...................Chest...............nuts.....roasting..............on...................an....open....fire...
Posted on 07/11/2002 8:29:06 AM PDT by Temple Owl
I apologize, (Roasted Nuts) headline was insensitive
July 11, 2002
Column by Tony Persichilli
At the end of most things I write for this newspaper, I am identified as a columnist and copy editor.
The columnist part is easy to understand.
I write about things that I find interesting and that I think people who read this paper will find interesting too.
Sometimes I'm right.
Sometimes I'm wrong.
The copy editor part is not as obvious.
As a copy editor, I read the stories, correct misspellings, change datelines, insert local references, that sort of thing.
I also write headlines.
So, on Tuesday night, when the story about the fire at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital was submitted, it was up to me to write a headline.
In three words.
In the tabloid newspaper business, it's called a hammer head.
I should have hit myself with one.
Because, after I kicked a few things around in my mind, I decided on the headline that appeared in the paper.
I wrote it.
No one else.
Just me.
And it in no way reflects the opinions or philosophy of this newspaper or its management.
Jean Levine and Tom Baldwin, who combined to write the account of the general-alarm fire at the Stuyvesant Avenue facility, had nothing to do with the headline.
Reporters never do.
I wrote it.
All by myself.
And when I wrote it, I didn't do it to be mean-spirited. I didn't intend to hurt anybody's feelings, upset anyone's sensibilities or make fun of anyone's handicaps.
But obviously I did.
I was wrong.
Because, as my management team and the many readers who called, faxed and e-mailed to express their outrage and displeasure pointed out, the headline was inaccurate (no one actually got burned) and insensitive (mental illness is nothing to be made fun of).
They were right.
I was wrong.
People who go to hospitals like TPH suffer from serious, chronic and often painful illnesses. They are away from their family, their friends and their communities and often feel they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.
The last thing they need is public humiliation.
Lots of people called to say the headline was incredibly disrespectful.
It was.
And I apologize.
I'm old enough that, when I grew up, people at the 'Vroom Building,' as TPH was referred to then, were called names that no longer are appropriate.
But that was a long time ago.
In my neighborhood, TPH was known as the prison for the criminally insane.
That's no longer true.
Because research reveals that the overwhelming majority of people with mental illness are not violent, have never been violent and never will be violent
So for every Howard Unruh (who shot several people in Camden) or Jean Zelinsky (who cut off her mother's head and tossed it on the State House steps) incarcerated at TPH, there are dozens of people there undergoing legitimate psychiatric treatments.
The headline did not reflect this.
I was wrong.
And all the critics were right.
It was inaccurate.
It was insensitive.
I take full responsibility.
So, if anyone would like to convey their views by calling or faxing (I don't do e-mail), it's at me that you want to direct your anger.
The number of the paper is 989-7800.
My extension is 204.
Tony Persichilli is a columnist and copy editor for The Trentonian.
What happened to this country? Is it even possible to not offend? (although I understand the concern with this one).
Unfortunately, self-righteous stiffs and "PC" types have gone a long way to breaking down people's ability to relate to each other in this way, because according to them, it isn't right (not sure who appointed them the arbiters of what should or should not be said, or joked about, but they do it anyway).
So do yourself a favor, lighten up. They're just WORDS. And please, spare me the argument that if you allow people to joke about things, their attitudes and thinking about the subject will be changed in a negative way. If people are too stupid to separate a joke from an actual philosophy or opinion, then they're simply too stupid to understand humor, and therefore too stupid to worry about what they think.
One of the big problems today is that there are a lot of people (primarily liberals) who are far more concerned about what people SAY, instead of worrying about what they actually DO.
As a result, we get women loudly voicing support for Bill Clinton while roundly condemning people like Clarence Thomas. Did NOW care what Bill DID? No, only what he SAID. Did NOW care what Clarence Thomas DID? No, they were ready to hang him from a tree because he told a couple of off-color jokes (gasp!). Its really pathetic.
Hey, you know what? I don't do that either. I cringe when I see ads on television designed to make men look stupid (like those Progresso soup ads - I hate them).
The thing is, making fun of sick people is on an even lower level - you disagree?
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