Imagine working your ass off for days. Little sleep, lots of responsibility, and a million things to do at all times. The task: to encourage listeners of the amazing radio station I work at to donate 23 thousand dollars. Imagine executing this task while a dozen or so people flood the most influential social media group you’ve got…with unrelenting hatred. Over and over again, everyone is forced to watch the scroll and bumps of passionate, opinionated, and often libelous inaccurate negativity.
Still, somehow I must do my best to inspire those paying attention to love us so much that they’re willing to fork over 23 thousand dollars. From local business owners, acquaintances, and close friends, I am asked why I am allowing such toxicity to continue in this group? I am the only admin of this 1700-person forum.
One morning, I read about how my efforts are so entirely worthless, that maybe once I’m gotten rid of, there should be another fund drive. A fundraising drive this particular poster will actually donate to. That’s it. I must get rid of the negativity, if only for the duration of this fund-drive. I go on a banning spree never before experienced on this 100% never -moderated Forum of Fire.
Now, I’ve never moderated a forum. So amidst my moody morning of super-sensitivity (even my sense of smell is out of control), perhaps it was a poor choice made on my part. Removing and banning a user from a group certainly deserves some kind of pregnancy-proof policy. It was irresponsible, and I’m sorry I opened that can of worms without a some kind of something to guide me. Well, as others have described, a “shitstorm” “clusterfuck” ensued.
I am herein referred to as:
- an ignorant fascist
- a treasonous dictator worthy of ousting
- a perp of negativity, oppression and harassment
- operating as part of a Stalinist regime
- an enemy of progress
- a plebian fool from the lower echelon of this universe
Why such viciousness? You see, this place has been running on pure passion. Now the passion has been so fundamentally misplaced that I’m being attacked for precisely the opposite of my efforts. The insults above are pretty much exactly the opposite of everything I stand for.
It’s worth noting that there are interested partys who want to move CHLY from what it’s grown into (a style of alternative voice to corporate commercial media and local-business-only ad policy), to a new model which accepts corporate advertising. The Radio Malaspina Society didn’t start out with the intention of being an alternative voice to corporate media, it grew into that naturally over the years. Now some people want to bring back the original plans. Now there is a “Save CHLY [from the fascists]” (me) movement that wants transition from current progresses.
The object of this transition is one that will see that the station remain in a moldy basement instead of adapt properly in a beautiful heritage building. The object of this transition is to refuse any trends or technology beyond the FM signal. Trends and technology that will eventually see that the alternative voice to corporate commercial media remain and grow along with everything else. The object of this transition is to get rid of hard working people who feel so strongly about this counter-approach of public knowledge that they’re willing to devote their lives with little or no pay.
Do I really have to correct the analysis that our efforts are Stalinist? STALINIST they’ve said!
Here’s what I’ve actually been spending my time doing:
- Giving listeners the chance to hear directly from voices who advocate independent media free from the influences of large corporate profit-driven messaging. Voices like Mel Hurtig, Yves Engler, David Barsamian, and Michael Parenti.
- Editing audio clips from these interviews for archiving and future listening
- Introducing new volunteers to tasks around the station
- Answering, recording, facilitating, and entering hundreds of pledges from people who actually recognize that what we’re doing is important (thank gawd for these people)
- All of my normal job
- Assembling audio from news agencies within Canada that I’ve solicited in order to finally secure some kind of relevant news syndication for CHLY audiences. These include The Global Research News Hour, This Week on Media Mornings, The Real News Network, and Freedomain Radio.
- Spontaneously bawling my eyes out
Just when you think someone understands you and your intentions, they turn around try their darnedest to make you out as a fucking fascist. These hateful and most inaccurate insults were said by people I considered friends. Friends who I thought understood me. Man, was I wrong.
Leave a Reply