Yesterday, Roch Smith Jr wrote, City public information response: delay, obfuscate & manipulate in relation to the way the City of Greensboro handles PIRTs (public information requests) but if you think about it those 3 words, "delay, obfuscate & manipulate" are the very things that power the rumor mills and the speculation that runs rampant on this blog and in the public at large. But it doesn't end with PIRTs. The fact is: The fact that PIRTs are even necessary in the first place is because the City of Greensboro chooses to delay, obfuscate and manipulate almost everything the City does.
You see, everything I write about Greensboro and the people who run Greensboro would be thought of and said by someone even if I never published it to the web for everyone to see. Most of what I write was already going around before I made people's thoughts public. This has long been a problem for Greensboro in that it breeds distrust in government.
Every time the local media fails to report important details, readers are forced to fill in the blanks with whatever comes to mind. When some of those readers also happen to publish blogs they are left to their own devices and free to write anything they believe.
It does not matter if and how many times I tell my readers that what I'm writing is in-fact my own opinion, many of them will believe it to be the unabashed truth. Why? Because the City of Greensboro decided to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than spit it out.
For every one of me you see blogging there are thousands you never see who believe just as I believe. Why? Because the City of Greensboro chose to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give us enough information to make informed judgements.
I believe the City of Greensboro wants me to continue trashing our politicians and high ranking city officials along with Greensboro's elites. Why? Because when I ask for information the City continues to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give me the answers I seek. I know it seems crazy but considering my track record you would think they'd have figured it out by now. So if they continue to delay, obfuscate and manipulate then it must be because they want people like me to continue doing what I do, right?
What's that? You think they delay, obfuscate and manipulate because they're all a bunch of crooks and it really has nothing to do with me? Really, you think that?
I donno, perhaps. But one thing I know for certain: As long as the City of Greensboro continues to delay, obfuscate and manipulate either before or after the public information requests start cascading in, you can bet there will always be someone like me to call them on it. And no amount of PR budgeting or tax increases can ever make that go away.
The same goes for Facebook, Twitter and the many social networking sites: absent of facts the public fills in the blanks with whatever tin foil conspiracy they can dream up because the City of Greensboro, North Carolina first thought it necessary to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give us the truth in a timely fashion. In the end everyone looses.
So go ahead, Greensboro, make up any "truth" you like and continue to delay, obfuscate and manipulate all you like to "prove" your points and I'll be happy to do the same. It's really your call.
You see, everything I write about Greensboro and the people who run Greensboro would be thought of and said by someone even if I never published it to the web for everyone to see. Most of what I write was already going around before I made people's thoughts public. This has long been a problem for Greensboro in that it breeds distrust in government.
Every time the local media fails to report important details, readers are forced to fill in the blanks with whatever comes to mind. When some of those readers also happen to publish blogs they are left to their own devices and free to write anything they believe.
It does not matter if and how many times I tell my readers that what I'm writing is in-fact my own opinion, many of them will believe it to be the unabashed truth. Why? Because the City of Greensboro decided to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than spit it out.
For every one of me you see blogging there are thousands you never see who believe just as I believe. Why? Because the City of Greensboro chose to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give us enough information to make informed judgements.
I believe the City of Greensboro wants me to continue trashing our politicians and high ranking city officials along with Greensboro's elites. Why? Because when I ask for information the City continues to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give me the answers I seek. I know it seems crazy but considering my track record you would think they'd have figured it out by now. So if they continue to delay, obfuscate and manipulate then it must be because they want people like me to continue doing what I do, right?
What's that? You think they delay, obfuscate and manipulate because they're all a bunch of crooks and it really has nothing to do with me? Really, you think that?
I donno, perhaps. But one thing I know for certain: As long as the City of Greensboro continues to delay, obfuscate and manipulate either before or after the public information requests start cascading in, you can bet there will always be someone like me to call them on it. And no amount of PR budgeting or tax increases can ever make that go away.
The same goes for Facebook, Twitter and the many social networking sites: absent of facts the public fills in the blanks with whatever tin foil conspiracy they can dream up because the City of Greensboro, North Carolina first thought it necessary to delay, obfuscate and manipulate rather than give us the truth in a timely fashion. In the end everyone looses.
So go ahead, Greensboro, make up any "truth" you like and continue to delay, obfuscate and manipulate all you like to "prove" your points and I'll be happy to do the same. It's really your call.
