Every now and then, I toss off notes to reporters when I hear them uttering obvious absurdities in the vain belief that it might actually increase their consciousness about the issue under discussion.
Two days ago, I sent a tweet to CNN anchor Ali Velshi about an interview he did with the Park 51 developer Sharif El-Gamal, taking him to task for labeling the Park 51 project “controversial” in his remarks to El-Gamal.
The Kenyan-born Velshi, a Muslim by birth, has been moving over from CNBC where he was a business reporter to CNN where he has a couple of episodic weekend shows and share co-anchoring duties with the never-ending parade of CNN anchors, where he is one of the most distinctive presences on the anchor desk.
A sharp dresser who favors three-piece suits, Velshi often takes surprisingly moderate positions for a “business” reporter in an age where business reporting often suffers from Republican undertones.
Because he is such an affable personality, whenever he takes a misstep it jars the consciousness of the viewer moreso than when one of the empty-headed talk meisters sticks foot in mouth.
That’s why I took such strong except to Velshi’s labeling of El-Gamal’s project controversial when, in fact, it was only controversial to an extremely small group of people who saw an opportunity for them to get their ten minutes of fame by opposing the construction of a Muslim community center several blocks away from Ground Zero.
Let’s face facts. Ground zero was a term invented for the impact point for a nuclear weapon. The World Trade Center isn’t ground zero because it is still there. Stop calling it Ground Zero. It never was and never will be.
I don’t believe that the World Trade Center site was sanctified by what happened there. That’s a rank prejudice that results from fundamentalist thinking.
So, I took Velshi to task in a couple of tweets, as follows:
AlanMilner ALANMILNER
@AliVelshi @Park51 @CNNam Ali, when you tag Park51 controversial you are hitting the bee hive with a stick. It is only controversial ....
AlanMilner ALANMILNER
@AliVelshi @Park51 @CNNam ...except for people who are seeking a controversy to enhance their own visibility. Don't pander to them, please.
I was shocked and gratified when I received this reply from Velshi:
AliVelshi Ali Velshi
@alanmilner I totally hear your point thanks for this
I felt heard. I don't know if that's going to change behavior, but it will cause me to pay more attention to what other commentators are saying and I will take them to task to see if they are as responsible as Velshi has been.
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Comments
Even if the site of the WTC is considered sanctified, about which a whole lot of people would disagree with you, opposition to the Park 51 project was utterly contrary to American interests and values and actually bolstered Al Qaida's aims and claims. I posted about this at the time; if you're curious and didn't see the post, I can provide you with a link. Regardless, though, the real point here is the responsiveness (fairly quickly, I gather) of an active CNN anchor. That is seriously cool.
I recently contacted one of the largest corporations on the planet regarding a public interest idea I'm working on which would specifically access their services, albeit in a non-conventional fashion.
I called their community affairs department early in the afternoon, and after explaining the concept to very pleasant fellow (well, it's community affairs, so I expected that at this point in the game) he told me he'd go check with appropriate departments. Honestly, I didn't expect a reply for a week, figuring the legal department would chew on it, the marketing people would consider the spin, etc...
I was pleasantly shocked to have a reply before the end of the same day that they corporation had no issues with the idea, viewed it as positive and simply asked for some consideration in the planning of certain logistical issues.
With that encouragement, I'm proceeding with the idea, which if all things turn out to be feasible, may be of great benefit to a lot of people. In fact, my next attempted contact will be to someone else you'd assume is unreachable because of his position. A friend who knew him in High School (but doesn't now) suggested it, telling me he was always someone who was interested in the welfare of others and it would be worth seeing if he's interested in getting the concept off the ground.
Great story my father loved telling (minus his elaboration): A man has a flat tire late at night on a very rural road, only to discover his jack is broken. He spies a distant farmhouse and starts out for it, his only hope of help. As he walks, he begins an internal dialogue, all of which imagines how bad the reaction of whomever is in that house will be at a stranger waking them up in the middle of the night. He gets to the house, knocks on the door and the farmer opens it and says, "Hi there, stranger, how can I help you?" to which the man blurts out, "F' you go take your jack and shove it up your ass!"
More often than not, we screen ourselves out of the potential for communication, no secretary or voice mail system needed.
The Appalling Ignorance of Bobby Ghosh
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I have made many attempts to alter people's thinking in Govenrment and in the media and I was ignored dozens of times. I have written about my belief that higher taxes force investments, that Mexicans aren't illegal aliens ..... we are, and more.
But three times I was actually heard.
One of the three was my attempt to get a job in the oil industry using a thermal imager with a visible imager to monitor oil pipelines from the air utilizing thermography and an airplane, both of which I had. I gave one CEO advise about what to say in an upcoming hearing in Congress expecting that he would say thanks or give me the contract I sought. I got neither but six months later he used my exact words in that hearing.
So much for free advise.
Ali at least said thanks.