swishnicholson wrote:

The Red Tornado wrote:
okay so Conlin felt he was being sneered at and rightfully so, BUT this excuses what he said?!! I know my parents never cared who started it, if you hit your brother, youre getting sent to your room.

I don't think it excuses anything. I was just responding to dajafi's question about where I got the idea that the Blogger's initial email was derisive.

My only argument is that with each layer of increasingly less cordial responses, this becomes less of a professional situation of a writer responding to his reader and more of a personal pissing contest between two individuals, and that the causes of this descent into a pissing contest are not strictly one-sided. I think the context of Conlin's remarks thus becomes related less to his conduct of his professional duties and is more akin to a personal conversation.While the standards he is held too shouldn't differ in the two situations, and anyone is welcome to draw whatever unflattering conclusions they want from his words, the justified consequences of his actions CAN change. Conlin should have had sense enough to shut up , and should have had sense enough to use different language to express his distaste of bloggers, but i think he's just being an asshat because he's ticked off, not publicly propagating a deeply held and considered personal belief.

Unless you think he really wishes that a new Hitler would arise and put to death anyone who puts out a blog. If so then sure, go for it.

I think I'll let the words I wrote after the death of my dear friend and colleague, the former local Associated Press Bureau Chief Ralph Bernstein and the nearly half century relationship my wife and I have had with Ralph and his family through good times and bad represent me against any contrived and baseless attempt to slime me as an anti-Semite. I was a speaker at Ralph's Memorial service. Quite obviously, the Hitler line was used in a satiric response to what has turned into a concerted assault on my Jimmy Rollins column and on my career. It was quite obviously used in a personal e-mail. I did not publish the insulting things said about me. As editor of the Temple University News in 1960-61, I received death threats from the White Citizens Council after writing an editorial denouncing Gerald L. K. Smith and his anti-black and anti-Semitic hate-mongering newspaper "The Cross and the Flag." I was one of the most outspoken critics of Marge Schott's blatant anti-Semitism to the point some of my columns had to be toned down. Ditto my stand on Al Campanis, a friend, by the way, and Jimmy The Greek Snyder. I also had a long and close relationship with the late, great Dick Schaap, who wrote about my impact on The Sports Reporters at length in his autobiography, "Flashing Before My Eyes." I am heartened that both a clear conscience and the First Amendment will be at my side.

Disco Stu wrote:

I think I'll let the words I wrote after the death of my dear friend and colleague, the former local Associated Press Bureau Chief Ralph Bernstein and the nearly half century relationship my wife and I have had with Ralph and his family through good times and bad represent me against any contrived and baseless attempt to slime me as an anti-Semite. I was a speaker at Ralph's Memorial service. Quite obviously, the Hitler line was used in a satiric response to what has turned into a concerted assault on my Jimmy Rollins column and on my career. It was quite obviously used in a personal e-mail. I did not publish the insulting things said about me. As editor of the Temple University News in 1960-61, I received death threats from the White Citizens Council after writing an editorial denouncing Gerald L. K. Smith and his anti-black and anti-Semitic hate-mongering newspaper "The Cross and the Flag." I was one of the most outspoken critics of Marge Schott's blatant anti-Semitism to the point some of my columns had to be toned down. Ditto my stand on Al Campanis, a friend, by the way, and Jimmy The Greek Snyder. I also had a long and close relationship with the late, great Dick Schaap, who wrote about my impact on The Sports Reporters at length in his autobiography, "Flashing Before My Eyes." I am heartened that both a clear conscience and the First Amendment will be at my side.

The Red Tornado wrote:

Disco Stu wrote:

I think I'll let the words I wrote after the death of my dear friend and colleague, the former local Associated Press Bureau Chief Ralph Bernstein and the nearly half century relationship my wife and I have had with Ralph and his family through good times and bad represent me against any contrived and baseless attempt to slime me as an anti-Semite. I was a speaker at Ralph's Memorial service. Quite obviously, the Hitler line was used in a satiric response to what has turned into a concerted assault on my Jimmy Rollins column and on my career. It was quite obviously used in a personal e-mail. I did not publish the insulting things said about me. As editor of the Temple University News in 1960-61, I received death threats from the White Citizens Council after writing an editorial denouncing Gerald L. K. Smith and his anti-black and anti-Semitic hate-mongering newspaper "The Cross and the Flag." I was one of the most outspoken critics of Marge Schott's blatant anti-Semitism to the point some of my columns had to be toned down. Ditto my stand on Al Campanis, a friend, by the way, and Jimmy The Greek Snyder. I also had a long and close relationship with the late, great Dick Schaap, who wrote about my impact on The Sports Reporters at length in his autobiography, "Flashing Before My Eyes." I am heartened that both a clear conscience and the First Amendment will be at my side.

funny, I dont see any "sorry" in there

Houshphandzadeh wrote:Because he's not sorry! He made a bad joke in a one-on-one e-mail, he's probably right in assessing that a bunch of people are making a big deal out of it because they've disliked him for a long time and want to watch him eat some crow while they have the chance. Everybody mocks the fake apologies ubiquitous in the media these days and now you want one.

