We received two subscription cancellation messages last week, one from a Hood River man who left a profanity-laden voicemail taking issue with our recent Chris Britt cartoon, which, generally speaking, portrays Fox News and “Trump staffers and supporters” as barking lap dogs.
The cartoon was a bit simplistic in employing the lap dog analogy, and looking at it again, it also missed the mark by not including “GOP leaders” among the yapping canine cadre.
“Don’t call me a $%*+@! dog,” the (former) subscriber said.
Fairly noted, and we are sorry to lose him. We hope that former subscriber is not the same thing as former reader.
The second cancellation came by very different method. A retiree and former Hood River resident who now lives in the Willamette valley sent a hand-written letter.
It opens by saying, ”I’m not renewing my subscription, as I am fed up with your bashing of Pres. Trump and the office of the President. My investments are doing well and all of my family of working age have well-paying jobs. “I can’t remember a time when our country was doing better than now.”
Other excerpts: “I can also remember the pathetic people in socialist countries with hardly any food,” and “We have also have good healthcare and can see a doctor when we need one. That is not true of the government healthcare in Canada.”
She concludes by saying she had lived in Hood River and retired from teaching, and “one positive thing I see in Hood River is your good school system.”
Darlene’s personal experience is gratifying, but her perception of healthcare in Canada is a generalization, to say the least. Which socialist countries “with hardly any food” she refers to is anyone’s guess, but about the only time in the past 100 years the countries in Europe now employing “socialist” practices were food-deprived was when they were under Nazi fascist rule or Soviet communist rule.
If I was to write to Darlene — not her real name — I would first thank her for taking the time to send a handwritten letter explaining her reasons for canceling. Few people take the time to do so as she has done.
Then, this is likely what I would say:
“You state that this newspaper bashes President Trump — generally true — and ‘the office of the president’ — definitely not true. We have never said a word against the presidency, and if you refer to our cartoons, they are often critical of Trump, but never the office.
“Newspapers’ editorial pages have, or should have, a voice. It happens that ours is critical of Trump and his administration — which is not the same thing as being critical of the office of the president. An editorial page also allows other voices, which we have amply done, from all points of view.
“Overall, your letter expresses concerns that are less about the paper than your perceptions of how you see the U.S. economy doing. ‘My investments are doing well and all of my family of working age have well-paying jobs.’ I am glad to hear things are going well for you and your family, and that you have a good doctor and access to healthcare, but I trust it will not come as a surprise to you to know that not everyone is in such a positive situation.
“You are entitled to your reasons to cancel, and again, I appreciate your taking the time to explain it. However, you are closing yourself off from the best source of information about what goes on in Hood River County. You have stated your dissatisfaction with our editorial content, but the opinion page is only part of what we do — a small part — and our publication is mostly concerned with news and information about this area.
“As a newspaper, we try to help readers gain an understanding of the life-conditions of the people here and the challenges they often meet economically and societally, though they sometimes are less happy than your own.
Commented