I live in the small city of Oshkosh, WI. Oshkosh was once known internationally for Oshkosh B'Gosh clothing (which has just recently closed its last corporate office here). It is now most recognizable to those outside of Wisconsin for the EAA air show, the largest aviation show in the world. One week every year, Wittman Regional Airport, just on the outskirts of town, becomes the busiest airport in the world.
My small city is serviced by one newspaper, The Northwestern which is owned by Gannett Newpapers. For many in this community, The Northwestern provides all the local, state and national news that they receive. Recently, The Northwestern printed this editorial about the national "Tea Party" and what the 2010 elections hold in store for them. The editorial itself is pretty straightforward and is not necessarily pro Tea Party, more so just an essay making predictions about how they will fare for the two major parties in upcoming elections. Follow me below the fold where things get a bit more interesting...
The great thing about The Northwestern, and most online newspapers these days, is the ability for the community to comment on articles. Every article from school district budget cuts to letters to the editor from local Jesus freaks calling for a theocracy (which is not at all uncommon here) can be commented on and debated. Oshkosh is very politically polarized. The moderately sized university here provides a bastion for liberalism that would not otherwise be present here. Twenty miles up the road from Oshkosh is the small city of Appleton, WI which is the heart of the Wisconsin bible belt and a stronghold for reactionary conservatism (though, to its credit, they voted for Obama in 2008).
The editorial I pointed out started quite a rousing conversation and debate in which the polarized nature of political beliefs in Oshkosh came shining through. After just a day, 40 people, about equally split between Tea Partiers, liberals and moderates had weighed in with their thoughts concerning the Tea Party (as a side note, and much to the dismay of many here, I am trying my hardest to refrain from calling the Tea Partiers by their more commonly used name). Many of the conservative Tea Partiers in my community right away questioned why anyone could have a problem with a movement that stood up for Joe Schmoe Taxpayer. Many of the liberals countered that, in fact, as evidenced in numerous places, the Tea Party activists was actually a movement of ignorance and bigotry. The debate started to get heated and then . . . silence.
The Northwestern staff decided that comments would no longer be allowed on this editorial. The people of the community were no longer able to access comments on the subject. At first I figured it was a glitch. But then, after two days of not being able to access comments, when no other article had this issue, the sad truth was apparent. The Northwestern was censoring debate.
The Northwestern has always moderated its comments, as can be expected. They didn't allow things which many newspapers wouldn't allow. Among these was referring to Tea Partiers as Teabaggers. That's fine by me, it's not too hard to bite my tongue on that one. It's a joke that never quite gets old, I know, but in order to continue criticizing the Tea Party movement with hard hitting evidence of their true ideals, which many moderates in my community are likely unaware of, it is worth it to call them what they wished to be called.
Yesterday, after comments on the Tea Party editorial had been inaccessible for two days, I wrote a blog questioning it. Today, that blog had also been deleted with no explanation. Here is a copy of that blog (luckily I had saved it in a word document):
For two days now, comments on The Northwestern's editorial about the Tea Party have been inaccessible. I have found that every other comment section for every other article or commentary is accessible. Why is there a glitch with this one? And, why has it been inaccessible for the past two days? Much information came to light in the comments showing the founder of the Tea Party movement and many of its members to be racists. For information on that please refer to the following links:
The Tea Party's Founder, President and creator of TeaParty.org, Dale Robertson:
http://washingtonindependent.com/...
Various pictures of the 9-12 rally at the US Mall (where FOX reports there were at least 3 billion people in attendance). Of course, many of these are just stupid, not racist, but there are some real gems in there... and of course death threats from militia types:
http://www.flickr.com/...
And of course, this lovely picture (again from the 9-12 protest) which shows the true ignorance and pure stupidity of many in this Tea Party movement:
http://rutherfordl.files.wordpress.c...
The sign says: National Socialist Healthcare, Dachau, Germany 1945, with a picture of a pile of people who were murdered at the concentration camp.
So, again I ask, why is the Northwestern making the comments on the Tea Party editorial inaccessible? If it is a glitch, fine, fix it. But also, please explain why this one editorial is affected by this glitch when no other article or commentary is. Thank you.
Now, I know in this blog that I posted on TheNorthwestern.com, I refer to some Tea Partiers as stupid and ignorant, but it is only in the context of the signs that they were holding at rallies. This doesn't seem to me like it would constitute a reason for the blog being deleted, especially seeing as how the blogs appear on the OPINION page.
I'm at a loss on this one. It saddens me that the local paper is being so biased, but I am also not surprised given the area in which I live. This diary has been a good way to vent. I am not sure what my next course of action will be. A letter to the editor may be an exercise in futility. Maybe I'll just have to wait until they post more Tea Party propaganda and then try again.