[Boston-editorial] article pending... I think we should center it

Tue Jun 7 09:53:25 PDT 2005

I agree w/ Sofia. Though I agree that this needed (and
has recieved) more discussion before the initial
centering because of the unusual circumstances of both
this particular piece and the transitional mode in
which our own editorial policy is in. 

Now I admit I mabye havent been reading the debate so
carefully and dont recall reading an issue about the
"swearing" but nonetheless I can't imagine why this is
a problem. this isnt an essay or commentary its an
interview and aparently thats what was said. PTSD  or
no PTSD his language reflects how lots of people speak
in general at home, on the street, etc. Not everyone
is so articulate.

Anonimity may be essential and i have no problem w/
it. soldiers have faced terrible consequences from
their peers and authorities after speaking out
publicly. Even that soldier who was seen in that
footage in F-9/11 demanding Rumsfelds resignation
became the target of whitehouse smear campaign where
they leaked homosexual allegations through the Drudge
report. and like Sofia said this is more the source, I
mean didnt we once feature an article by "maus"?
unless he's really the fictional character from the
famous graphic holocaust  i consider that pretty
anonymous.

i have no reason to believe this is made up, if it
were itd a pretty creative bit of make-belief.
anonymous sources sources are behind virtually every
major news story. names are changed all the time
because of circumstances surrounding the situation and
i see why this would be no different. 

i think we should feature it maybe w/ a disclaimer
which i think it has anyways.

-tl           

--- Sofia JarrinT <sofiajt at yahoo.com> wrote:

> hi,
> 
> ok, I just re-read the article and I think it's
> excellent material. Someone mentioned that it's just
> a
> lot of cursing, but actually as a I re-read it is
> consistent with everything that I have read and
> heard
> about Iraq soldiers who are suffering from PTSD. 
> There is LOT more there than just cursing. Here are
> my
> points:
> 
> 1) In regards to anonimity, I think in this case is
> important and I can understand trying to protect the
> identity of the soldier.  He went back to Iraq and
> he
> can't have his name out there cursing the government
> and people waving flags.
> 
> 2) We have posted articles where the AUTHOR is
> anonymous, I think the source can also be anonymous
> in
> clear cases such as this.
> 
> 3) The soldier is obviously angry but he's talking
> about amazing things:  about his personal anger,
> about
> the war being a failure, about wounded soldiers that
> we don't hear about it, about the lack of coverage
> of
> the media, about his own stress when he's back in
> the
> city (that part about his reaction to traffic is
> amazing, I heard recently on NPR that the incidence
> on
> Iraq veterans getting into car accidents is
> enormous)
> 
> 4) I know Jay hasn't responded, but his bio is clear
> that he's being doing independent media for a while.
> I
> think it's important to support him but also authors
> who through their own web site have info that the
> general media doesn't cover (see: C.F.T.M.'s public
> message boards can be found at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CFTMGroup)
> 
> 5) Moreover, Jay's website has information on
> letters
> other material he has published related to Iraq.
> That
> in itself gives him credibility.
> 
> 6) I also think that the fact that Jay says this
> interview was carried back in January and he just
> posted it now, is important.  It also gives him
> credibility because obviously himself is weary about
> the material itself.
> 
> 7) I recently requested in Boston Mobe's group for
> contact information on an Iraqi veteran to be
> interviewed on the SCAT show.  I got a call from a
> veteran at 4:00 am in the morning (I had also met
> him
> on May Day) and he pretty much talked my ear off for
> half an hour.  His anger was very similar to the one
> I
> just read. To me, this kind of material is very hard
> to make up (notice for example, how different the
> tone
> is between the interviewer and interviewee).
> 
> In summary, I think we would be wasting an amazing
> opportunity by not centering this article.
> 
> cheers,
> Sofia
> 
> --- Matthew Williams <mw21 at mindspring.com> wrote:
> 
> > So what's the verdict on this article? If we're
> not
> > going to feature 
> > it, I'd like to turn it back into an ordinary
> > newswire story, because 
> > right now it's completely invisible. If it checks
> > out, I'd like to 
> > feature it--we're kind of hurting for new
> material.
> > -- Matt
> > 
> > On Jun 4, 2005, at 8:08 PM, Pete Stidman wrote:
> > 
> > > If Jay is listening, my personal concern is this
> > > article may not be locally produced and that it
> > was
> > > distributed to other IMC's nationwide and that  
> > we
> > > have no verification that this interview is
> > authentic.
> > >  Can you address any or all of these concerns?
> > >
> > > -Pete
> > > one IMC member
> > >
> > >
> > > --- Sofia JarrinT <sofiajt at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> hi Jay,
> > >>
> > >> I'm sorry, the article is still being
> considered
> > for
> > >> centering.  We work as a collective and some
> > people
> > >> just want to weigh in.  I went a little bit
> ahead
> > of
> > >> myself.
> > >>
> > >> We'll get back to you soon.
> > >>
> > >> peace,
> > >> sofia
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> 		
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