Since then, out nothing other than curiosity, I've done a little (read very small amount) of reading of the publicity this has gotten, and I have to say, it's gotten way out of hand.
From what I can tell, the situation is some bloke turned on the TV and didn't like how fat he perceived the news anchor on his television to be... So he sent her an email telling her as much. I searched and searched for a published version of his email and coudn't find one. I even checked the webpage for the Ellen Degeneres show. All I could find was one (what I believed to be partial) quote from his email, published by vice.com.
Quoted from vice.com: "It's unusual that I see your morning show, but I did so for a very short time today. I was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition hasn't improved for many years. Surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular. Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. I leave you this note hoping that you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle."
So from what I can tell, Krause, a personal injury attorney, pounded out a quick comment on his computer and fired it right over to Ms. Livingston. Being able to do that has become one of the privelages of living in America in 2012. Earlier this week, I reached out and asked a resturant chain a question about when they are planning on finishing a restaurant they are building in my neighborhood. It's incredible how things have changed since I was a kid.
So, Livingston obviously didn't appreciate the comment Krause provided her. That's her perogative as far as I'm concerned, just as it was Krause's perogative to send an email to a public figure critical of her "on air" persona.
As a result of her and her husband making the email she received public, a huge uproar in the herd has erupted, with people crying foul and calling Krause a bully, and an attacker, a dickhead, etc. Now don't get me wrong, this guy may be a dickhead... He may even be a bully and an attacker, but you don't get bully or attacker from the email quoted by vice.com, or the one Livingstone read to the viewers of her TV show. If you take away the subject of the email for a moment and just look at the way it was written, it's hard to argue the email isn't polite. It's certainly critical of her, but the reality of the situation is this email was a brief, polite, criticism of her as an on air personality, not a hateful, spiteful, bullying, personal attack that I was led to believe by the reporting of it, before I had a chance to read it for myself.
Which brings me to the topic of this post... There are many cases of bullying where people are really victimized by others. Whether it is children in our public schools, or coworkers in our workplaces, people stalking/harassing others on facebook, or animals you may encounter in public places, there are idiots and assholes almost everywhere you look. There are also many legitimate and helpful efforts to help those who are victims of bullying and harassment, such as the It Gets Better Project. Unfortunatley, as happens with anything that becomes popular with the herd, a mob mentality takes over and overuses it, mis-applies it, and eventually perverts it; something that was good and useful, becomes something else... Something ugly and oppressive and completely different than the original intent.
So today a person can't send a public figure a critical email without the mob turning the person into public enemy number 1 and villifying the person on the internet and on television shows like Ellen. This kind of over reaction takes away from the legitimacy of the outrage that is expressed about real bullying and sucks up the energy involved in the efforts to help real victims of bullying learn to cope with what they are going through.
I get really sick and tired of this mob mentality and the tendency of the weak wanting a nanny state to protect us from everything all the time.
I've got news for you Ellen Degeneres: One email critical of a public figure does not equal bullying... If you really want to make a positive impact for the cause against bullying, you'd do much better by avoiding this kind of garbage in the future. Oh, no! Does that make me a bully??? Ah, who gives a shit??!!
If you can't deal with the occasional jerk or idiot once in a while, or a little criticism, you better not leave your home, go online, or even turn on the television!
No comments:
Post a Comment