The DANA that has devastated the Spanish east in recent weeks has generated all kinds of reactions: from initial uncertainty, surprise and fear, through helplessness, anger and frustration due to the ineffectiveness of the administrations involved, to grief the pain for those affected, and the admiration and respect for the citizens’ demonstrations of solidarity. The human cost has been too high and, what is more serious, probably the result of a late and poorly organized response by policy makers.
In this context, it is understandable that the publication of Juan Manuel de Prada’s column on November 2, “It is not ‘climate change’, but criminal incompetence,” has acted as a sounding board for this altered emotional state. The dozens of comments it has received from users of the digital edition reveal the polarization in which we live: many applaud the author for his courage and vehemence, and many others criticize the form and relevance of the publication.
Along with these comments, the letters from two readers clearly explain where the discomfort and indignation that the text has generated lies: Antonio Vime describes it as “vomitive” and adds that “an opinion can be expressed, of course, it would be necessary more, but without disrespect. And you can insult in private (…) but in an article in a newspaper like ABC it seems inappropriate to me to call them “great sons of bitches” repeatedly and (…) what seems really out of place to me (…) is to end the article saying that “if we Spaniards didn’t have horchata in our veins, we would have to hang them and then dismember them” (what an outrage!). Mr. Vime adds that “I know that this newspaper prides itself on echoing all kinds of opinions, but it really seems to me that this article goes against coexistence and that ABC should NOT have published it. And it’s not about censorship, it’s about preserving certain values.” Reader Jesús del Amo points out the same issues and adds that, in his opinion, the article “exceeds all the limits of what one expects from a responsible media outlet. (…) I think that the media should have responsibility and not publish things of this nature, that if a misfortune occurs, then the lamentations will come.
Juan Manuel de Prada responds that “honestly, readers may consider the article’s outrageous tone as inappropriate,” and he appreciates “the counterclaim, which is fertile in this case.” He explains that “it was written in a moment of dark rage in which he had not yet digested what had happened. “It probably would have been different a few days later.” He also acknowledges that “I do not usually resort to strong words, but I wanted to highlight my indignation” and “in subsequent articles, with that anger now tempered, I have focused more on the responsibility for what happened.”
At the same time, he breaks a spear in favor of the emphatic and figurative use of language. He believes that “there was no occasion that more deserved the use of those strong words.” And regarding the inflammatory language that readers point out, he comments that “in no case was it my intention. If I really wanted to call for violence, I would not do so with a reference to the medieval formula of executing traitors, but in a more realistic way.
De Prada also thinks that “the writer’s freedom in a newspaper is very fragile: he has to control himself, but avoid offering a falsified vision.” And he adds “that nothing has ever been reserved before ABC readers” and that there may be something “suicidal in my sincerity that sometimes leads to lawlessness.”
Although opinion is not the scope of my task as a defender of the reader, on this occasion it was necessary to address the concerns that the text has raised, especially when they point to the responsibility of the newspaper for its publication, an idea that I share. . Prada assumes her verbal excess, and attributes it to “a mixture of dark passions.”
In such a polarized social context, the responsibility of the medium is also fragile. Firmly showing indignation in the face of a rude response from those who govern us can also be a duty. Discerning the fine line in which the manifestation of anger becomes something more serious requires a measure that events have not encouraged. Although this specific lack of restraint gives the newspaper a more passionate character, one must know how to dose these excesses to make rigor shine above all else.
#Reader #advocate #Charo #Sádaba #mixture #passions
