Stephen Eisel wrote:This was not an attack on your rights.... It was more like two people overreacting....
Actually, I would put it closer to one starting the fire, the second adding some lighter fluid and fanning the flames. Then another couple who takes their rights and hard work very seriously, bringing the gallon of white gas. Bes way to fight those pesky little pyro fires, is to dig in and back burn.
Legitimate questions, how many times does a person have to explain a project, the finances, ownership, etc. to a person(s) that are just trying to stir the crap up on the lowest of levels?
The very legitimate question of the sign in the window, gets lost, when the person on the other side refuse to listen to any very legal, very correct and very protected answers. Maybe this is what fanned the flames to the level it does. Maybe, just maybe it might have been some of the conversation in this very public forum through back channels, and on the street?
Maybe, some people take their rights as American too much? I find that an odd stance from you.
But then as you and I have witnessed, right now political backfires are impossible. People are blind right now to anything but winning at all costs. Normally good people throw it all out the window to keep "their team."
In the end, I have friends, and my family, So does a person side with their family and wife, or roll over against everything they believe in? Do I side with people that have given 5 years of their lives to this project, or a few that have not?
A silly over blown argument. Sure. A viable important discussion. You bet.
But let me take my wife's back one more time, and let's compare the players;
LO's Little Board: Heidi Hilty, Vice President Merrill Lynch, has been involved heavily in everything from The Lakewood Project, to the Alumni Foundation, Ken Warren, Director of the Lakewood Public Library, top library in America 5 out of the last 6 years, headed up the $12 million dollar rebuild and behind 80% of everything that is succeeding in this city, Lauren Fine, the top print/media expert/analyst on Wall Street and worldwide for the last 11 years, as voted by her peers, On the board of The Art Museum, The Cleveland Foundation, and another 20 philanthropic positive groups in USA and Cleveland, now teaching at Kent State, while writing the book on how people will disseminate news in the next 30 years, Tim Curtiss, Yale graduate 20 years as upper level management on Wall Street, Steve Ott lawyer, on the board of Lakewood Hospital, LCPI, and many many other groups. Jeff Endress lawyer, Lakewood Library Board, and many other boards, Deb O'Bryan ran Gershwin's for five years, a 800 seat upscale restaurant that closed three years after she left due to miss-management, and now oversees three award winning businesses, Steve Davis, Printer, served on two Charter Review Committees, DL Meckes, head of 4Design, that is bringing high quality content management to non-profits and cities, give vast amounts of time and support to many non-profits. Dan Ott who heads technology with a group of 20 programmers, and finally myself, a high school graduate, barely.
These people have given time, money, contacts, and more. Some have given huge chunks of their lives over the last 6 years to work on this public groundbreaking, history making project, that is succeeding on every level, laid out 6 years ago.
What amazes me, is that some think, this board looses their minds and sets all of their experience and hard work at the door when meeting and working on this. I would say the opposite is true, the board meetings are heated, and the work is hard, and thankless. Meanwhile, some very small minds, try behind the scenes to kill this project, to try to force people to quit this board, even calling advertisers and supporters and telling them lies, and mistruths. Threatening to stop using their services or businesses. Why? I understand why the Plain Dealer and Sun Papers want to drive Observer Inc. out of business, but other Lakewoodites? So called civic leaders? What are they hiding or running from?
Eisel, you travel the boards, you see and read the vile bullshit that has been spread about this project, and these people, by some in this very discussion.
And here is all this board, and every member of this project has done; Deliver an open media project where all are equal, and all willing to own their words have the same voice.
So did I overreact? Not when you consider the source.
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