Does columnist take pride in America? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, not so much
It’s time, once again, for my monthly, “You rip, I respond,” column.
You know how it works: Angry folks write or call, and I respond. Then hilarity and an occasional exchange of insults ensues.
I hope you enjoy.
Come on! Either write some real “honest and fair” journalism or get out of journalism and become the Democrat spokesman you really are. — William
Hi William.
Thanks for the career advice. It’s always appreciated. I’ll certainly consider it. Those Soros checks just aren’t going as far as they used to, unfortunately.
By the way, William, did you happen to see the new report from the Pew Research Center that found many Americans struggle to tell the difference between straight news and opinion?
Who knew?
When I grew up, any 15-year-old girl who drank around boys was called a slut, period. Where in the hell were her parents? — Sal
Nice, Sal. Really makes me want to Make America Great Again.
If it weren’t for the “evil” of profits that you imply when criticizing a “for-profit” entity, Paul Allen’s $2 billion in contributions to causes that advance humankind would not have happened. — Steve
Thanks for reaching out, Steve.
For context, I believe Steve is responding to critiques I’ve leveled in the past against the Northwest Detention Center, the for-profit immigration detention center operated by the GEO Group.
To my knowledge, I’ve never suggested that all for-profit businesses are “evil.” Now, as an Evergreen State College grad, I’d certainly be game to discuss the shortcomings of capitalism, but that’s a column for another day.
I’ve also never criticized the philanthropic endeavors of Paul Allen. (That’s a column for Kshama Sawant to write.)
When it comes to the NWDC and all for-profit prisons, on the other hand, here’s my basic position:
Prisons are necessary. To a lesser extent, so are immigration detention centers. But neither should be operated for profit.
When the state needs to incarcerate someone, the state should do that work. It shouldn’t be contracted out to a third party with a financial stake in the game.
Currently, the NWDC has nearly 1,600 beds. Its long contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be a $700 million pact if it runs its full course.
Immigrant detainees are not commodities. Making them one, as the current setup does, is dangerous and wrong.
I would also call it evil.
Do you have ANY pride of America? Of being an American? What are you then? A millennial, no doubt. But what do you identify as? I’m guessing you feel bad that you are a white man and overwhelmed with guilt. People like you are a disgrace. And you get paid for this? — Matthew
Consider this a glimpse into the life of my inbox, dear reader. Does it surprise you? It shouldn’t.
Tellingly, here’s what also should come as no surprise:
This was the first in a string of emails I exchanged with Matthew, in response to Tacoma’s new Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Initially, I responded, for the sole purpose of acknowledging that I received his message. In a moment of weakness, I also described his missive as “largely incoherent.”
Was that wrong of me? Probably. I take full responsibility.
Anyway, Matthew responded (several times, actually), demanding that I answer his “questions” and chastising me for stooping to insults. Full disclosure: In a subsequent message, replying to yet another barrage of pointedly disparaging remarks, I noted that “grammar and spelling seem like the least of (his) intellectual shortcomings.”
I think all of this is keenly indicative of our current discourse, particularly online. Should a journalist, a columnist — or anyone, really — be expected to maintain polite civility in such an exchange? Perhaps.
I certainly could have done better. In retrospect, I’m a little disappointed in myself.
At the same time, it’s pretty easy to see how things devolved.
And that, in a nutshell, is one of the reasons we find ourselves in the situation we’re in today.
Finally, some answers for Matthew:
1) History is complicated. There are parts of America’s past I’m incredibly proud of, and other parts I’m deeply ashamed by.
2) I’m a guy with a column in the newspaper.
3) Not a millennial. Technically, Gen X.
4) I identify as human. Pronouns: he/him/his.
5) Yes, I do get paid for this.
I’m curious where the “tonier, whiter, more well-off enclaves” are in Tacoma that enjoy better access to the arts? When I think of the arts and Tacoma, I think of the museums in downtown Tacoma. Is that the area you are thinking of when you write that? Doesn’t everyone have access to downtown Tacoma by bus or, now, scooter? — Don
Thanks for the note, Don.
Don’s email came in response to a recent column I wrote about Tacoma’s Proposition 1 — which, if approved by voters, would levy a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for the next seven years.
Branded as “Tacoma Creates,” one of the important things the proposition aims to do is expand youth access to the arts and cultural programming, with a particular emphasis on reaching under-served communities.
The simple answer, Don, is that proximity and transportation are only part of what contributes to access to Tacoma’s arts offerings — whether at a museum, or elsewhere.
Socioeconomics play an even bigger part. Do historically under-served communities — like the South End or East Side — have the same access to these things? Is a single mother working two jobs just as able to bring her kids to the museum?
Common sense and experience tell us no. That’s one of the reasons Proposition 1’s plan to bring arts and culture programming directly to schools and neighborhoods is so exciting.
Finally, as it relates to transportation, that’s also one of the things Proposition 1 wants to address.
Yes, there are bus lines — and even scooters now. But we’ll need to improve those services dramatically if we want to reach a place where we can truly say it’s just as easy for the average kid from Salishan to visit the Tacoma Art Museum as it is for the average kid from the North End.
This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 2:22 PM.