Tuesday, January 02, 2007

We're so @&#$ offensive!

Some days I wake up and I think "How can I piss people off by posting news to the website" - and it looks like I succeeded thanks to Jim's angry email below:

    Jim has sent the following email:
    "Kwanzaa" is not a legitimate holiday--was in fact postulated in the 1960s by a militant Negro convict who was incarcerated for assault and kidnapping. To even mention it, as you do on your website in promoting a book by a "Diane Werts," in the same context as Christmas or Hanukkah is an insult to those long-established religious celebrations.

    Likewise winter solstice, just another crackpot concept, utilizing the meterological fact of the earth & sun's position on December 21st by some individuals purporting to be practitioners of "Wicca," another pseudo-theology & with about as much scientic legitimacy as astrology.

    The inclusion of such items on your website is merely perpetuating inaccurate and politically-correct propaganda, and detracts from any credibility you might have regarding a serious reporting on television matters.

    Anyway, from what I can see, your website is nothing more than an advertiser-supported plugfest for the home video industry--without serious journalistic distance, you offer nothing of import vis a vis advance information or investigative reporting about DVD releases, only relay what the production companies want the public to know when they want them to know it!

Sorry to the 70,000 people that visit the website every day - Jim says we don't any advance information on the website (nope, we sure didn't post the WKRP date the other day). I hope poor Jim finds someone else to bug tomorrow. I'm sure he's extremely upset that the Easter Bunny and eggs are associated with Easter.

Gord

17 Comments:

At January 02, 2007 9:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's crazy. You are being attacked for being tolerant and inclusive.

I haven't gotten too many e-mails like that. Maybe once when I mentioned scientology and another time when I said a Christian movie was bad. (That one actually weirded me out, 'God will judge these people.')

Most of the complaints I get come from when I blow predictions. (Borat being the most recent example.)

 
At January 03, 2007 5:30 AM, Blogger David Lambert said...

So I have to wonder if "Jim" has complained to all the calendar companies out there that include Kwanzaa (and the Winter solstice, for that matter) on their calendars.

I read through Jim's message, shaking my head and wondering who has time in their day to actually write and send this kind of thing? He's free to express his opinion, don't get me wrong, but...why take time to write THIS?

Finally, I would like to point out to Jim that all holidays start somewhere, and if you look at the origins of both Christmas and Hanukkah, you will note that there were once governments on this Earth who declared the people that started and inspired those holidays to be criminals.

I won't even give serious consideration to Jim's attack on our web site's credibility. He is obviously doing so to support his argument that we don't know what we are talking about regarding the holidays, that he is right and we are wrong. He just feels the need to support his argument about the holidays by basically pointing out that we're "always wrong". I would like to point out to Jim that he's incorrect, but let's assume that he was correct. Fine, what's wrong with that? If we provide one consolidated place for people to come to find those studio announcements, and we provide them in a way that is entertaining, and people like to come see us, then where's the harm? Gord and I never claimed to be "journalists" in the classic sense, and I don't think we ever intended to do "investigative reporting about DVD releases" (we're not exactly 60 minutes here!).

To Jim, and anyone else who agrees with him, I say "learn some tolerance". Last year I got an e-mail attacking me because I used the word "holiday" in a news headline, and the writer felt strongly that I should have said "Christmas" instead. I was accused of being politically correct and anti-Christian. Well, first off he doesn't know my religious background, so he made assumptions that he just plain couldn't support. But mostly what he failed to take into account was that I had just used the word "Christmas" on two or three previous news items, and just wanted to switch up so it wouldn't all read the same. Simple, but he got so worked up over something ridiculous that he took time out of his day to complain about it.

Sometimes, when you feel strongly about something and want to write a letter or an e-mail, you should do so, and then wait a few hours before actually sending it. See if you really think it's worthwhile...AFTER you've cooled down a bit. Y'know?

 
At January 03, 2007 6:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some guy complaining about people being too politically correct is tolerable to a degree. But this guy seems to get a bit personal. I think he's just pissed off because he doesn't know if his favourite show is being produced for DVD eight months from now. It seems to me that you guys both have regular jobs and can't devote your entire lives to investigating DVD releases. In my opinion, more than a months notice for DVD release information is rather pointless. If the set doesn't come out for three months, what does it really matter if it has some special feature or not. Its not like I'm going to rush out and buy it this exact moment. The set doesn't come out for three months.

Jim, if you're out there reading this, your sentiments are not shared by this reader. Today, January 3rd, it doesn't matter if Law & Order is being released in March, April or May, because as I stated, its only January. But you are of course entitled to your opinion and I'm glad you shared it.

