The point I’m about to make should be obvious ... so obvious that it need not be stated aloud in so many words.
On May 7, after an NAC article about future of the Emery Ice Cream building, a comment appeared from a reader identified as “remembercharlemagne.” I warned this reader that the blog follows a reality-based policy and pointed to the text of the policy. The reader responded that he had read the text, disagreed with me and couldn’t guarantee any future compliance. He'd consider whether to play by the rules, though.
Cheeky, but so it goes in the blogosphere.
On May 9, there was an article in NAC about the forthcoming arrival of Wick’s Pizza in downtown New Albany. On the next day, May 10, NAC reported on the New Albany Country’s Club’s bankruptcy and prospective fire sale.
On the 10th, two comments arrived from remembercharlemagne, one about the Wick’s article and one about the Country Club article.
Here is an excerpt from the Wick’s comment, which was allowed to stand, as is my lenient custom:
Then when people from other area's of southern Indiana have to travel down a grid locketed Spring St. They will turn around and never come back. It will be easier for easterners to go east across the bridge and eat their Wick's pizza in Louisville or a really nice one-way west bound all the way from Silver St would make it easy and safer for most of old N.A. and the rest of Clark Co to efficiently come to the CBD.
Here is an excerpt from the Country Club comment, which was subsequently deleted after remembercharlemagne again refused to comply with the blog’s policy.
Better yet, take a look at the East Lake Foundation of Atlanta GA. This was a cooperative effort led by private investment, then local government, public parks department, school corp,ymca and neighborhood involvement. The redevelopment is one of the nations greatest successes and when the country club was up for sale I tried to get England’s city planners to take a look at the East Lake Redevelopment Plan. Not surprisingly nothing has ever happened.
Meanwhile, in the pages of the New Albany Tribune …
On May 26, a reader and increasingly frequent letter writer -- so frequent that the Tribune staff felt compelled to append an explanation of the newspaper’s policy on such matters -- named Jameson Bledsoe had a second submission on the same topic published as a guest column.
The topic? One-way streets versus two-way street conversions. Here is a sample excerpt:
Two-way traffic on Spring Street is not a calming measure for speed but a traffic-reducing measure, because once the commute becomes unbearable, motorists will avoid New Albany’s downtown.
On June 6, another Bledsoe column appeared: BLEDSOE: Can golf revitalize New Albany?, Here is the opening paragraph:
When I was overnighting in Atlanta as an airline pilot, I was fortunate to watch a special on a local station about the revitalization of East Lake Meadows, one of Atlanta’s worst public housing projects located just six miles from downtown.
Coincidence? Follow the links, and you be the judge. I find the whole subterfuge tiresomely childish.
And: Don’t forget to read remembercharlemagne’s comments about housing authorities and one-way streets on this thread at the Voice of the People blog.
You'll undoubtedly join me in speculating (with due pathos): Why can’t we just be who we are, and get on with it?
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18 comments:
But your policy is only half correct, as while you may know who a poster is, most of us on here would be hard pressed to know who everyone is with the amount of code names and the like. Like I know you, you know me, but not everyone else on here knows me.
True. The policy is a compromise. My PERSONAL preference is that everyone put their names by their handles and live happily ever after.
It comes up seldom. A handful each year elect not to participate for fear of being known. Almost none go to the semantic lengths (i.e., founding father behavior) of remcha to justify their positions.
Most are just fearful of daylight, and that's regrettable to me.
Well you can only do so much. Of course then there's that saying, I forget it now, something like give a man a mask and he'll show you his true identity. People are basically just scared of retaliation, and daylight.
Yep.
Like I said, it's regrettable. If these folks were really exposing some corporate scandal and risking genuine retaliation, it'd be one thing.
But what they want to do first and foremost is hide behind a wall and pelt people they envy with garbage.
I see no reason to enable such irresponsibility. It's tacky, and cowardly.
To me it's really just saying the constitution doesn't matter. We have free speech and are protected in that, but some decide to ignore that for fear someone will disagree with them and hold a grudge. Then there are some who just want to say some really hateful things that have nothing to do with a subject and they cower behind being nameless.
Oh by the way, the board of works ordered your infamous coke machine removed from the sidewalk yesterday. I think they have to give them a notice first.
What?!?! I use that Coke machine every day, sometimes twice a day. Oh the humanity...
/sarcasm
A guy that used to work for my dad many years ago had a very limited vocabulary and a need to say things that he almost could.
On really hot, damp days, he'd kneel down in the shade of the truck, wring the sweat from his cap, and exclaim, "Boy, this humanity is killing me."
I was going to make a joke of that at first, saying I bet he posts anonymously now. But, thinking back on it, I remember him as honest and decent. He'd sign his name.
I wonder if Mr. Charlemagne is afraid something he writes will come back to bite him in a future election.
All the power, none of the responsibility. Sounds like a real leader to me.
Well, the people that read here know the person, right? What a shame. I get really disgusted with it all.
I disagree with the wirters here most of the time...and my name is Daniel Short! I once had a picture along with my name, but Jeff said it didn't look like me.
Freedom of speech, 101?
Umm, of course the writer would favor one-way traffic, he's a pilot.
I dont mind the one way streets.
But it wasnt me who wrote the posts....I swear!
Daniel Short----you may disagree with people but you don't hide and I greatly respect that about you.
Ditto, what the good pastor said.
Mark
Thank you John and Mark. I just feel that if you truly believe in what you are saying then attach your name to it. Of course, in America, you don't have to...but if you want people to take you seriously you should.
I just feel that if you truly believe in what you are saying then attach your name to it. Of course, in America, you don't have to...but if you want people to take you seriously you should.
Well said.
Another ditto.
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