skippy the bush kangaroo: not so fast, mr. brown...

Friday, March 03, 2006

not so fast, mr. brown...

for the record, here's my response to jane hamsher's apology to mike brown in her comments section:

i'm not the first to point this out, but i find it interesting that mike brown sent identical apologies to joe gandelman and you.

by trade, i'm a press operator, and the print shop i work for does a lot of work for firms based in washington. we print a great deal of form letters with politicians' and political operatives' "signatures" on them. tho i doubt many recipients fall for this ploy, these letters are meant to convey the impression that the sender has personally signed the letter. actually, i'm the one who signs them -- one "signer" among thousands.

granted, my line of work isn't the most ethical one. that's my cross to bear. but every letter i write myself is unique, and i sign each and every one -- i don't hire some bullshit firm to stamp my "official" signature to a slew of xeroxed form letters. if brown is sincere, the least he could do is assume a more active -- and personal -- role in responding to those willing to accept his apology. as things stand, his apology lacks verity...

i'm prepared to give brown the benefit of the doubt. that newly discovered videotape certainly lends his side of the story credence. but his apology has a distinctly impersonal feel -- which, as i recall, is disturbingly reminiscent of the way he publicly carried himself in the days and weeks following hurricane katrina. so i can't accept his apology just yet, sorry. i need more convincing...

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update: my mistake -- mike brown accepted jane's apology, he didn't give one. somehow i twisted that around yesterday, and today i'm an idiot. serves me right. i apologize for my idiocy...

posted by Jim Yeager at 10:27 PM |