Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Happyjoe
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- (Ohnoitsjaime | talk | contributions)
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Statement of the dispute
This is a summary written by users who dispute this user's conduct. Users signing other sections ("Response" or "Outside views") should not edit the "Statement of the dispute" section.
Description
This user has been waging a campaign to insert this unsourced POV edit into the Big Spring, Texas article since December of 2005 under various IPs, including User:65.122.236.133, User:65.122.232.3, User:209.181.19.117, User:212.142.140.149, user:129.72.69.170 and user names User:Ohnoitsjayme (banned) User:Ohnoitsjaime (banned), User:Ohnoitsjamee (banned), User:Happyjoe (Registered usernames were created after semi-protection and bans for improper usernames). Multiple users have made multiple good faith attempts to discuss the NPOV problems with the passage, but no good faith efforts have been made by the user to insert verifiable and neutral statements. Three 3RRs have been filed and the page has been semi-protected twice. Additionally, the user has placed an incorrect dispute tag on all versions where the POV material is not present. OhNoitsJamieTalk 22:49, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
Evidence of disputed behavior
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Response
The statments above are obviously biased as a part of a personal vendetta launched by ohnoitsjamie and others against a balanced article on the City of Big Spring Texas. It is a shame that it has come down to such extreme and unwarranted actions being taken on an issue that could have easily been resovled with some attempt at compromise. But rather than compromise, the only solution offered was the blanket removal of all information. In other words everything that Ohnoitsjamie and other post is (by defintion non-POV and acceptable) and everything that other users post that is true but perhaps distasteful is automatically labeled as POV and removed (and the mere act of labelling is considered sufficient evidence to remove).
Again, this non-issue could have been resolved long ago is there had been a willingness to compromise, a willingness to build an article that presents Big Spring with all its wonders and warts rather than the whitewash hack job that has been perpetrated.
And further, it has even deteriorated to the point at which ohnoitsjamie is now making personal accusations against me within the community, accusations which are unfounded and unjustified.
So I certainly hope that this issue can be resolved, but from what I have seen so far, I have serious doubts over the willingness of certain individuals to entertain the idea of compromise, to work together to find mutually agreeable solutions, to meet in the middle. 129.72.69.170 02:00, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
Further I might add, that as a fairly new user of Wikipedia and as someone who is a housebound retiree in Big Spring, and as someone who is not a "techie", I am not familiar with all the various detailed policies of Wikipedia (which appear to be numerous and complex). Therefore any "violation" of Wikipedia rules and/or etiquette is unintentional. I simply am trying to express information about my hometown that I believe is suppressed by those in positions of power and authority (news media, city government, chamber of commerce, school teachers, police, etc). I believe that the best way to fix the city of Big Spring, Texas is to first admit the problems.
I will point out one example... the dental hygiene issue. Now I don't know where one would find a government report that details the lack of dental health in Big Spring... and knowing how Texas govt works, the report would be suppressed if there was one. But ask any dentist in Big Spring... and I mean ANY dentist, what the level of dental health is in Big Spring and they will tell you that it ranks at the bottom in the US, that a very large percentage of people in Big Spring have never seen a dentist and that the state of dental health is atrocious. This is true. Now this may not be obvious if you have never travelled anywhere else (it may seem normal for people to have brown teeth), but people who have been somewhere else are all too well aware of the poor situation of dental health in Big Spring.
But it seems that what I am being told is that if I look out the window and it is raining, I can't say that it is raining unless I find somewhere where someone has written down that it is raining. Well I say this, visit Big Spring... all you wealthy techie, scientist types who love Wikipedia so much and live in place like Boulder, CO or California... visit Big Spring just once and see if what I am saying isn't calling it exactly like it is. And I would even add that I have been quite restrained in my descriptions of Big Spring. I did not mention the drug problems, the gang problems, etc...
But, for whatever reason there are those who would prefer to whitewash the town, to write a description that is as dull as yesterday's dishwater.
So if I am guilt of attempting to tell the truth... then all I can say is GUILTY AS CHARGED. If I am guilty of caring about my town and wanting things to improve, then so be it. My grandfather always taught me to speak truth to power, regardless of the consequences. I learned to stand up for what I believe is right and in fact I have defended the freedom of this country. Yet here, I have suffered personal attacks, threats, and unwarranted accusations as a result of my truthtelling, but everytime I see the young people of Big Spring, I stop and remember what is at stake and why I must tell the truth regardless of the consequences. It is a sad day in America when telling the truth is no longer allowed. It is a sad day in American when a whitewash is considered "truth". I tell the truth for the children, for my country, for my God, for my family. I tell the truth to defend what is right. I tell the truth in order to make this world a better place for all.
In conclusion, I do not have any animosity towards those who have attempted to squelch the truth. I feel sorry for them, that they are so brainwashed.
I would like to see some sort of compromise to this issue. But all I have seen is a desire to completely remove my comments. Everything I posted is automatically labeled and deleted. I feel like I am facing the judge, the jury and hangman all in one person. No matter how I try to rework things, they get deleted. Yet other people can post things from Hell to Breakfast and their stuff never gets removed. Why is that? Why are my posts removed over and over? Why are other able to post with impunity, with out regard for truth. And let us not forget that perhaps the worst lies are lies of omission. And that is what we have here, a case of lying by omission. I say put all the information in the article and let the reader come to their own conclusion. But there are those who don't want that, who instead want to sanitize the article, who want it to read like a Chamber of Commerce travel brochure. Well I tell you what, this town is a beautiful place and it deserves more than a sanitized travel brochure article. Big Spring should be represented in all its sublime beauty.... the wonderful and warts, the proud and the shameful. For that is what makes a town real, gives it living substance as opposed to some Disneyland take of plastic facades and fake smiles. For when you come to Big Spring you won't see fake smiles. People in Big Spring mean it when they smile, they mean when they shake your hand. And we need a Wikipedia article that represents the honesty, the integrity of Big Spring people, that represents in all their human beauty.
For what is a town? A town is so much more than bland demographic stats, it is more than geographical details. A town is a human work of art, a work of art that has been shaped by thousands of people over many generations. It is a work of art that is always in progress. Buildings come and go, fashions change, children are born grow old and die... but the town remains. The town is evidence of our longings, our values, our aspirations. The town is the home we create for our community. To represent it with banal language is a travesty. The town should be represented unapologetically, with bold language, language that honors the people who have made the town what it is. A town is always in a state of flux and has inherent points of conflict. It is where rich and poor struggle. It is where ideologies strive for supremacy. The town is America. It embodies all that we are. Big Spring I salute you!
Happyjoe 02:36, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
Outside view
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