 
At January 03, 2007 8:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow. that's the stupidest thing I've read in awhile. If you don't like a website, why waste time looking at it and writing a nasty email to it's owners??? JUST DON'T GO TO THAT WEBSITE!!! Come on! People are so stupid. It's like the people who complain they don't like a tv show but are too lazy or stupid to CHANGE THE CHANNEL!

 
At January 04, 2007 9:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Personally, I think once you start taking offense at the words *other* people use, you not only lose the right to complain about political correctness but enter the realm of self-parody.

What it comes down to is this guy is insulted by your word choice, and demands you use another term. If that's not a speech code, it is at least the next thing to it.

 
At January 08, 2007 11:47 PM, Blogger Progrocktv said...

What no FESTIVUS?!?!?!

This is supposed to be a TV on DVD site and you forgot the MOST important television holiday:-)

 
At January 17, 2007 6:13 PM, Blogger Jebb said...

"Investigative reporting about DVD releases" ... that's priceless. Armchair critics are a dime a dozen, and 98 percent of them aren't worth a second thought.

 
At February 15, 2007 6:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oy!

oops...

;-)

 
At February 16, 2007 11:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Information on upcoming releases is pretty much all you guys DO, isn't it? And investigative reporting on DVDs... I may be wrong, but I kind of thought that's what the reviews were. You take a critical eye to the packaging and production and, more than once, you've convinced me to pick up a set I wasn't sure about.

I'd call that a useful service. Plus the fact you give me enough advance notice of the DVDs I want (Stargate Atlantis Season 2) that I'll be sure to have the money socked aside.

You provide a valuable service and, in my opinion, you do it with one of the easiest-to-use sites on the web.

Keep it up and ignore the ignorant.

 
At February 24, 2007 12:33 PM, Blogger ericpaddon said...

Jim alas states imperfectly what is a blunt reality. That Kwanzaa is a holiday concocted by the politically correct for the sole purpose of diminishing the meaning of Christmas. And sorry Dave, but to somehow suggest that Kwanzaa's origins are even remotely comparable to those of Christmas and Hannukah is really laughable (and I can say that being someone who teaches the History of Civilization for a living).

Having had to endure another Christmas season recently where advertisers more and more refuse to use the word "Christmas" and thus force me to hear the term "holiday presents", "holiday sales", "holiday songs" etc. etc. when the blunt fact is that these are always aimed at the people who are doing it for CHRISTMAS, what that comes off to me is not a sign of "tolerance" on their part but an increasing contempt for the majority for whom Christmas is an important time of the year.

I refuse to ever utter a certain two word phrase Happy you know what, because to me it reflects an increasing desire to diminish the meaning of Christmas itself, especially the true meaning of Christmas as it deals with its religious dimension.

For the rest of what Jim said, I can only shake my head in disappointment that he has to have the right idea about Kwanzaa and apply that right idea to such a wrongheaded context as complaining at this place.

 
At March 10, 2007 11:38 AM, Blogger Santa said...

Jim needs to get a life, maybe leave his house more then once a year while he's at it.

 
At March 10, 2007 11:39 AM, Blogger Santa said...

Oh yes, I like the site, very usefull indeed ! keep up the good work.

 
At March 14, 2007 11:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the hell kind of an email is this. The fact that people actually take time out of their day to write hate mail like this is exactly why the republican party has a place in our society. In fact, rearrange the letters in the word this and you will have exactly what the email that you received is. I hope you get my lively attempt at humor... except for the part about the email and the republicans, that is not a joke!

 
At March 29, 2007 8:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Jim,

The cleaners called, your SHEET is ready to be picked up.

 
At June 08, 2007 12:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found this after so shameless surfing on the web. I will say that I agree on your attitude on Kwanzaa. I also take offense at any thing that is exclusive by its name and intent. American White College Fund
Miss White America
White Entertainment Television
(insert Black or Negro where appropriate ) In a time where the difference of Americans) I feel
it's a slap in the face to any one who has tried and change the attitudes of people who are trying to create a world where we are all treated the same. Anonymous, your Gangsta suit is also ready!

 
At July 04, 2007 10:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dave is correct about governments and the Christmas holiday. The only reason we have Christmas is because the Roman government celebrated a "pagan" sun holiday on 25 December, and someone in the early Christian community decided they needed something to counteract it, something to focus activities on Jesus instead of Sol. If you want to get technical, the birth of Jesus most likely didn't happen in December at all; it was just another disgruntled group of people who didn't want to be overshadowed. The oldest and much more important Christian celebration is the Resurrection, anyway. And it's a pretty poor "Christian" holiday when people have to take shots at others who either don't wish to or just don't celebrate it, let alone use a word describing it. Christmas is more about PR than anything, especially now. Live and let live, people.

 
At July 04, 2007 5:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who says "vis a vis" these days? Self-involved trolls with way too much time on their hands.

 

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