I’ve been watching the fine folks over at the “This is La Vergne” Blog. I honestly think, in the big picture and long term, that what’s going on here is pretty important. Folks need to be watching this.
Let’s do a history, shall we. A group of bloggers join together and start a blog about their community. They put up a community calendar/editorial site about things that are going on in their town. I’ve read it for awhile, and I must say that it’s just been thoughtful commentary about what was “going on.” As it is their community, some times they were critical of local policy regarding the administration of the town, but never to a point that I thought it was out of line.
You know, crazy notion about them being citizens and paying taxes into La Vergne. They were using their voice.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to two of the moderators, Kathy T. and BadBadIvy, about this blog. They just wanted a place with a common ground on-line. Over the last little while, they realized they were getting under some folks skin at city hall. Several anonymous folks left comments that were scathing, and it seemed to be one guy named John Duncan, who collectively said he spoke for the city.
Yesterday, the blog got a letter. Now, here is where I’m laughing to one degree and incredulous to another. Read this snippet from the correspondence:
“Yes, 75 percent of the people who responded to the survey about volunteering to be on boards said they were interested in being on a board,” said Publicity Coordiantor Angie Mayes. “However, as of 9:30 on May 4, only a handful of citizens have actually applied for these boards, according to City Recorder Bruce Richardson. Anyone can hide behind a computer to complain, but to take action shows a real interest in the city.
**emphasis mine**
“This shows a great apathy on the part of the citizens,” Mayes continued. “A lot of people want to be heard and that’s great, but to actually be involved to help make decisions is another story. I don’t know why these people haven’t applied, but we need individuals to help fill the boards so that we have a quorum when they meet.”
Talk about going on the defensive. This is, in my opinion, one of the worst press releases ever released by a city. Sorry Ms. Mayes, I ‘m sure you are one groovy chick, but I would never let a press release like this leave my business because the writer of the e-mail, with the language used, set the government’s position up on an elitist plane. The letter was clever to a degree to put a negative spin on a group of concerned citizens.
I would think, as Bruce Richardson did in the comments of this link to a degree, offer information to on how concerned citizens can be involved. But I’ve found in watching this blog that they do volunteer support that a lot of the administration somewhat devalued. Being a PTO mother is volunteering, being a Girl Scout Leader, running a business in one’s home, etc.
Those things are of value. Now as for the “Anyone can hide behind a computer …” that statement doesn’t wash and seems like a diversion. Kathy T., is not anonymous and a valuable wealth of information regarding real estate trends. Ginger is not anonymous, Ivy just uses an Internet name but she’s not anonymous as well. That’s a blogging thing. Ask Rick over at Freedonian about this, or me for that matter as we use handles but everyone knows who we are. And Ivy isn’t happy, because, and this is my opinion, the city minimized their goal of doing something positive.
And that’s sad. Really, there’s those wacky things our government has called “Freedom of Speech” and that groovy “Constitution.”
But that one statement above has got Ivy smoking mad, because the IP address belongs to, you got it campers, the City of Lavergne. So that statement seems a bit contrived. They might want to look up Whois and they might get it. Ivy says at her personal blog this:
Yes, she speaks for the board that they aren’t interested in what the citizens of La Vergne want to say.
This is also the same commenter that keeps harping on and on and on and on about using my real name. You want to know why I don’t use my real name? Because that comment is coming from an IP address that, when you do a whois on it, comes from the City of La Vergne. Not an IP address IN the city of La Vergne. The IP address that says “The City of La Vergne”- as in Town Hall. That commenter, who uses nearly the exact same words as our city’s publicist does in that press release. **emphasis her’s**
You did some bad spin here, ole city of La Vergne. Now, as I know Kathy and Ivy personally, I will say they are nice people. But next time you send out something of this nature, keep in mind one thing. This government is not yours. It’s everyone’s, and when you try to use spin to bully caring citizens who are just not saying what YOU want them to say, then you can see the problem. My Corgi could see this from a mile away and she’s a dog thus no reading ability.
And one last thing, as I do work at a newspaper, it amazes me that a small blog caused such a reaction over the last few weeks to make government officials feel threatened?
And as I continue to study and learn about digital media, as a newspaper person, I’m watching this very carefully. Incidentally, the typos in the press release were really funny.
UPDATE: More from This is Smyrna’s Blog
And Kat Coble.
on May 6th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Just to clarify, that was a press release sent by the city. And a commenter from another media source confirmed it.
on May 7th, 2007 at 8:15 am
This is actually quite tame, considering La Vergne’s political history. There was a decade there where anyone who spoke out against certain politicos ran the risk of losing their (non-governmental) jobs, getting beaten up or arrested, having their property trashed … they were just flat crazy. And the handful who were sane were getting the same treatment. I used to want to walk into the board meetings with a fire hose and just flood the place and start over. I actually had someone threaten ME because I reported on a board meeting where all hell broke loose and they were screaming at each other. The threatener told me that I “had no right to tell people what goes on in government. No one should be allowed to attend those meetings.” I laughed so hard at him that he cussed me and hung up. And then I greeted him by name at the next board meeting. (We had caller ID and I recognized his voice, the dumbass.)
It’s a strange little place, that La Vergne city hall. It’s on its own astral plane.
on May 7th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I’ve known Ivy @ 10 years on-line. I didn’t know her name was something else for the first 5!
on May 7th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I still call her Ivy. I think that’s what her dad wanted to name her when she was born. But she is pretty transparent about who she is, I believe.