Formal Apology Requested from USA Today
Formal Apology Requested from USA Today
Sarasota Herald Tribune/USA Today Violate Their Own Policies
Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald Tribune/USA Today;
As I stated in our text exchange, I will not be responding to you or any other USA Today affiliate until I receive a formal apology for waiting so long to remove the first comment below. I had repeatedly asked you and others to remove this comment and it was not removed until after the death threat was made against me.
I don’t need to lecture you or your organization on civility, I’ll let your own policies/conversation guidelines do the lecturing:
Please be polite. While it's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations are not tolerated and may result in immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the USA TODAY Network. Personal attacks against our staff will be removed and threats against our staff involving imminent harm may be referred to a local law enforcement official.
I only ask that you formally apologize and admit your mistake here in the Sarasota Herald Tribune with adequate visibility. Or you can admit your duplicitous double standard for people with whom you disagree by not recognizing your mistake and ignoring this request once again. For reference, please see my tweets on 1/15 and 1/16.
This is the second comment which stands in clear contradiction to your conversation guidelines. See comment below by laura_g:
This comment is still there 2 weeks later. “You are not welcome here.” is not very welcoming.
We reserve the right to suspend and/or ban users and/or remove comments that, in our sole judgment, infringe on other users' ability to take part in dialogue on our website in a safe and welcoming environment.
New College of Florida is undergoing exciting and dramatic changes in the months and years ahead. At our Board Meeting on January 31st, I will seek to protect our community and enable a truly free exchange of ideas, by making a motion to remove USA Today and its affiliates from the list of approved media outlets until an apology is received with a commitment for USA Today to adhere to its own policies.
Sincerely,
Eddie Speir
Trustee, New College of Florida
Here is a link to the Conversation Guidelines.
I agree with a request for an apology! It’s atrocious. In fact, only the most degraded humans in Jonathan Swift’s famous example of repulsive humans behave with such scatological impurity. (He calls them Yahoos.) Published in a sophisticated newspaper, the idea suggests New College students should degrade themselves thusly toward a college trustee, a respected position, chosen to make decisions during this college’s steep dive toward its own oblivion.
Oh my, the fragility is on display today! Last time we got to see white mediocracy, elevated vastly beyond where it deserves to be, embarrass itself with its display of ignorance. Today we get to see the fragility of this man, who wilts at the slightest push back. You're crying about a comment on an article; what a big alpha male you are.
This is another essence of modern conservatism; it feels free to use dangerous and inflamatory speech to attack those it deems its enemies, and then cries loudly about being persecuted when confronted.