The haters are writing in, what are you doing?

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Turtle on the GreenwayThere's some real vitriol out there in "letter to the editor" land, especially here in Richmond. In the Palladium-Item, we like to play the game "How Many People Can You Insult in 300 Words or Less?" sometimes also known as "The Wheel of Not So Subtle Discrimination and Hate-mongering!" Today's contestant is Paul M. Yevcak who says that "hypocrisy proves middle name for liberal Democrats."

My response, posted in the forums (despite my better judgement):

It would be possible to debate some of Mr. Yevcak's points related to the role of the courts, the history and nuances of U.S. immigration policy, and the legal technicalities of the recent presidential intervention in the Libby case. But I'm not sure what purpose that would serve, since Mr. Yevcak seems intent not on having meaningful debate or dialogue, but just on disparaging and insulting a wide swath of people, essentially on the grounds that they don't agree with him about how the world should work. And of course, when that is someone's goal, you can't really have a meaningful conversation with them.

Whenever I see those kinds of comments, I'm always on the lookout for what sort of hope, what sort of ideological alternative the speaker has to offer us, so that the conversation can be about what's possible and what we want for the world and each other, instead of what's wrong with each other and why we should be afraid and hateful. Progress can certainly happen when we engage each other about the issues that are important to us, even when we disagree strongly, but I think it can only happen if we're open to the possibility of something new, something better, something greater than ourselves. If we're just here to insult each other's backgrounds, views, and lifestyles, then we've resigned ourselves, I think, to a life that does not at all honor what's possible or good in the world. We've decided that our differences are all that matter, and we lose out on what it means to be a part of humanity.

I look forward to future letters to the editor that have some positive vision to share, some sort of inclusive hope for the future and how to get there. Even if I have strong disagreements with the author's world-views, I know we can move past our initial tensions to have those conversations with respect and with an eye on the common good.

5 thoughts on “The haters are writing in, what are you doing?”

  1. Well done, Chris.

    I understand your reluctance to wake up trolls, but I think your judgment in gently countering vitriol is just fine, thank you very much.

    I just linked this to a very relevant post at the thoughtful blog of Fouroboros. Perhaps introductions are in order. Chris, meet Fouro. Fouro, Chris.

    Thanks, both of you, for your contributions to substantive dialog.

    Reply

  2. Chris,
    Bravo! I to am tired of listening to the name calling that comes from both sides of the isle. If people put half as much energy in looking for a solution to their problems or helping others, as they do putting others down, we would have a much brighter future.

    Reply

  4. My mind reels, and under the circumstances, turns to the learned truisms of elementary school: Those who smelt it dealt it. Since our fellow Richmonder, Mr. Yevcak most likely would protest and seemingly remains a fan of pre-emptive war n' tactics n' stuff: Those who denied it applied it.

    Thanks for the intro, etbnc, and excellent post, Chris.

    Reply

  5. Since the Pal-Item doesn't preserve their online content after a period of time, and since this post received some responses, I thought I would preserve the original letter here:

    You know you're having a good day when you turn on your radio or TV in the morning and you hear the liberals throwing a "hissy fit." Today's liberals are a miserable lot. First, they lost the Supreme Court. As Ted Kennedy lamented, "If we don't have the court, what do we have?" Ted, the swimmer, realizes that liberals can't get their ideas implemented legislatively -- they need liberal judges to create law from the bench, which is not their constitutional authority.

    Second, they lost the Democratic Party Voter Endorsement Bill, also known as the Immigration Bill. Liberals argued that conservatives are against immigration, that our country was founded on immigration, that many of our grandparents were immigrants. The one word they leave out of the equation is "legal." They also gloss over the incredible social cost of illegal immigration -- approximately $20,000 per illegal in entitlement payments. Entitlement is liberalism, dependency is a Democratic Party cornerstone and fleecing of hard-working, successful, self-reliant accountable people is their mantra.

    Third, the libs are upset with Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence. It's been said that to a liberal, history began at 8 a.m. this morning. It has to be true, since they don't seem to recall Bill Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. I guess since Rich's wife contributed $2 million to the Clinton Library and massage parlor that negated the pardon of this international fugitive.

    To all you liberal Democrats, especially those raised in the Earlham tradition, hypocrisy is your middle name.

    Paul M. Yevcak,
    Richmond

    Reply

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