope by posting my response email to Long Lui and then said I was willing to post all the comments from ThurstonBloggers.
Funny, though, they missed one of my posts.
I flat out challenged Lui and Jerry Wakefield (who has now been dragged into the fray)to open up their comment forums for a discussion of the subject. That is when Robarton's post and a couple of mine came down.
I don't really think The Olympian wants a public discussion of the events of their complaint about your joke
For the record, I'm stating that "Cheeseburger" was the culprit. She has a hotline to Tammy McGee.
cheese and Tammy do seem to share a flat, black and white world view.
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