Opinion : Reading my mind: Karen

A website that I love has what they call a "Wall of Shame." It's used to highlight antics like the one I'm going to write about here.

A few weeks ago, I quit reading comments on the opinion page by certain people. I know what they think, and I also know they don't hum "Let it go." Most of the time it is the same handful of people over and over clubbing each other with their version of the truth. I seriously couldn't take reading all of the back and forth any longer, so after I saw the name on the contributions, I'd mumble something like, "Yada, yada, yada" and put the comment through. Quite frankly, I feel like if you step into the forum, and keep commenting, there is a little bit of you that enjoys the attention.

Then this week happened. And wow. I think the things that we learn from each other are enlightening, to say the least. I was taken aback by one comment that was made by one of my readers who now lives in Texas.

The guy had weighed in on the antics happening in Benton County. Lo and behold, he was contacted by an employee of the Benton County Attorney's office concerning one of his remarks.

The employee felt like the reader had no business commenting. They pulled out their inner Karen and used it thinking that they would intimidate the guy. They thought that they would make this guy shake in his boots. But alas, I don't think those boots shake.

Now, I don't claim to be the smartest person in the world, but there seem to be some obvious points missing in all of this. I laughed as I read the response from my reader who quickly clarified several points for Karen, the Benton County Attorney's office employee, and it was pure gold. 24K gold. In case you missed it, I will run it in part here:

"So, the other day I posted a comment to a post about this topic on Vinton Today. The next day I found an IM in my Facebook from an employee (Paralegal I believe) of the Benton County attorney asking why I thought I had the right to comment on the issue, that I shouldn't be commenting on the issue since I now live in Texas, should mind my own business and that she knew Mr. Atkinson was not qualified for the job. I share my response to her below:

Ma'am,
I'm not sure who you are but since you asked. It's the first amendment to the constitution. The same constitution that Mr. Atkinson and I swore an oath to protect and defend...Mr. Atkinson experienced more challenges, shouldered more responsibility, and displayed more leadership before lunch on a duty day than the Grandson has in his entire life. I'm sure he's qualified to lead a county department which maintains ditches. I state this based on 33 years experience with the military.

I see that you work for the county attorney who obviously took steps to deny this veteran the rights he earned serving his nation. Now the county attorney is being misleading in his defense of the hiring action. I wonder what your fellow county citizens will think when I post that one of his underlings is telling people to stop commenting on events in their hometown. By the looks of the many comments on the article on Vinton Today, I don't think they would think it is appropriate."

My reader is right. I don't think this is appropriate either. Not illegal perhaps, but not a good look for the Benton County Attorney's office.

So, Karen, how many more readers have you spent your time tracking down? Now I will ask my tech guy to protect those who comment by hiding their names, which no doubt you will whine about.

I have a suggestion for Benton County. Maybe this is something else that should be included in the Benton County Handbook for Employees..."thou shalt not stalk people when they comment on a website and try to intimidate them into silence, even if they are member of the Benton County Attorney's office."

Oh wait. Save your time, Benton County doesn't follow the handbook anyway, do we?

I'm not sure Karen, but I DON'T think the tactic of intimidation worked on my reader. Maybe the message sent wasn't worded strongly enough or something.

But please, don't let me stop you, continue!