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Feb. 1, 2007 This is my 300th column for Useless Knowledge, a feat accomplished in just over two years, which was my intended goal. This will also be my last, unless there’s an unlikely rebuttal to it. When I arrived at UK, I thought it would be a good place to offer an afrocentric viewpoint. There was such a diversity of opinion! However, over the past few months, I’ve watched the site become the bastion of a few elderly, right-wing malcontents who bash one another when they run out of liberals to attack. If this continues, Matt may need to rename the site POWDER: Petty, Old White Dudes and Egotistical Republicans. It’s not that I think UK is dead, but it is on the operating table, and its heartbeat is unstable. It was once a strong, vibrant site, and articles of UK columnists were all over the web. It was never a news site like FoxNews.com, but rather a site for “news analysis.” It also offered a potpourri of How-to articles and human interest tales, not too different from sections of the Sunday paper. The political debate was always interesting, even if slanted to the right, and I think one would have been hard pressed to find a heartier band of essayists. But times have changed. It was disheartening to watch some of my favorite writers leave the site. In some cases they were run off, most notably, Meri Ulrich, Judy Ramsook, Stan Grimes and Kaycee Nielsen. Ken Hughes was also run off, but that was his fault. He could dish out (racial) insults, but couldn’t handle criticism of his writing “style.” However, he tucked his tail between his legs and returned, still a few chain links short of a first down. UK wouldn’t be the same without him, as his malapropos and misspellings are legendary, and provide much comic fodder. Such is the nature of this beast, which like the Sirens in The Odyssey, threatens to eat its victims alive. At UK you’ll see fine writing mingled with the words of the lesser skilled. To our resident critic, I’d like to say that sometimes bad writing has to be ignored. How much longer can you afford to argue with people who apparently (a) don’t get it, or (b) don’t give a damn about what you think? You can’t rebut everything that doesn’t meet your standards. The site is called “Useless Knowledge,” not “The (insert your name here) Show.” I understand your lament that the spelling and grammar are oftentimes sub-7th grade level, and the viewpoints in many articles, nonsensical. Ask yourself, what has your berating of those writers accomplished? Did it make Ken Hughes a better speller? Did it change anyone’s style, improve their grammar, make them change political parties, or get them to strengthen the crux of their arguments? No. We’ve all had our share of battles at UK, but we don’t challenge everyone and everything. It’s a fact that to rebut some people is a waste of time, ink and space. However, your rebuttals go beyond being necessary, even beyond arrogance. They smack of a man out of control; like the ramblings of one who believes he has a monopoly on the truth. Yes, in the chambers of UK there are a lot of Dan Quayles, but what glee do you get out of playing the role of Kim Jong Il? Your “instruction through destruction” policy is much like the admonitions of a parent who constantly harangues a child for failing to understand his homework. Subsequently, the child begins to view homework as a punishment. Writers who submit their work only to have it bashed along with their reputations, think UK is a site for sadomasochists. If it is a higher quality of writing you seek, that is, articles that stand up to your litmus test, then maybe UK isn’t for you. After all, the crux of your argument seems to be that the writers here are beneath you and incapable of improvement. You’re like the guy at the party who constantly complains about the food and the music, then wonders why no one wants to dine or dance with him. There’s always a party on the other side of town, and that crowd might be more your speed. Again, people are calling for your scalp, but I suspect you’ll never be banned, because you and the Editor are one and the same--if not in name, in spirit, but I suspect it is the former. For after the supposed ouster of the site’s “worst” writer, the loser of that contest was allowed to return. Had he been anyone else, he would still be living down the shame of being booted off a site that accepts almost everyone and anything. (See SILUK, Dennis or Mr. Montoya’s articles). I further suspect that many of the newer “authors” are nothing more than pseudonyms for other UK regulars. This smacks of a sham, and quite frankly, that’s sad. UK has weathered a lot of storms, from the “race wars,” to the Natalee Holloway debate, Liberal Versus Conservative, Christian Vs. Humanist, and all the in-between. Now the tenor of the site has taking a sharp turn, and people are jumping off the bandwagon like this is the Detroit Tigers during last season’s stretch run. The regret I have is that I won’t finish the book reviews I was working on: Bill O’Reilly’s Culture Warrior, Katherine D. Jones’s Deep Down, Viruses and Superbugs by Thomas Hausler, and two books by Stephen King ( Lisey’s Story and Cell). I also had a Brian Barbeito-like piece I was going to post. 300 is a good jumping off point. I have enough projects to keep me busy throughout 2007 and beyond, including writing an article for an anthology on novelist Donald Goines. However, I’ll never be so busy where I can’t drop by for a chat (via e-mail, or in the rebuttal forum), and hopefully, the site gets back to its roots. So let the fur fly, but may it be with a bit more civility and concern for the improvement of the site, rather than one person’s ego trip. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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