NJ21st

Shining A Light on Local Goverment

Feedback From A Subscriber on “The Tyranny of the Minority” Series

Normally we do not allow anonymous articles but I received feedback from a subscriber that I appreciated for several reasons:

(1) It wasn’t unhinged and did not devolve into personal attacks

(2) It presented facts in stating a point

(3) It offered a differing perspective respectfully without demand for censorship

(4) My name is on this, so technically not anonymous

I am also posting it as an example of what this site is about  – a discussion of important issues involving differing viewpoints.

This website exists for every resident of Berkeley Heights and Mountainside.  

First off, as a semi-recent arrival to Berkeley Heights (2020), I know that I come in at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to a historical knowledge on local politics.  Coming across your articles on Tap and ultimately your page have completely changed that, which I truly appreciate.

 

I have a 6 year old in the school system and a 2 year old that will soon be in the school system, and your page has really helped with my understanding of the local issues so that I can be a more informed voter, as well as volunteer my time where it would be most needed.

 

As I know your page is run by a number of people with their own opinions, I know that each article will have some of the authors’ perspectives alongside the objective facts and information.  I have pretty much aligned with your viewpoints, and even those that I didn’t agree with I at least knew where you were coming from.

 

That being said, while I know that your website’s main goal is to allow somewhat unfiltered content, I do have specific concerns about the series that I am e-mailing about.  I commented in Substack on the first entry, and the second entry gave me a similar bad feeling in my stomach.  The author comes across as already having their mind made up about the situation, and certainly seems to be showing a negative bias to the trans community at large.  Also, as a quick fact check on one point – University of Milwaukee DOES list 45 pronouns, but the author fails to mention that this included all variants (for example: they, them, their, theirs, themself is counted as 5, but really refers to one pronoun).

 

I e-mail you not to make any demands to censor or pre-approve content, but just to say that these articles may alienate some of your readers, and potentially skew your overall message.

 

I will certainly continue reading and following along, but as a fan of your site I did feel it was worth saying something.  I truly appreciate your time and effort, thank you.

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