Has anyone noted the irony that the previous post on Crashburn Alley is a an argument against political correctness?

Disco Stu wrote:

I think I'll let the words I wrote after the death of my dear friend and colleague, the former local Associated Press Bureau Chief Ralph Bernstein and the nearly half century relationship my wife and I have had with Ralph and his family through good times and bad represent me against any contrived and baseless attempt to slime me as an anti-Semite. I was a speaker at Ralph's Memorial service. Quite obviously, the Hitler line was used in a satiric response to what has turned into a concerted assault on my Jimmy Rollins column and on my career. It was quite obviously used in a personal e-mail. I did not publish the insulting things said about me. As editor of the Temple University News in 1960-61, I received death threats from the White Citizens Council after writing an editorial denouncing Gerald L. K. Smith and his anti-black and anti-Semitic hate-mongering newspaper "The Cross and the Flag." I was one of the most outspoken critics of Marge Schott's blatant anti-Semitism to the point some of my columns had to be toned down. Ditto my stand on Al Campanis, a friend, by the way, and Jimmy The Greek Snyder. I also had a long and close relationship with the late, great Dick Schaap, who wrote about my impact on The Sports Reporters at length in his autobiography, "Flashing Before My Eyes." I am heartened that both a clear conscience and the First Amendment will be at my side.

TenuredVulture wrote:Conlin's response makes no sense to me. His initial response was an impolitic attack on freedom of speech (i.e. the one good thing would be shutting annoying people up) and now he wants to defend himself by citing the first amendment.

Vox is right--he should be fired because he's a dope. Someone should show him the delete key on his e-mail.

Woody wrote:Here's some ironic icing for the cake.

If you Google search "Bill Conlin" and then hit the NEWS button, the first 7 links are BLOG commentaries on Conlin's Hitler e-mail.

Trent Steele wrote:

Woody wrote:Here's some ironic icing for the cake.

If you Google search "Bill Conlin" and then hit the NEWS button, the first 7 links are BLOG commentaries on Conlin's Hitler e-mail.

The headline for the first one is classic:

"Sportswriter Bill Conlin Praises Hitler in Attack on Bloggers"

They're sort of right. Had Conlin acted the way he did in a public forum, he'd almost have to be fired on the spot. But that's not what he did. He sent private (and horrible) emails to somebody who then decided to copy them word for word onto a public website without Conlin's consent. Emails that absolutely would have been written differently had Conlin known that they might get posted. Showing them to his readers is completely unethical on the blogger's part, a violation of the fundamental understanding that one's permission must be sought before his words are shared with those who weren't privy to the discussion. Anyone who fancies himself a bit of a writer ought to know better than to do what the blogger did. It's just irresponsible.

All because of something the blogger had no right to post. Look, Bill Conlin is the quintessential crotchety old man, a loudmouthed, ignorant curmudgeon who hates everything that happened after the Soyuz program. He is not a good columnist, and he doesn't really deserve his job. At the same time, though, he doesn't deserve to lose his job over something like this, nor should he be severely punished. The day Conlin gets fired for being a dick in a private email is the day you get fired for telling a friend that your boss is stupid and fat. If people were penalized for making the occasional asshole remark, then no one would have a job. What matters is that you're courteous and professional when you need to be, and Conlin clearly didn't interpret this email exchange as one of those situations.

pacino wrote:probably the best commentary on the subject I've seen:

They're sort of right. Had Conlin acted the way he did in a public forum, he'd almost have to be fired on the spot. But that's not what he did. He sent private (and horrible) emails to somebody who then decided to copy them word for word onto a public website without Conlin's consent. Emails that absolutely would have been written differently had Conlin known that they might get posted. Showing them to his readers is completely unethical on the blogger's part, a violation of the fundamental understanding that one's permission must be sought before his words are shared with those who weren't privy to the discussion. Anyone who fancies himself a bit of a writer ought to know better than to do what the blogger did. It's just irresponsible.

All because of something the blogger had no right to post. Look, Bill Conlin is the quintessential crotchety old man, a loudmouthed, ignorant curmudgeon who hates everything that happened after the Soyuz program. He is not a good columnist, and he doesn't really deserve his job. At the same time, though, he doesn't deserve to lose his job over something like this, nor should he be severely punished. The day Conlin gets fired for being a dick in a private email is the day you get fired for telling a friend that your boss is stupid and fat. If people were penalized for making the occasional asshat remark, then no one would have a job. What matters is that you're courteous and professional when you need to be, and Conlin clearly didn't interpret this email exchange as one of those situations.

Conlin's a jerk in private life towards people he doesn't feel deserve his time or effort, but there's no reason he should be fired for anything he stated in PRIVATE messages that were made public. It's not like he said 'burn Jews burn', he made a stupid analogy that didn't work.