An old teacher of mine once said, as have undoubtedly many others, that opinions are like bellybuttons: everybody’s got one. If you’re like me, it’s an innie. Some people have outies. My friend Pat, well, his is a whole different category. It changes style depending on a variety of factors, like an old man’s weather knee or something.
Anyway, expressing my opinion in columns for The Daily Utah Chronicle has been really enjoyable, and I hope to continue doing so next year.
I want to address an issue that has been bugging me for a while now. My colleague Tiara C. Auxier has been the focus of a particularly vitriolic string of feedback on The Chronicle‘s online edition, which allows everybody with a belly button, er, an opinion, to pitch in his or her two cents on whatever article or column we publish.
Most of the time, the people who comment are trying to voice their displeasure with this or that, but sometimes, it’s difficult to tell just what exactly they’re writing about. This is because some comment writers have been blinded by rage and disbelief, and rather than allowing cooler heads to prevail, they write in and threaten violence, or tell the opinion writer to move out of state, or to go screw themselves or what have you.
Now, if you’ve read my columns during the past few months, you can probably guess that Auxier and I do not share a similar world view. I cannot, and will not, attempt to justify her particular opinions-that is not my job. However, I can ask that when you read something by her, or me, or any other opinion columnist, you exercise a measure of restraint when it comes time to pitch in your two cents. Ad hominem attacks do nothing but make you appear too feeble-minded to mount a cogent critique of a particular point of view.
To be honest, I’ve never met Auxier. I prefer to dwell in my dungeon and submit my copy electronically. She might be a horrible person. Maybe she kills small animals with electric current. I don’t know. Probably, she’s just a regular college student with an opinion about what’s going on in the world and the ability to put that opinion into words. The world would be better off if every college student could write half as well as she.
A sure sign of a healthy dialogue is vehement, but respectful, disagreement about the issues we address in our weekly writing.
Instead of calling for her resignation, or her relocation to other locales, or for her to do the anatomically impossible, why don’t you spend a few hours writing a critique that addresses your particular concerns?
We (hopefully) don’t throw our opinion columns together in a fit a rage — we spend time doing research, watching the news and talking to other people.
If you really want to address something you’ve read in our columns, put the time in to make them respectable — and respectful.
Or come apply for your own column in The Chrony‘s office. I think it’s in the Union.
