While I’ve mostly tried to remain fairly light-hearted about the Reggae controversy, Carol Bruno’s pull-quote on the cover of this week’s Independent deserves a less-than-light-hearted response.
It’s bullshit, Carol, and you know it. Bullshit. And shame on the Independent for putting it on the front page on the Reggae week issue with no counter-point. Shame on both of you.
The quote in question: “I and most of the people working on this festival are members of the Mateel, and we feel unified—we are all the Mateel too.”
Sorry Carol, no you’re not. You may in fact be a member, but you are not speaking as a member as long as you’re speaking for Reggae Rising or People Productions. In the article, you were speaking for P.P. and R.R. You were not being interviewed as a member of the Mateel and you cannot and do not speak for members of the Mateel. Tom Dimmick has tried to make the same “we’re all the Mateel” claim as have coordinators in private email lists. You all may be members of the Republican Party or the Rotary too, but that doesn’t mean you can invoke your membership in those organizations in order to promote your own private, for-profit enterprise. People Productions and Reggae Rising and Dimmick Ranch are private, profit-oriented entities. They are not the Mateel, they are not in any way under democratic control of the community and their representatives do not and cannot speak for the Mateel. To pretend to do so is disingenuous at best and Machiavellian at worst. I’m frankly dismayed to see that the local paper and other news sources are not truly “independent” enough to see through this and call bullshit.
Yes, Carol and Tom and all you loyal coordinators, you may feel “unified” amongst yourselves, but you are not promoting unity in this community. You are stealing something that is not yours. I truly hope the courts think so as well.
KMUD NEWS FLASH! “Reggae Rising 85% sold out.” Actually, I’ve always thought that Reggae Rising has been 100% sold out to greed from the very beginning.
20 comments:
You must understand that the Indy, as well as the Redwood Times, are kept in business by their advertisers, who, for the large majority part, don't give a ratzass who is right and who is wrong - just keep the event goin' and the $$$ flowin' -in to their cash registers, that is.
Just look at the special, coincidental(?) cooler and beachware sale going on at the G'ville Ray's. It's all about the $$$, and the Indy feeds into anything that will promote it. So will the other paper.
That's life in the media lane.
Yup. If not for anonymous blogs even our 'close-knit' community wouldn't have gotten the Reggae Ripoff story straight.
Anon 8:32:
As a staff writer for The Independent, I take offense at the notion that "the Indy [sic] feeds into anything that will promote it." I believe our coverage has been as thorough as it can be, given our very limited, small-town resources.
Speaking of which, I've been on an extended break for various reasons, and there's a very simple reason that there wasn't any point-counterpoint-extended article in the pre-Reggae issue: I WASN'T HERE.
No conspiracies. Just plain ol' "not enough staff."
Cristina,
Okay, what about my specific criticism of putting Carol Bruno's pull-quote right on top of the front page but not putting a similar (and obviously contrary) quote from Garth right next to it? "Not enough staff" is no excuse for that. Nor is putting mostly feel-good quotes on the front page where RR-goers will see them and putting most of the critical material at the end of the article. The printing of the "we're all the Mateel" misleading statements that I specifically criticized is also not a matter of not enough staff. Someone there decided to print a very pro-RR, deceptive article above-the-fold, with Carol's quote emphasized.
(For the record, I generally don't have a problem with your reporting.) Are you suggesting, then, that had you been there, you would've challenged the content of that front-page article? Just curious.
I can't speak for the editor, and I wasn't here to put together a pre-Reggae article (I'm also not here to put together a post-Reggae article). My guess is that the information and quotes came from a press release, and that no one at the office spoke directly with Carol & Co. I'm not saying it's an "excuse" -- again, I can't speak for the editor.
Daniel covered Reggae for the Indie. I'm looking forward to picking up today's paper on my way (back) out of town and seeing his take on the whole thing.
My daughter's best friend attended on Saturday, and thought it was only half-sold-out because "there was, like, no one there!" I told her that's what a crowd of 12,000 REALLY looks like.
Okay, fair enough. I wasn't particularly impressed by today's Indie article on the festival either way. I've heard from a number of people that the crowd seemed sparse. That presents an interesting dilemma for P.P. if they lose the lawsuit, because it suggests that they way oversold in the past and therefore made way more money...which they might just have to cough up to the Mateel if the Mateel prevails in court.
Mostly, I'm glad it's over and we can all go back to whatever else it was we were all doing before this started. Wake me when the judge issues a ruling.
(Oh, because I had to explain it to someone in person, I realize not everyone got the title of the original post. Look up the phrase "Et tu, Brute?" if you are wondering. So, very fitting, no?)
Whew. This year's "reggae" is over. Hey we haven't done so bdly have we? The most virulent and polarized among us may not be chumming it just yet with our purported adversaries but at least we still show up at the same parties smiling, in the middle of the nastiest communal misunderstand-ing any of us has ever experienced.
Arbitration on the horizon, and the possibility of a court solution? Does any serious thinker actually think that if the MCC loses big on this case that we'll all take it quietly? I need to hear some feedback on this. I have heard rumors of threats of violence. This is serious stuff.
How much faith and respect and faith do we really have for the criminal justice system? Let's get real. SoHum is a center of the non-professional mediation methodology movement not just because of the illegal herb transactions, but also because of a fundamental philosophical committment to innovative means of strengthening local power and decision-making in the face of all-encompassing corporatization .
The reggae production litigation is touching an powerful underlying vein of bedrock ethical feeling and belief in numerous people. I have reason to believe that if the MCC fails to recover it's "fair share" as perceived by a majority, untold unpleasantness may ensue. Everyone in our community is not a Ghandian believer in ahimsa, as myself and my close friends happen to be. Some folks may well believe that in the face of a perceivbed "theft" from a social group solidly identified as non-violent for four decades, an "avenger" may have reason to strike out.
I am actively seeking individuals willing to brainstorm ideas for pulling us together again and reaching an out-of-court solution, soon. I envision a small, ORDERLY yet enjoyable get-together for rapid discussion of some ideas which have been sent my way...please call me at
923-3777
Another dead North Coast blog. Time to take down the link. Rest in Peace.
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