The Anti-Media Media

[joecrisp]

This is the text of a PM I just sent to Art. Initially, I felt I should keep my thoughts about this situation private, but I've begun to think that my silence could be misconstrued as a submission to what Art has presented here as fact:

Originally Posted by joecrisp

Art,
While I can understand why you felt it was justified to call me out here on The Warpath (I had called out the motivations of the Redskins-ExtremeSkins merger, and you in particular), I agree with TAFKAS in that I would have preferred you share that information with me privately, and not air it publicly on a forum that I consider my online home.

The manner and timing of your claims came off as a deliberate and malicious jab at my character (your personal disclaimer notwithstanding) in an effort to undermine my credibility and sully my reputation within The Warpath community. Frankly, until I know who provided that information to you and why they feel the way they do, I'll find it very hard to believe there is any base to these claims.

Like I said before, until I hear otherwise, I believe Karl Swanson has a personal vendetta against me because I circumvented his attempts to deny my media access, and he will probably do what he feels is necessary to discredit me, not only among your staff, but also with the public I serve. Given the nature of Swanson's past behavior towards those who have crossed his path, that would not surprise me in the least.

If, as you say, the ExtremeSkins staff has been lobbying on my behalf, I would have expected you, TK, Tarhog or someone else from your staff to have brought these negative claims to my personal attention when they came up. I think that's a fair expectation on my part, considering the appeals you and Tarhog have made here that people shouldn't take the word of third parties as fact. As it is, the claims you've made here are really no different than the "unnamed source" reporting tactics that you and the Redskins have railed against so vocally.

I think I should clarify that I don't know whether Swanson is the source of these claims, but Art has stated that, in the interest of personal trusts, he can't divulge the identity of his source(s). That being the case, I think it's fair to question the validity and motivation of these claims, just as it would be fair to question the validity and motivation of an article which makes attribution to unnamed sources.

Like I said, nobody at Redskins Park has ever given me the slightest indication that they had a problem with me, and if they did, I would have expected someone to bring it to my attention, so that I could correct whatever behavior it was that they found problematic. I find the claims about my supposed self-promotion very strange, as the only thing I ever promoted during my visits to Redskins Park was this website, my representation of this website, and any opportunities that I thought might benefit The Warpath community. If people at Redskins Park began to associate my interests with The Warpath as self-interest, then I guess my promotional efforts were maybe a little too successful.

All I can say to that is:

"Ich bin ein Warpather."