Emily,
I read your post on Daily Kos in regard to the Tea Party that we held on April 15th. I was a bit disappointed in the distortions that were included in the article. I seem to remember thanking you for being respectful during your protest of the event. That is far from a "gang rape of words" as you referred to it. You twisted Ms. Luksik's analogy in an extremely unfair way and failed to acknowledge our repeated repudiations of racism and prejudice. You claim that we have no interest in an honest political discourse or fair discussion. So I have a proposal: I would like to debate you, publicly, on campus, before the end of the semester. I think that everyone can benefit from good political discourse, so I hope you'll be willing to take me up on my offer. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Mike Armstrong
Chairman, PA Association of College Conservatives
Chairman, Clarion College Conservatives
My favorite part is where he felt like he needed to sign his note with dripping egotism by displaying his "prestigious" titles. THIS LETTER IS SERIOUS BUSINESS-- I AM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COLLEGE CONSERVATIVES. C'mon. It's Facebook. You are my age. Get over yourself.
Here's my response:
Hi Mike --
When I mentioned the purposefully-exaggerated "gang rape of words," I was not referring to you or any of the members of the College Conservatives who were kind enough to greet us and talk to us in a respectful manner. I was referring to the older men who came up to me and my friends simply to harrass us and yell in our faces.
I did not claim that you or the conservative students on this campus have no interest in fair discussion or political discourse; rather, it is the older generation, the people I meet within the community and my hometown, who often seem belligerent and uninterested in respectful discussion. That is primarily what I wrote about. Granted, I should have been more clear about who I was referring to. I have had mostly good experiences in talking with conservative students, especially in recent exchanges with SFL.
Overall, there were only 2 positive encounters with supporters of the Tea Party movement (you, and an older woman who spoke to me). That is why - for the most part - what I wrote about was overwhelmingly negative.
In any case, I would be glad to debate you at some point. As of now, I am extremely busy, but I think I could fit in some time for a debate this semester. Where and when would you like to meet?
Thanks for your time,
--Emily
By the way, I really must know-- how and in what ways did I distort Luksik's analogy? In conferring with others (about her speech), they remember it exactly as I recalled it. And where were the repeated repudiations of racism and prejudice? It's possible that I missed this part, considering I stopped by an hour late. But as soon as I was there, I was listening. And I try to be as objective as possible-- the accusation of racism is not something I throw around lightly.
That was sent on April 24th. Almost 2 weeks go by and I don't even hear back from him. Honestly, I sort of forgot about it, considering it was the last 2 weeks in the semester. But it kind of sucks because I was really looking forward to this debate. So, anyway, on May 4th, I sent him this:
Hi
I never heard back from you, so I assume I either a) called you on a bluff or b) you realized that two weeks until the end of the semester was not enough time to prepare for a public debate. Oh well.
If you're going to be around next semester, though, then feel free to contact me.
- Emily
And he responds:
Hi Emily,
No, you didn't call my bluff haha... i just couldn't find time to actually sit down and have a debate (and honestly completely forgot to message you back after I read it). I am graduating, but I will be back throughout next semester since I'm the Chairman of the PA College Conservatives. I'm sure we could organize a debate when I'm back in town. I'll let the College Conservative's Chairman know, and maybe she can organize something with the Young Dems for it if you'd like... not sure what you're thinking in that regard. Thanks again for reminding me.
Mike
I was about to respond to him, when I decided on a whim to check out the facebook fan page for the Clarion College Conservatives. Mike has posted a link to my mom's blog on Daily Kos, except that the link is next to a photograph of a lynching and his caption reads:
Want to see how the Left distorts the Tea Party movement? Read this Daily Kos post from a Clarion University student regarding the Clarion County Tea Party. Those who were there will recognize the distortions and outright lies in her account. (By the way, the picture below for this link was added by the blogger as a ...depiction of our event.)[emphasis mine]
Total. fucking. lie. On the actual link for the Daily Kos diary, there are clearly no pictures in the blog. That photograph was from some random user's comment in an off-topic discussion about the problem of comparing atrocities (slavery in America, the Holocaust, etc). Scroll down to view the comments section and see for yourself. NOBODY was comparing the Tea Party rally to a lynching. Jesus christ.
I am going to try and believe that his stupid assumption was simply based on a technical error that occurs when you post a link on facebook (it gives you the option of choosing to display any random image found on the page).
This is what I wrote to him:
Sounds good to me.
By the way, I went to the fan page for Clarion College Conservatives the other day and noticed that you posted the link to the Daily Kos blog. That horrible photograph of the lynching was absolutely *not* used "by the blogger as a ...depiction of our event" as you claim. That photo was posted by some random unknown commenter in an off-topic discussion about "Godwin's Law," slavery in the US, and Nazism.
My mom wrote the original blog and she did not include any such pictures (or any pictures at all for that matter). I'm well aware that there are some people who would make ridiculously hyperbolic associations between Tea Party rallies and lynchings, but I am certainly not one to do so! It is one thing to say that a movement or an event is racist, it is another thing entirely to make a comparison to Southern lynchings.
Please clarify or fix this on your fan page, as you can easily scroll down on Daily Kos and see where that picture actually came from.
But this is the last time I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
UPDATE: He returned my message and added a comment to the link on his fan page stating that the picture was not added by the blogger.
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