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Readers: Don't hate, participate

Published: Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I really hate smack talkers.


I take that back, I hate smack talkers who don’t back their mouths up. I hate it more than people who don’t use their blinkers, Terrell Owens and The Fray.


Let me tell you a story. There we were the other day, passing out copies of the paper to the student population. It was hot, we were trying to get ourselves a bit more exposure, and yes, we were doing it during whatever breaks we had.


We were greeted with smiles, polite conversation and various student responses that ranged from “Yes,” “No,” and even odd replies such as “No thanks, I’m straight.” However, as one group of students walked by, I could hear them criticize the headline of one of the articles.


Now as a writer, I’m use to criticism.  We are not just subjected to the comments of our fellow writers, but at the mercy of the public as well. But as these guys walked by, one guy said in a voice so confident he could almost pat himself on the back, “Technically, you can’t divorce UTSA because gay marriage isn’t legal in San Antonio.”


I could hardly believe my ears. After the mental image of a Street Fighter ‘Shoryuken’ exited from my mind, I continued to pass out more papers. 


I have this theory that English majors have the most difficult major out there. Before you math and science majors start whipping out your calculators to prove me wrong, calculate this: two plus two will ALWAYS equal four. What comes up must ALWAYS come down. In these fields, the answers are always exact, even when the alphabet starts to substitute for numbers. There is no ‘always’ in writing. If there was, writers would probably be respected more. We put our work on the line every time we write. There’s never any certainty. Something can always be changed.


This brings me to my original point. If you don’t like a piece of literature, that’s perfectly fine. Does everyone like Hemingway? Of course not. But if you think you can do something better in your community, like writing news articles, then man up and do it.


I see these talented writers put their work on the line every week to bring the student population the news. They take the time away from their busy schedules of school and work to do interviews, go to meetings, edit the paper and actually write the articles. They even do research into looking for entertainment and putting it into the paper to help everyone around here relax.


But writing for the paper is such a simple task, right? If so, come down to the office and prove me wrong. 
Go on. I dare you.

 

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3 comments Log in to Comment

Andrew Benavidez
Wed Jan 27 2010 21:26
P.P.S. When I said that "This article doesn't bother me too much except for the fact that it is yet another complaint article from the Paisano. What bothers me is in the last few lines" I lied. This whole article pisses me off because it is the same stuff every week and I am tired of it.
Andrew Benavidez
Wed Jan 27 2010 21:21
P.S. Talented writers? You are talking about the group of writers that review books that are collections of inebriated texts and have "He Said/She Said" articles that seem to only to be thinly veiled sexual tension with a hint of misogyny? That's news to me.
Andrew Benavidez
Wed Jan 27 2010 21:16
Spellcheck is not always right... it's "used to it" not "use to it" (it was bugging me).

This article doesn't bother me too much except for the fact that it is yet another complaint article from the Paisano. What bothers me is in the last few lines, "But writing for the paper is such a simple task, right? If so, come down to the office and prove me wrong. Go on. I dare you. " Are you really pulling a tough guy act? What does it matter if people don't like the Paisano? Everyone has their own (sometimes ignorant) opinions.

Now, I might not like the Paisano that much, but I still read it every week. Complaints such as this are in the Paisano nearly every week. These complaints are either from people who dislike how the Paisano does things or they are from the writers complaining about how hard it is to write and not get any recognition for it. If you want recognition for something, be outstanding; if you want to receive less complaints, quit phoning it in. What you should avoid is inflammatory speech which will only annoy your readers and further deteriorate the credibility you still have.

People do not care what major you are. If you find being an English major too hard, find something else. You cannot assume that your major is the hardest because you receive a ton of criticism starting out.

Math and Science majors can turn out far more difficult. For example, I assume that you typed this article on a computer in an text editor of some sort, that right there is nearly 62 years worth of work (from ENIAC, the first general-purpose computer made for the USN; nearly 27 from the first personal computer, from Apple). This article is on the internet which, since Darpanet, has taken nearly 40 years to get where it is now.

Behind each of these things there has been thousands upon thousands of engineers, scientists and mathematicians working out the kinks and making the technology evolve. Their job has been relatively thankless and their work not exact. Every year, there are more challenges and advancements which makes their work a constant learning experience. It is also very competitive; if they are behind the curve or if they make a serious mistake, they don't get critiqued like a writer would, they get fired. Math and Science have exact areas of study, but the very interesting stuff is explaining the unexplained.

So if you still think that you have the short end of the stick because people dislike your writing or find the Paisano to be less than acceptable, think of someone other than yourself. Think of all of the people that made it easier for you to write in the modern world. Be thankful that you only have to deal with criticism and fickle readers. Do not be ignorant about the importance and complexity that Math and Science majors have to deal with.

After all of this writing, I feel as though I should explain a little bit about myself. I am pursuing a dual major in English and History, I've been published back in grade school for poetry, and I have several writing projects going on right now. I've taken criticism from dozens upon dozens of people, but I take it as constructive criticism unlike you. I couldn't care less about the things people say are great about my writing; I focus on my faults obsessively until I can surpass them. Your ultimate goal as a writer is to get past the criticism and evolve. If you cannot do that, then you've already failed, find another major.

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