desertdave Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I was wondering if other people were upset or outraged by the "Letters to the Editor" on page 10 of this week's Guad Reporter. I certainly felt it to be a slap in the face to the Mexican community. While I am not Mexican nor am I particularly religious, I found it quite distasteful. I don't need to be told about the "science" of our lake. If you haven't read it, you should and voice your opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Ronnfeldt Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I also was a little disgusted. I don't have a religious bone in my body, but I found it disrespectful of people, especially local people, who are believers. I didn't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Huge difference between "Guad Reporter Editorial" and a letter to the editor by one person expressing their point of view, exactly the purpose of a letter to the editor. I am sure it was meant to cause controversy as they often print letters that are thought provoking and or polemic. Instead of taking this to a webboard, how about writing your own letter to the editor? Look forward to reading it. Deadline is usually Wednesday for publishing in this week's edition. And you can email it! It is as easy as posting on a web board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bournemouth Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 It would be a decent thing to do to have the heading changed from Guad Reporter Editorial as the content referred to was not an editorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 There are a couple of religions (Christianity and Judaism) that you can say almost anything about with no repercussions. Be VERY careful if you criticize another religion. You may be labeled a bigot or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBearII Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 What really annoyed me in the Guad Reporter this week was that, for the second week in a row, they used a rude cutesy lead headline--this week it was "Environmental freak takes charge in Ajijic." This is apparently an effort to appear more "with it" and thus draw new readers. Totally embarrassing. All it does is put into question the mental abilities and judgment of the editors IMO. I hesitate to imagine what kind of readers they are hoping to appeal to. Or worse, are they imagining that their readers are incapable of reading a straight headline? This trend is going to reduce readership, not increase it, because if the headlines continue like this I am going to be ashamed to be seen buying the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside7 Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Maybe trying to achieve Rolling Stone status.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natasha Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I was wondering if other people were upset or outraged by the "Letters to the Editor" on page 10 of this week's Guad Reporter. I certainly felt it to be a slap in the face to the Mexican community. While I am not Mexican nor am I particularly religious, I found it quite distasteful. I don't need to be told about the "science" of our lake. If you haven't read it, you should and voice your opinion. I was wondering if other people were upset or outraged by the "Letters to the Editor" on page 10 of this week's Guad Reporter. I certainly felt it to be a slap in the face to the Mexican community. While I am not Mexican nor am I particularly religious, I found it quite distasteful. I don't need to be told about the "science" of our lake. If you haven't read it, you should and voice your opinion. Distasteful. Scornful of others. Disrespectful of customs blended with religion that have been here for generations longer than the writer, and will be here for generations to come. For those Mexicans who revere the Virgin of Zapopan, they do not need to be told it's rubbish, nor are they interested in the science. And the writer had no business heaping such derision and contempt on their heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mexpat06 Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I wondered about the word "Freak". Advocate is a word I understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertdave Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I apologize to the Reporter for calling it an editorial, however I found it offensive and wonder why they would publish something that offends the culture were we live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 The one thing we can hope for in Letters to the Editor is transparency: no selective publishing, no censorship. I doubt the paper gets enough letters to be selective, but printing what they get is one thing papers are supposed to do. Based on the contents of the letter to which we are referring, I'm guessing the author let fly with emotional invective and not rational thought. Okay, no problem. I certainly wouldn't warm to any conversation with her about anything substantive based on that missive. In particular, though, I find it amusing that she chastises the church for fooling the unwise into thinking a statuette can have any effect on anything at all, when the whole church achieves the apotheois of lunacy in much more day-to-day fairy tales and completely subjective rulings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Distasteful. Scornful of others. Disrespectful of customs blended with religion that have been here for generations longer than the writer, and will be here for generations to come. For those Mexicans who revere the Virgin of Zapopan, they do not need to be told it's rubbish, nor are they interested in the science. And the writer had no business heaping such derision and contempt on their heads. I take this was a letter to the editor? Do people not have the right to express their opinion, even if it differs from the majority? For me, the correct response would be a rebuttal letter to the editor, not complaining on this forum, which did not share the letter to start with. I also believe it would serve a better purpose if it were written by someone with a dog in that fight. