NEWSLETTER | Town Called Malice

Two stories we published this week drew some rather visceral and mean-spirited comments from the Biddeford community

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

Having a front-row seat and closely watching your community’s activities, news and internal challenges is often intriguing — but sometimes it is also quite disturbing.

The Gazette published two stories this week about two strong people who both want to see Biddeford succeed.

We’re talking about two women who are ready to roll up their sleeves, lean it and offer their talents and experience in order to make our community a better place.

We were happy to publish those stories and tell our readers about these people and what they want they hope to accomplish – on our community’s behalf.

But some of the knee-jerk and quite visceral public comments about those women, left us feeling sad, discouraged – and quite angry.

It appears that — no matter what the situation or story — some people in Biddeford seem 100 percent committed to negativity, distrust and their own personal frustration.

Constructive and critical feedback is essential for Biddeford’s growth and its day-to-day activities, but tearing down our neighbors simply because of how they look helps no one and is a poor reflection of our community.

Those vicious, bigoted and ignorant comments do nothing to help our city move forward or meet the very real and serious challenges that lie at our feet.

Modern technology makes it quite easy today to be an armchair critic, allowing anyone to casually tear down the work of others without ever lifting a finger to do something positive.

This type of behavior is the very worst part of being a community’s newspaper editor. You cannot turn away or ignore the reality in front of you.

Some people in Biddeford seem
100 percent committed
to negativity, distrust and their
own personal frustration.

And then – on top of everything else – you are forced into the position of wrestling with the ethics of where to draw the line when it comes to public comments.

It’s not as easy as it looks, and these ethical quandaries are somewhat fluid, always tainted by subjectivity and can be quite inconsistent.

The two stories in question initially struck us as somewhat benign and straightforward. The first story was about the hiring of a director for a new downtown arts program run by the Heart of Biddeford.

The second story was about a former city councilor who loves Biddeford and is seeking an opportunity to continue serving the city.

I ask everyone to pause here for a moment and consider this.

Imagine the pride that a young, professional artist would feel about a significant accomplishment; about a new opportunity to share their strengths and talents.

Just like you, that artist has parents, relatives, friends and colleagues. Imagine the satisfaction of being publicly recognized for your work, talent and dedication.

Wouldn’t you be anxious to share that news story with the people closest to you?

The Biddeford Gazette is a digital publication, making it rather easy to share that story – but there is a catch. That story comes attached with ignorant, mean-spirited comments from people you have never met.

One the very first day of your new job – some folks cannot resist the sheer delight of being mean, vindicative and insulting.

Your mom and dad are quite proud of you — but they are instantly exposed to the ugliest side of a community that often wears its own heart on its sleeve.

Welcome to Biddeford.

Turn the page

On Thursday, we wrapped up the final installment of our Journalism Basics class that was offered and facilitated by the Biddeford Adult Education Department.

I honestly believe I learned more from my students than anything I could offer them.

We had some really good and challenging conversations. I was also quite impressed by the variety of classes and the passionate dedication of the Biddeford Adult Education staff.

We received some other good news this week, and our team is getting closer to announcing some exciting changes and opportunities looming on the Biddeford Gazette’s horizon.

Here are some other stories we covered this week, and I have embedded the song that inspired the name of this week’s newsletter, Town of Malice.

LETTER | Biddeford needs to face financial reality

NEWS | Local businesses react to new report about Maine’s economy

NEWS | Biddeford students benefit from mental health initiative

NEWS | Maine’s rank-choice voting appears stuck in limbo

NEWS | Former city councilor eyes city clerk position

Have a great week and thanks for reading!