In My [Not So] Humble Opinion

I see this a lot on Facebook:

LOL - Laugh Out Loud
ROFL - Rolling on Floor Laughing
LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion

Thing is...it seems that social networking has boosted the confidence of the masses to post anything and everything, whether true or not, whether backed up by "facts" and "sources"...or not. "Sharing" corporate media's ad-driven fodder and individual opinions on a massive scale seems to be the norm, storm and permanent trend. I don't know if Facebook or Twitter understood the kind of monster they awakened and unleashed when they first went live, but for small-town news bloggers like me, it has opened up an awareness of issues on a global scale. And, quite frankly...I like it.

It is one of the reasons why I was attracted to Dan Gillmor's book, We The Media, about eight years ago, when Amador Community News was still in its birthing stages. In fact, I actually called Mr. Gillmor, and, to my surprise, he actually called me back! I had specific questions about corporate versus community media, and greatly valued his insight. At that time, I told him the truth about Amador County's concerns about the local media...lack of transparency...who's [really] in control...fear-based releases, the community voice, being politically neutral, truly unbiased, etc. What I loved about Dan is that he had a handle on the future of Media and Communications. That, eventually, there would come a time where everyone will have a voice. And it did happen. Enter social networking...

...Which boomed shortly after the convo I had with Dan. Once ACN was able to go live on Facebook and Twitter, our readership slowly but surely climbed to what is today, to over 3,900 Facebook friends. Now, for the "world", that's a drop in the bucket, but...for Amador County, it's quite significant. Because what it shows me is that there is more to our outside lives than the bells and whistles of advertising. There's more to all of our lives than the pretty colors, bells and whistles, which is all a part of the "cha-ching" dollar signs that local/regional/national corporate media counts on to keep their lights on.

Little tidbits of truth. I grew up as a Mormon in a Conservative household, fed by "tidbits of truth" combined with doctrine and theology that I eventually grew out of and left completely. At the same time...I was a Native American infant adopted into a white family. My Indian family watched from afar as I was being raised in a white household. I had opportunities in music, education, etc. that I never would have had, had I been raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation (back in the 60's-70's). Yet, I know for a fact that my Indian family was watching me grow up...my adopted mother and I could feel the "eyes" on us as we went out in public. I visited my grandparents on the reservation, and remember their wonderful gifts to me. I found out much later in life that I had a mystical Hispanic side that I could never ignore. I have been a victim of abuse and domestic violence. I know what it is like to live in constant fear. Yet, my adopted mother raised me to have a "chin up"...not in the sense of arrogance and that I'm "better than anyone else" because of my heritage, but that I must rise to what my future would require of me.

Quite frankly, I do not and will ever regret my upbringing. On the contrary, I embrace it wholeheartedly! It is all a part of me, and somehow, through it all, I have fought through for some sort of identity for the past twenty years. Who I am, presently, has only been influenced by my past. So as I bring you "Amador Community News", I hope only to bring together a County-wide family of "hurts and heals". Because, quite frankly, we've all "been there". We all have our issues...we all have our opinions of how things should be. We've all been somewhere who made us who we are, and we don't need corporate media to reduce us down to a back pocket sub-story for the purposes of selling advertising.

And if our local and regional governments aren't listening, if our local newspapers aren't listening...then that is an issue unto itself, And I don't care if your grammar and spelling are correct. I don't care if it's in "AP style". I don't care about corporate media's "rules". I will publish your Letters to the Editor. I will make your voice known.

Just recently, ACN had a comment on the initiation of Sheriff Ryan to President of the CA Sheriff's Association. I published the comment. I hope people actually read it:

http://amadorgov.blogspot.com/2015/04/sheriff-martin-ryan-elected-as.html

Before we judge this woman, do we walk in their shoes?

In my humble opinion, I responded. :)

Carol