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebeads Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 What really annoyed me in the Guad Reporter this week was that, for the second week in a row, they used a rude cutesy lead headline--this week it was "Environmental freak takes charge in Ajijic." This is apparently an effort to appear more "with it" and thus draw new readers. Totally embarrassing. All it does is put into question the mental abilities and judgment of the editors IMO. I hesitate to imagine what kind of readers they are hoping to appeal to. Or worse, are they imagining that their readers are incapable of reading a straight headline? This trend is going to reduce readership, not increase it, because if the headlines continue like this I am going to be ashamed to be seen buying the paper. Absolutely my feeling. Freak??? are these professional writers? This is as broad as their vocabulary ranges? Not the first time writing seemed unprofessional or neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexy Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 In my experience over the years any controversial subject that the Reporter doesn't have the staff or the inclination to investigate and write up goes to the Letters to the Editor column. There, both sides get aired haphazardly. Problem is that the editors give space to any :()'s words, pro or con. It helps matters not at all, although it may sell a few more Reporters (is the editors' thinking). It could be enlightening to readers if the letters to the editors were selected for their valid or sensible view point and information. But I've seen pointless trash printed alongside valid information in the Reporter. (Check out Letters to the Editors in respectable journals and newspapers. It can be done with intelligence.) I, too, was annoyed at the headline that described the arrival of an environmental specialist as a "freak." Still, the Reporter has done worse. Some years ago an elephant from a circus set up in the Guadalajara area escaped and ran out onto the highway. The driver of the cab that hit the animal was killed. The elephant also died. The headline: "Elephant Bites the Dust." I wrote a Letters to the Editor in protest of their callous headline when a human being's life had been lost. It got printed. So I can only say, let them know how you feel about things. Will it matter? Make them shape up? Be more professional? I don't think so. Lexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mx_Flwr Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 anyway Mexicans do not read that newspaper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 These sort of headlines smack of a supermarket rag.......not professional journalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Ronnfeldt Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 The OP asked if anyone else was upset or disgusted by the Letter to the Editor. They did not ask if it was the Guadalajara Reporter's fault. Of course they were within journalistic rights to print it. That doesn't mean some weren't offended by it, and that was the question. I'd be willing to bet there will be a rebuttal letter in there this week. In terms of tasteless headlines like "Environmental Freak" or the headline used to describe the man who was murdered a month ago, the Reporter DOES have control over that, and now that I'm reminded I have a voice, I think I will call them on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcscats Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Its just a letter folks and its just an opinion from a person. You have the same right to write back and disagree if you want. I thought it was an interesting letter. This is a secular country folks. The Catholic Church in Guad has sure said some offensive things about many groups of people (of which many live in our communities lakeside) so I don't have much sympathy against this letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I'm not a subscriber so I didn't see the ad but glancing at the letters to the editor I noticed one about an ad that Barbara's Bazaar took out that I found kind of curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 The new Ajijic Delegado refers to himself as an environmental " fanatic". Freak? Fanatic? It was a long headline. Probably not room for fanatic, which some folks would probably still have managed to find a way to be offended and complain about. Much ado over nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexy Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Al--In journalism especially choice of words matter. Maybe we're making much ado about nothing, but still it's fun to contemplate the possibilities. In my opinion, fanatic would have been the right word to use because, as you say, that's what the guy calls himself. Big difference between freak and fanatic. If space was the issue, Environmentalist Takes Charge in Ajijic would have fit. Stuffier, yes. But more accurate. However, as usual, many of us, me included, digressed from the OP's original concern: The letter to the Editor. The letter writer says he/she finds it sad that so many intelligent Mexicans subscribe to the myth of the "Reina del Lago." And he/she finds it reprehensible for the Catholic church to encourage and support such believers. This arrogant letter belonged in the waste basket. Instead the Reporter decides to print it. Why? We are all free to believe what we want. To me, it looks like the Reporter hopes to stir up a little dust by printing a response. Now that's a very cynical and unworthy thing for a newspaper to do. Surely they have other filler on a slow news day. How about a horoscope column? (Yes, my fellow nonbelievers, I'm being sarcastic.) Lexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 The Letters To The Editor feature has always served as an open forum where readers may express their opinions, wrong or bigoted as they might be. Other readers are also free to respond. There is nothing cynical or unworthy about a newspaper offering space for readers to exhibit their ignorance and bigotry as well as for other readers to point it out. I agree with the poster here who said those who were upset or offended need to tell that to the GR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexy Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Xena--I agree that the letter calls for a response. I'm not arguing that. I'm all for it. The question is why does this newspaper habitually use its Letters column to stir up controversy and anger? In this case, it's a religious issue, and this letter writer states essentially how dumb and pathetic these people are who take part in the Reina Del Lago ceremony. If that was the only letter received by the newspaper in response to the recent news item about the ceremony then there was no valid reason to run a letter that insults a group of people. Lexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertdave Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Right on Lexy! That was my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Right on Lexy! That was my point. I doubt many of us would characterize the Guadalajara Reported as a prize worthy, "fair and balanced" newspaper. It's the least amount of newspaper for the most amount of money that I've ever seen. So, on that particular insulting letter...........consider the source; both the author and the editor who chose to publish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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