This week was my birthday and it got me thinking...
Reporting on the likes of David Rivera, Lynda Bell, Steve Bateman, Rick Scott, Alex Diaz De La Portilla, John Thrasher, Erik Fresen, Allen West, Barbara Jordan, etc. (there are so many others) over the years takes a toll. It robs me of a bit of my serenity each time I report because I am focusing on someone tainted, doing something dysfunctional. Little seems to change, bad politicians are returned to office year after year. I thought blogging would lead to positive change, instead it gets me trolls arguing about
minutiae. I get disheartened. My most read post is about
Guillermo Maldonado. Talk about attracting trolls...the religious, pious ones are worst of all.
Then there is the judge election disappointment, some things really get under my skin. I made my case directly to Judge Wolfson, she still doesn't get it. It is draining to try to reason with the unreasonable. That is why I call some 'putz' and leave it at that. They will never see the other side so why expend my ENERGY to try? Year after year, politicians kiss the ring of the hate filled Anthony Verdugo and yet, people still vote for them instead of shunning the candidates who grovel to haters.
I just don't know that I want to do this anymore. Is my disappointment with Miami Dade voters? Is it with readers who write nasty comments? Is it with campaign financing and lobbyists? Is it with the voters that threw
Ray Judah out of office in Lee County or the PAC that financed the coup? Is it with me? It is all of these and then some - a stew of discontent.
This November it will be 6 years of blogging - almost 4,000 blog posts (you haven't seen the ones when I am really angry, Gimleteye thankfully makes me remove them). I have had millions of readers read my posts. Maybe enough is enough.
Hammering away at problems, what does it accomplish? I was hoping it would spur some of you to action. Not really happening. I am not doing this to entertain people. I will blog occasionally until I can make some decisions. Maybe I will write about hamburger and pizza joints like other popular blogs and not invest energy into blogs about the underbelly of Miami Dade County which disgusts me. Maybe, I just don't know.
I just want to wake up loving each new day. And yes, I already had to remove one nasty comment on this post. Putz.
46 comments:
Life is too short to be doing something that isn't a positive for you. But only you can decide that.
As far as making a difference goes, just discussing these issues makes a difference because it makes them known to so many more people. Everyone isn't going to agree with you and many people aren't going to listen, but if you get through to even one person, I'm thinking it's worth it.
I had a very brief discussion about this subject with Swampstyle last night. Bottom line is that I blog because I have something to say. It's very self serving, but it keeps me sane...for right now.
Tomorrow that may change. But that's tomorrow and I'll deal with it then.
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We will have to meet for lunch Rick.
You were there when I started this blog with Gimleteye, I thank you for your help and encouragement over the years.
This is blog essentially where I get my news. There is nothing else like it.
A hundred years ago, back when there was a wide market for tabloid newspapers, there was a hallowed role for muckrakers. Today, they are unpaid bloggers. It is a shame, really, that the broadband spectrum was sold for nothing, leading to the disintegration of editorial and investigative news in print media.
I do agree with Rick, above. If you have something to say, you say it ... whether you are paid or not. As a blogger you wade into the great flow of information unleashed by the internet; whether it sticks or not is hard to prove.
What we have shown, though, on EOM is that within a tight, narrow-cast focus -- there most certainly is an audience. As the case may be, our audience often is comprised of special interests who are mostly successful keeping their names, actions, and results out of public view -- which would be their preference. Our audience also includes law enforcement.
EOM has created a small pond, in which certain forms of cultural, economic, and political behavior are made visible. But there may be a limit to what is possible over time, and familiarity does breed contempt: not necessarily the best way to start the morning ...
I have found this Blog to be a source of truth. While I can sympathize with your sense of burnout, I would surely miss this voice in the wilderness...
I wouldn't allow reader comments. They detract from this essential service.
G.O.D. your problem is that your actually worried about what other people think. Just do what makes you happy like that other GOD who turns people into pillars of salt or plays tricks like telling fathers to kill their sons, then says just joking dude.
Take your bong out of the closet and make a good strong drink then make your life altering decision. Works for me.
Please do not give up. I would lose my main source of information on the bad guys. Neither the TV nor the newspaper will give it to me. I depend on you. I realize it is a pain in the a__ but someone must do it and you are great at it.
Cato always good advice. Always drug related, but makes sense on one level.
Your blog is my most trusted source to keep in touch with what really goes on. I empathize with your disgust but hope you hang in there. Change is on the horizon (Rivera saga, etc).
