I was having one of my very spirited debates with my good friend Adron Hall, publisher of the Transit Sleuth and he was trying to convince me to be more positive.
That somehow I would have a better chance of actualizing change if I would not concentrate on the negative so much.
I gave the example of OPAL, the organization in Portland that has worked so long and hard for transit equity in this area. They tried the positive approach and even received accolades from the Trimet board of directors (god I hate using the word directors when the reality is they are sock puppets). But after all the nice talk and meetings the board completely ignored every single one of their recommendations.
The fact of the matter is that without people like me , Erik Halstead, and others there would be absolutely no coverage of the ugly side of Trimet.
Trimet as a company has the best PROPAGANDA departments in the business which spends $2.5 million tax payer dollars a year spreading good news about Trimet. You will never hear a negative word coming out of that department.
But the truth is completely opposite from what you will hear from the official propagandists. And the other side of the coin must be presented to the public.
Change cannot be made by being nice, all of history has proven that.
All I can do as a Trimet blogger is show the public the side of Trimet that you won't see anywhere else.
Yes my blog is counterculture and offends plenty of people.
But that's not my fault. The only people that are offended are the ones that have special interest in maintaining the status quo.
In the meantime I'll continue covering the side of Trimet that you won't hear anywhere else. And I'll do it without sugar coating anything.
Of course being nice doesn't hold too much change, but trying to shy out of concentrating on negatives may help a bit. I'm no expert, but I'm a public transportator and I know I've seen more than enough to know that voices over the years are yet to be accompanied. But it only takes time for opposers to realize... Ignorance is bliss?
ReplyDeleteWhen you're dealing with power and money and you're not part of the 'gang' then you resort to other methods.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of one major change in society that has occurred by being 'nice'.