RIP Mike Penner

blahblahblah talented hard working good person great boss blahblahblah

Who in a million years writes that sentence?

 

I don't have "a different opinion of what he wrote." I have an issue with the fact that he wrote it at all.

I have an issue with the fact that he did it in a widespread public forum, a blog that, thanks to his apparently equally thoughtless editors, was left up for weeks after it was written (yes, I checked, for a long time afterward).

I have issues with the fact that he did it all with impunity, with no disciplinary action taken that I know of, and all without any regard for a well-known and frankly, courageous professional colleague with nothing but a good reputation and a good heart, who he knew had just gone through a life-changing transition, and who was openly trusting all her colleagues to be open-minded, gentle and compassionate in her initial public return to work.

Sadly, Oberjuerge proved that that couldn't and shouldn't have been done.

 

Interesting story. Glad it was written.

 

It seems to me the Times had, on some level, an obligation to follow up the Mike Penner story, and I think they did it well.

They quite publicly announced that Penner was becoming Christine Daniels, and then gave her a space to keep a running update of her experiences.

Then the blog stopped... Mike Penner returned with no explanation... and then Mike Penner died. Then all traces of Christine were wiped from the website.

If you're going to tell the first half of that story, it seems to me you need to tell the second half. It may be painful to his family members, but let's face it -- no one would raise that as an argument if they weren't Times staffers. We do stories every day that are painful for people close to them. It's pretty chickenshit to back off because it's someone you work with.

 

Very much agree.
I wonder if Paul regrets or is even haunted by what he wrote, especially after reading how sensitive Mike was to his appearance.

Maybe this article will make others think before they say or write something mean-spirited just because they can. There's enough cruelty in the world without so blithely adding to it.

 

I'm waiting for Paul to respond to this story.
I would run into Paul occasionally, but never knew him very well. I do know lots of people who worked for him. As has been said, they all swear by him.
When he wrote that blog, I was stunned. All I could say was, "He needed a copy editor." The response today is the same, "Everybody needs a copy editor."

 

Whether it's fair or not, we're often judged by one snapshot moment in our careers, good or bad. There are times when we don't know how far we can push the envelope until it pushes back. Oberjuerge isn't the first guy bitten by that bug, and he won't be the last. Maybe the lesson to take away from this is that every thought that pops into your head shouldn't wind up in a column or blog.

 

You must be new to the Internet.

 

Can we please make this our motto pretty please pretty please.
No really. Please.

 

Yeah, save those thoughts for sj posts.

 

I'll cut Paul O a little slack in that nobody knows what causes a person to suck on an exhaust pipe.

He probably intended his column as constructive critcism — wear flats and turtle necks. Penner if anyone should've known snark is the currency of the realm.