Hate speech wont get any ink from us
Its an odd thing for a newspaper to ignore what some people might consider a news event, but The Erwin Record made a decision last week to not give any coverage to Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church.
The infamous hatemongers at Westboro had threatened to protest at Senior Airman Benjamin D. Whites funeral, and it got a lot of media attention. The Internet was buzzing, too.
But here at The Erwin Record, we made the decision to ignore Westboro. We didnt try to interview the folks at Westboro, because we dont think a hate group is worthy of our attention. We didnt write about if for this weeks newspaper or even post anything on our website.
We simply werent going to give Westboro what it wants more than anything media attention for its distasteful beliefs.
The fact that an American soldier died to preserve our freedom IS worthy of attention. The fact that he was a local person makes the hurt deeper, our sense of appreciation greater actually, unspeakably so. Our native son died for love of country and fellow man. Love as a motivator cannot be overrated. Hate as a motivator cannot be underrated.
We dont know if you, the reader, expected us to cover Westboros threatened protest or the anti-protests, for that matter. If anyone thinks weve failed as a newspaper for not telling the whole story, were prepared to stand behind our decision.
Maybe weve erred, but we dont think hate speech of any kind deserves our attention.
We hope you agree.