I would ask that you continue to blog. There are some of us who are in a position to influence the voting decisions of others. Your expose and reporting of the unreformable are influential in guiding us towards getting rid of them. It may not be much progress but Natasha is gone as is Joe Martinez. Bruno is in a run off as is Audrey.
Reading EOM every morning is as essential for me as daily newspaper... actually more so, since our daily local newspaper has fallen to such a sorry state. It's for this reason you must continue - filling a void left by changes in newspaper business. Please, don't be disheartened. We need the truth. Always.
The herald put the useless Chuck Rabin on county politics and he is so green he reported about one Souto's monologues as if unique. Like that is news to all of us. Souto is known for these lengthly rambling outbursts for years. Rabin doesn't even know that he is know as the rambling man.
GoD, maybe it's just this silly election season. Everyone has an opinion!
However, please let me remind you of the positive changes Eye on Miami has made, most recently:
#1 - the absentee ballot issue was blown wide open here, by you! Sosa has repeatedly credited you, maybe not so much the Herald, but they should have! A real live law came out of it, it needs tweaking, and even that's being worked on.
#2 - Ross Hancock has written that he had a spike in his campaign contributions. This came about shortly after your wrote about donating to campaigns, and he responded. Where else would he have been given the opportunity to voice this as he did here? Both what you wrote, and he wrote probably had a very positive impact to his campaign.
#3 - the recent Commission races where this was a very good and reliable source for what the candidates were really about. It allowed readers within the districts to voice an opinion, and those "others" who may be trolls, but usually are not taken too seriously if it's obvious they're coming from a campaign.
There is so much more.........Do what makes you happy, by all accounts. Please, don't for one second think your blogging along with Gimleteye don't make a difference. They do.
I would also venture to guess, if addressing the National elections, those seem to get the campaigns going on both sides, perhaps blocking comments on those posts may alleviate the trolls!
Please continue. Maybe only little changes, but there is movement, and that per se is worth it. Also, when a post alerts authorities (yes, some pay attention) questions are asked and sometimes even a deterrent to more fraud should be counted as a small victory...
You are too focused on deleting comments with which you disagree. You have blocked dozens of my comments even though they weren't personal attacks. Stop worrying about the comments and I guarantee you will have a more pleasant blogging experience.
As a longtime community and environmental activist, I totally understand how you feel about thinking it doesn't matter anymore. There is too much corruption In Miami. And no shame. And noone has your back. I think you should try something else- creative and fulfilling.
You have done yeoman's work.
None can take that away from you.
Some appreciate it.
Thank you.
Do as you desire.
You owe nothing.
You should stop writing about politicians and start writing about the global warming nonsense that gimleteye rehashes every week.
If someone only read the comments on your blog, they would believe Miami is made up of 99% liberal democrats. Of course the reason is that you censor all conservative comments. This blog would be better if you stopped the censorship and allowed diversity of opinion in your comments.
More posts about hamburger and pizza joints please!
How about a combination of pizza and politics. You have real power here and the capacity to change things (e.g. the entire focus on absentee ballots). I get being burned out and I sure get how hard it is to deal with trolls and trogladytes (sp?). But we would miss you. You need first of all to take good care of yourself though, so just know that many of us love you - blogging or not!
Genius: although you might not see it, you restored democracy to many of your followers who otherwise would not be able to have freedom of speech even if it's anonymously. You have also gotten the attention of many policy makers. You made history with the absentee ballot initiative. You stood up to bullies namely Seijas and Murphy on behalf of all those who feared them. People rely on your investigative reporting because you expose the hardcore truth. Your quick witt gives news a not so negative twist. YOU ARE FAIR! When exposing the truth. You might not see it now, but hopefully in the near future you can sit back and say--"I helped with that"or "I started that initiative"
But if you need a break by all means we want you to be happy, even if it means loosing you. Rest assured you are well respected and will be missed?.
The best part of this blog is when you fight with people writing comments. I can just picture you ready to burst a blood vessel on your forehead.
Genius , it would be a huge shame that you want to stop blogging but that is a personal choice , but i must say that 100% of the things that are talked about on here are not spoken ANYWHERE i am an environmentalist till i die and i will always have a profound love for the Everglades and our local ecology, i have been commenting here for years and i have never seen anyone who fights and speaks and protects the eveglades as you. i have to say it would be a shame to see you go but we have alot of challenges ahead and i truly believe that NOW is not the time .
thank you ALEX
This is exactly what I am so tired of total assholes. I am so sick of them. I am not threatening to quit....I think everyone here gets that. I am trying to get my life in order and the blog doesn't appear to be part of that.
