I posted a video I made in late June called Flightless Bird/American Mouth. Now my blunt American mouth is sore, to paraphrase a line from the song. Yesterday a neighbor slipped a copy of the police blotter from an affluent suburb featuring all of the amusing items in the Amherst police blotter. Funny stuff, no substance. True, there are some amusing elements, at times, in my police blotter. That written, I don't consider my work or the genuine crimes a joke. But perhaps that is how readers would prefer it.
I made the video shortly before Independence Day, unaware of the fiasco that would occur during the festivities. Namely, a woman robbed and assaulted by a gang of 30 young people. Not to mention a cop who was tackled to the ground and assaulted as his assailants urged about 50 young people to join in the attack. Two people were arrested. One of the teens was charged with inciting to riot.
Oh, let's not mention the lady who was sexually assaulted at the corner of the park when the carnival ended. Not a single one of these attacks were reported by the mainstream media--not the local regional daily. They weren't reported by YNN (24 hour news coverage exclusive to Time Warner customers).
Excuse my lettering but WTF? Do people want happy news of happy, violence free events or the truth? An editor described my rather lengthy article on the festivities as "negative" and a coworker wrote, IMO, a sarcastic comment about the popularity of the blotter on a social media page.
I feel as though I've been unofficially crowned Ms. Negative of Buffalo:( I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt.)
A dear, dear friend who moved from the city watched my Flightless Bird/American Mouth video (slightly revised from the original) and described it as, "Sadly beautiful! Post it!) Yes, I posted it on You Tube but have been quite discouraged by all of these negative comments, even by people I work with, about my crime reporting. At the same time, readers pitched a fit when I missed a week due to illness. So why am I being blasted and blamed for all of the negativity??
At first my video made me sad. Now I find myself relating to the verse about "nursing my sore blunt tongue." I'm bitter, and contemplated posting the video but thought screw it. They'd either laugh or fail to understand what I was trying to convey. So for now I am Miss Negativity.
Try to inform people about the threats facing an otherwise pretty neighborhood and get bashed. Yeah, that verse is what sticks out in the song and video.
Well, at least a small handful of people understood the video. Sorry, I feel like I've been punched in the gut:( and need a little pity party.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
My Sore American Mouth
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2 Comments:
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on 7/15/12, 9:05 PM,
Daniel Greenfield
said: -
on 7/18/12, 2:13 AM,
Keliata
said:
"reporting the news isn't always popular but it's what distinguishes journalists from spin artists
you're doing the right thing even if people don't appreciate it right now"