Once every two weeks I open up my “fan mail.” And by fan mail, I mean 104 e-mails from Netflix and about 50 e-mails from outraged readers; most of whom lay out so many profane insults it's difficult to respond.
But I always do. In fact, if you have not received a response from me, either I never received your e-mail or you are Nigerian Prince Kenneth Odey (to whom I would totally lend $10,000 if I had it).
All kidding aside, I always respond to my readers, even outraged ones, because I appreciate a good debate. I think it helps me to grow as a person and an intellect. And my views aren't set in stone. They are always evolving and changing. I welcome rebuttal and have on many occasions changed my stance, persuaded by facts or a sound argument.
But some people simply can't handle a difference of opinion without over-the-top insults or in some cases, over-the-top threats. Debate can get very personal, very quickly. What is supposed to be a meeting of minds can quickly deteriorate into a mudslinging free-for-all. And the sad thing, people subscribe to it.
‘Here's to mud in your eye.'
I recognize that I am young. I recognize that my opinion is not very popular. And I freely admit that I don't always have all of the facts at my finger tips. Consider, all the news that's fit to print is not all the news. Access to information has a huge impact on my column.
Consider, I wrote half-a-dozen columns in favor of Eliot Spitzer. I can't recall, but I'm pretty sure I once wrote that he should be president.
Not president of the bridge club, I'm talking President of the United States of America. Can you imagine?! That is an opinion I had; an opinion that drastically changed once all the closed door shenanigans were brought to light.
And to my “fan-base” please know that I do read every e-mail, every letter to the editor and every comment that is posted to my column online.
And although there are many who simply want to name call, I've read some good feedback. In fact, I feel that there may be a columnist or two out there who needs only a venue. Heck, I could use a good foil.
Bottom line - an opinion is a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Ergo, the best way to counter an opinion is with facts, not vulgarity, cruelty or threats.
Why take the gloves off?
Estabrook's column appears
Mondays and she can be reached at estabrookcarole@yahoo.com
All kidding aside, I always respond to my readers, even outraged ones, because I appreciate a good debate. I think it helps me to grow as a person and an intellect. And my views aren't set in stone. They are always evolving and changing. I welcome rebuttal and have on many occasions changed my stance, persuaded by facts or a sound argument.
But some people simply can't handle a difference of opinion without over-the-top insults or in some cases, over-the-top threats. Debate can get very personal, very quickly. What is supposed to be a meeting of minds can quickly deteriorate into a mudslinging free-for-all. And the sad thing, people subscribe to it.
‘Here's to mud in your eye.'
I recognize that I am young. I recognize that my opinion is not very popular. And I freely admit that I don't always have all of the facts at my finger tips. Consider, all the news that's fit to print is not all the news. Access to information has a huge impact on my column.
Consider, I wrote half-a-dozen columns in favor of Eliot Spitzer. I can't recall, but I'm pretty sure I once wrote that he should be president.
Not president of the bridge club, I'm talking President of the United States of America. Can you imagine?! That is an opinion I had; an opinion that drastically changed once all the closed door shenanigans were brought to light.
And to my “fan-base” please know that I do read every e-mail, every letter to the editor and every comment that is posted to my column online.
And although there are many who simply want to name call, I've read some good feedback. In fact, I feel that there may be a columnist or two out there who needs only a venue. Heck, I could use a good foil.
Bottom line - an opinion is a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Ergo, the best way to counter an opinion is with facts, not vulgarity, cruelty or threats.
Why take the gloves off?
Estabrook's column appears
Mondays and she can be reached at estabrookcarole@yahoo.com
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Farmer's Gal wrote on Mar 15, 2009 4:13 PM:
Farmer's Gal wrote on Mar 14, 2009 12:49 PM:
But keep this in mind -- 3 weeks before his scandal was made public, he wrote a scathing editorial to the Washington Post about the way certain federal agencies were protecting banks involved in predatory lending. Spitzer had been a key player in getting laws passed in nearly every state to protect consumers from predatory lending, then some federal agency shot all those laws down, saying the states did not have the right to regulate banking in any way -- but that federal agency did nothing to pass any laws themselves -- instead, by doing nothing, they tacitly allowed the unsound and irresponsible practices to continue. And look where we are today.
Spitzer was ahead of the curve. He had his finger on the problem and had been working a couple years to do something about it -- and the feds knocked him down. So he went public with it, laying them out for their bad behavior.
Next thing you know, he's out of office.
You can't convince me that was a coincidence. I am sure that there are many, many more high public officials who have made use of prostitutes -- and worse -- but no one was going after them to get them out of office (OK, Kwame Fitzpatrick in Detroit got nailed, but that's it).
They went after Spitzer because he was on to something.
So, don't feel bad for backing him for his political positions -- you are part of the public who didn't know he was up to stupid career-wrecking hanky-panky, but that does not change the fact that he was dead-on right about the banking industry. "
think wrote on Mar 10, 2009 2:52 PM:
How about this . . . Does the fact the the current Republican congress is changing its tune about 180 degrees from where they stood just a few years back on issues like filibusters and judicial nominations bother you in the least? Or is it just Democrats' duplicity that does it? Or is it just that the MEDIA is being duplicitous since you seem to perceive there's a difference in treatment.
I don't care WHO does it, but people's changing their principled stands based on what happens to be in their interest at the time drives me nuts. "
think wrote on Mar 10, 2009 11:08 AM:
You would think from the insulting tone of your friend a.mom's response that people espousing her brand of ideology had not been running the country since 1980. Wake up . . . We are on the brink of ruin, and Democrats -- as duplicitous and political as they may be-- have not been running the show for much of that time. Even Bill Clinton was an avid de-regulator, and look where that got us.
Principles should be principles regardless of party. The things you call Democrats on were Republican vices, too, and worse. The Constitution was given a beating during the last administration. I hope our current president can help us turn things around, but I am not optimistic, mostly because of the broken nature of DC politics.
A. Mom, if you would rather go back to where we were from 2000-2008, maybe you're the one who needs the wake up call. "
drivebytrucker wrote on Mar 9, 2009 10:41 PM:
No one can argue that one. I give up. "
a.mom wrote on Mar 9, 2009 9:52 AM:
I have written to you via your email and did not receive a response, so I can only suppose that you must have been busy that day.
Personally, I read your column because it is a painful wake up call to me weekly about how willfully blind our media is to the duplicitous behavior of Democrats. From cheating on taxes that they want to raise on the rest of us to providing perks for their financial contributors (see Chris Dodd and the recent presidential pardon for his banking buddy that owed hundreds of thousands of dollars and jail time for his financial transgressions), Democrats have proven that Republicans have nothing on them when it comes to the Culture of Corruption.
So you are my weekly wake up that our media is as terrible at facing reality as our president. "