Genius:
You have and are making a big difference in our lives. I know the feeling you have right now. I have been in the same position. just remember you are not alone.
Rick Thank You. Genius Thank you for all that you do.
Not amused M i have no sense of humor today and you know I know who you are.
Even though, most times, I'm on the other side of your opinions, you have made an impact on my views. I'm not converted but have developed some compassion and understanding of how the other side thinks. That said, life is too short to spend your time with efforts that effect you negatively. If you continue, I will continue to read, disagree mostly, but learn. May the force be with you!
BTW, GoD, there's a lot of things you can do with the comments to cull out the trolls. One is have them register. Yeah, it's a pain, but your loyal readers will understand and register.
The Neanderthals are lazy and will disappear.
BTW, lunch anytime. I'm buying. :)
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Please keep us informed. You are a bright light.
My friend, why not cut back to once a week rather than every day? Then perhaps it won't be such a chore for you. What you write about is important to this community and you have tremendous investigative and journalistic skills that must be shared with the rest of us to enhance public discourse and to get us thinking. there isn't a lot out there to do that on issues of great public import.
"Suffering is what was born.
Ignorance makes me forlorn."
~Allen Ginsberg
"If there's one thing
You're not going to do,
It's make the world
A better place."
~John Giorno
Whatever you choose to do regarding the blog, I applaud you!
Consider balancing the blogging by writing satire. I too became tired of feeling angry all the time and now contribute to an online satire site. Trolls typically can't handle the format and such is evidenced in comments left. Good luck with your decision.
At some point, we all experience burnout, and dealing with the mean-spirited and invincibly ignorant can be make anyone despair. But I sincerely hope you will continue this important service to the community.
When I moved to Miami, finding this blog was a revelation, and reading it has educated me about the unseen and usually uninvestigated aspects of local politics that the mainstream media rarely touch. There is simply nothing else like this blog. I go to it every day and always learn something new.
You DO make a difference, and I, for one, am most grateful.
Much has been said already, but as a recent (now three years+) arrival in Miami, your blog posts have tied together a picture that I would otherwise not have had. It has also made my advocacy on bicycle issues much more informed.
I feel your pain! However somebody has got to do the 'heavy-lifting' in this town. Someone has got to pull the curtain back to reveal our true realities. We cannot live up to our goals and improve our community, if we have no idea of where we truly are. You have been chosen to do this work, it is critical work that impacts the lives of millions of people, and at this point, it is your assignment in life. Get a fill-in for awhile, exhale, reflect, relax. Then come back and continue the struggle. When the time comes to pass the baton, you will know it.
G.O.D,
I appreciate the many years of service. I never agreed with you but always enjoyed your blogs. It comes a point in a Man's life to see if his efforts have had any impact or meaning, especially if his work is only viewed by those that are so entrenched in the process and benefiting from it and that no matter is said or pointed out in blogs what nothing will change.
I for one had enough of Miami-Dade County politics and found myself to consumed and have lost many years and not enjoying Miami for what it is a really beautiful place to live and have fun. Politics here will never change and your efforts, which are done for free only benefit those that take your hard work and profit from it.
If I were you, I would be proud of the 6 years and call it a day ( at least take some time off), spend time with family , friends loved ones and use all your emotional energy making a real difference in someone's life.
Those that want you to continue, count on the many hrs of your excellent investigative research that cost them nothing. If they truly want you to continue offer a subscription based service ($500.00 a year), and they should pay for it, for I believe your worth 100 subscribers at that much.
Just my opinion.....
I wish you the best of luck in your decision to continue or not continue your blog.
I envy the number of assholes and putzes you attract. I'd love to have that kind of response to my blog.
You gotta remember that most of your readers don't ever comment. You get less feedback w/r/t the positive impact your thoughts and viewpoints have than you do the negative. When it comes to matters like politics, people prefer to slime rather than kiss.
If it stops being fun, stop doing it. But I bet you can make it fun again by laughing at the A's and P's instead of letting them get under your skin.
You need more afternoon beer.
Boy would we miss you if you stopped.
And who would be my playmate if I lost my intellectual buddy who challenges me to keep on being a pain in someone's rear? You inspire us to dig out of the caca,
Good lord don't stop!
If you leave guard duty, who will man the watch?
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