Kindred on Albom receiving this year's Red Smith Award

Ben_Hecht · Jul 29, 2010

I saw too many guys who wanted to play it both ways . . .. wanted the $$$$, but didn't want to get in the trenches for it.

Virtually across the board, they were all sniveling toadies . . . the trusties in the prison.

Magic In The Night · Jul 29, 2010

JC said:

If anybody crosses a picket line I sure as hell hope they turn down the pay raise and negotiated benefits that the uninion ends up receiving. They also should never use the grievance process. It's the most selfish thing somebody can do. I have no idea how scabs can walk back into work after everything is settled.

There's nothing wrong with being against unions, if you are, fine, go find a non-union job. It's really that simple
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My experience has been, and I've always worked in open shops, that the ones who didn't join were the ones who were first in line to seek help from the union when something went wrong and they needed them during a grievance or work issue. Also, they never, ever, turned down any of the raises.

Twoback · Jul 29, 2010

playthrough said:

Twoback said:

By logical extension, then, if you're in a Democracy and your leaders take you to war -- there is no right to protest.
No demonstrations in the park, no signs, no "1-2-3-4, we don't want your war."
Otherwise, there is no nation?

Unions can be full of crap. Detroit going on strike at that time, given the state of the newspaper industry and what had happened not that long before in Pittsburgh, was idiotic. Choosing not to support was a reasonable course.
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I don't see the logical extension--and I don't really fall one way or another on unions, never been in one. If you're in a union and you don't "like" something, vote against it. But if your side is not the majority, you then respect the union that YOU joined and support it.
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I don't see how this mentality is any different than the Archie Bunker, "My country, right or wrong" position.

RickStain · Jul 29, 2010

Twoback said:

playthrough said:

Twoback said:

By logical extension, then, if you're in a Democracy and your leaders take you to war -- there is no right to protest.
No demonstrations in the park, no signs, no "1-2-3-4, we don't want your war."
Otherwise, there is no nation?

Unions can be full of crap. Detroit going on strike at that time, given the state of the newspaper industry and what had happened not that long before in Pittsburgh, was idiotic. Choosing not to support was a reasonable course.
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I don't see the logical extension--and I don't really fall one way or another on unions, never been in one. If you're in a union and you don't "like" something, vote against it. But if your side is not the majority, you then respect the union that YOU joined and support it.
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I don't see how this mentality is any different than the Archie Bunker, "My country, right or wrong" position.
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Unions are voluntary. Countries are not. Unions depend entirely on the solidarity of their constituents. Countries do not.

Twoback · Jul 29, 2010

Sorry, Rick, but country is voluntary, too.
Unions should depend on their utility, not on blind faith in whatever the leadership suggests.

playthrough · Jul 29, 2010

Then why have leadership?

You said that choosing not to support a strike was a reasonable course of action. Fine, but you have to be able to handle the repercussions of your actions. And clearly there are a lot of union members and sympathizers who can never, ever respect Albom for what he did in Detroit.

Azrael · Jul 29, 2010

Twoback said:

Unions should depend on their utility
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Their utility (and their power) lies in their expression of the collective will. Argue your case as vigorously and well as you can, but once the membership decides and votes, that's the decision. One strikes, all strike.

TheMethod · Jul 30, 2010

Jim_Carty said:

The thing is, Azrael, Kindred never even comes out and simply says Albom shouldn't get the award. He implies it, but he doesn't say it. He says the APSE "did a curious thing." He says Albom is "an unlikely guardian of journalist values." He says Albom's denial of ego "made him a little itchy." He writes that what Albom did with the Michigan State column "is known as fiction. It can get you expelled."

It's really weak sauce, a passive aggressive mix of inside baseball and re-hashing of old news. Does Kindred think Albom should have received the award or not? He never really says. He implies, but he never says it. He had a vote on the award - he tells us that, but he doesn't say how he voted.

Kindred knew Albom was up for this award. It would have been a lot more interesting and ballsy if he had written this column before Albom received it and said why he wasn't voting for him.

And I don't mind getting ripped for this stance. That's what message boards are for. But please, rip me for the stance, not for defending a friend. I have no relationship with Albom. None. Again, he probably wouldn't know me if he passed me on the street, and I've said in the past that he probably should have been fired for the Michigan State column.
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I disagree with the assertion Kindred needed to come out and say, "Mitch Albom should not have received the Red Smith Award." First of all, is there any doubt he's criticizing the APSE for this? There is a difference between being wishy washy and being subtle, and I think Kindred unmistakably made the point he wanted to make -- that he was uncomfortable with the APSE's decision to give Albom that award -- and clearly explained the reasons why.

I don't know that anybody really knows that "passive aggressive" means, but I don't think that's it.

Inky_Wretch · Sep 22, 2010

The guys from FireJoeMorgan.com have reunited on Deadspin today. One of their takedowns was of Albom ...

http://deadspin.com/5644264/playing-down-to-your-audience

slappy4428 · Sep 22, 2010

Albom, thy name is golf ball for you have been teed up.

goalmouth · Sep 23, 2010

Now we know why firejoemorgan.com shut down.

Ben_Hecht · Sep 23, 2010

Inky_Wretch said:

The guys from FireJoeMorgan.com have reunited on Deadspin today. One of their takedowns was of Albom ...

http://deadspin.com/5644264/playing-down-to-your-audience
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Such skills are terrible things to waste . . . and I'm not referring to those of
the Dwarf.

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Kindred on Albom receiving this year's Red Smith Award

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