Letter to the Editor
Characterization
Published Friday, June 20, 2008
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Stumble It!June 16, 2008
To the editor:
I am unhappy about reporter Chris Freiberg’s characterization of the night that my brother, Ian McCarthy, died in a vehicular accident.
In an article dated June 14, 2008, Freiberg states that Ian and his friend, Dave, were out for “a night of drinking.”
One of the great tragedies of this accident is that the two were doing what many Americans do every day — having a drink with their meal.
Dave and Ian made a poor decision to get into the truck and drive away after drinking even one drink. One is paying with time incarcerated, spent away from his new wife and family, the other paid with his life.
I am in no way indicating that people should ever drive a vehicle while under the influence, but the description of these young men as partiers (insinuated by the choice of words) does a disservice to the memory of my brother and is unfair to his friend.
In the future, I hope that News-Miner reporters will be diligent about checking their facts before printing even a short article. The words you choose have lasting impact on the people who read them.
Community Discussion
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DNM applied a stupid sensationalism to this article. To what benefit did the sentence do? Was the comment "a night of drinking" necessary? The story already stated that Dave had drank before driving. You would think the News Miner would show a little respect concerning a tragedy that began to show a little closure. Ian was the friendliest, kind soul anybody could know. He and his family didn't deserve to be hurt again after his passing.
I'll always remember Ian as the guy who stuck around and brought me home from work way after his shift was over.
I'll always remember Ian as the guy who was the shine in his Dad's eye when he scored in soccer.
I'll always remember Ian as the guy who skipped class to share his adventures in Europe with me.
I'll always remember Ian as the guy who did the best "Agent Smith" impression.
I'll always remember Ian as the guy who treated me like his best friend, even after not hearing from him for years.
I'll miss his humor, kindness, and music.
I miss you Ian.
What was the BAC of the driver?
Who cares what the BAC was! The problem is that after every accident around here the DNM get's a police report and writes an article according to the police report. Well the problem with that is; after you have had 1 or 9 drinks, you drove your car, hit someone or something, been injured, your friend lost there life, you lost your car, and everyone is running around you like crazy poeple trying to ask you questions- The truth is no one is going to get the whole truth! People tend to fill in the blanks according to what they believe happened. After an accident like that some details should be left out until the smoke clears and a real investigation has been made!
My spouse was in an accident a few years back and someone dear to us lost their life. The only accurate discription of this accident that was written was, it was in a boat and where the accident was, oh and who it was! To tell the truth those 3 things are the only thing that should be reported until they can get the facts!
I care what the BAC was. Drink + dinner would mean a very low BAC. A high BAC would insinuate a night of drinking, or several drinks with dinner. At that point, we are arguing over semantics. Which was it; a drink with dinner, or several drinks? If it was a single drink and the BAC was very low, then I would think an apology should be issued. If it was a BAC over .06 or so, then I think the DNM was justified in making the statement.
Bottom line, shy, is you shouldn't have any drinks before driving if you don't want the risk.
Here's a link to the article in question:
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/jun/14/fa...
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Goat - Thank you. Your words mean the world to my family and I.
As I stated in my letter, I don't think there is any excuse for drinking and driving. I can't tell you what the BAC was. For reasons that I hope you will understand, I've never chosen to read the autopsy report from my little brother's death. I'd rather remember him as he was alive.
As my family understands it, it was 2 beers with dinner - but it doesn't matter. They shouldn't have driven, they did, my brother is dead and Dave's life is irrevocably changed. My issue was with how the NM chose to report this situation. Part of the issue is that they regularly misquote or provide misinformation. In one of today's front page stories, someone we know is misquoted by the same reporter who wrote the piece about Ian.
dukit22 you are incredibly insensitive. I don't feel like your comment deserves more response than that.
If anyone else chooses to respond, I'd just gently remind you that my parents, sister, and other people who mourn the loss of Ian will be reading this. Please be kind. Nothing can compare to losing your family.
A young man deserved to die? For having a drink with his dinner? I don't think so dukit22. I find your comment disgusting.
Dukit22,
I agree wholeheartedly with you that there is never an excuse to drink and drive, but I feel that it is very harsh to say that they got what they deserved. You are saying that Ian deserved to die??? I don't know either of these families but I can imagine a comment like yours to be very painful for them. We should be very careful of what we write in these comment sections especially when it involves a tragedy such as this. For the rest of us, this is a good reminder of the consequences of drinking and driving whether it be one drink or more.
Beyond that, my thoughts, prayers and sympathies go to Ian's and Dave's families. Words are hollow - I'm sorry.
Julia,
I am so very sorry for your family's loss.
the article does not mention them hitting anyone else which is the norm. what is really terrible is when drunks kill people that are just on the road minding their own business. not saying these people were drunk, but the article states the reporter says they were drunk. people are dead, thats the bottom line but, (not trying to sound callous here) it could have been a heck of a lot worse had they hit someone.weith family on here and all it is no time to present our opinions about drunk drivers, time and place for everything.
Thanks Dana and AG30.
Che, anytime people lose their lives it is a tragedy. The people left behind suffer regardless of what the circumstance of the incident is.
dukit22, your lack of compassion and sensitivity for this situation and the people involved in it is of the magnitude borne of ignorance that causes others to lose faith in humanity. I am not as diplomatic as my friends are above, so I think I'll just come out and say it.
How dare you use your self-righteous tone and evil, evil comment to try and assert your superiority over Ian, over Dave, or over anyone else? I, of course, cannot be certain, but it seems to me that if the shoe were on the other foot here, you would be outraged and begging for the support of the selfsame community whose members your comment so outrageously condemns.
Far be it from me, a normally congenial, objective, and rational person to say so, but given the nature of what you said above, I hope you burn. You have no right.
Having a family member die is one of the hardest things in life. When I pray today I will remember your family in my prayers throughout the day.
A few years ago a friend of mine(a well loved high school football coach) died of cancer. I will always remember what his wife said. The words really brought comfort to me.
She said "In the end wheather it be 1 year or 100 years it will seem like only a day untill we meet again".
We all need to make sure our loved ones know how we feel about them and that tomorow is promised to no one.
Peace
julia_m
i already know about losing loved ones. i asked everyone to with hold their opinions concerning drunk drivers, and that is a lot to ask of someone who may have lost a loved one to a drunk driver. i think people are being very nice to you and yours, one or two that may seem a bit cold but that is to be expected from a public forum.
sorry about your loss.
To dukeit22 - what an arrogant and disgusting statement. No one deserves to die. Ian and David made a mistake and one paid for it with their live and the other will have to live with it every day. I am adamantly opposed to drinking and driving, but people do make mistakes. For the reporter to characterize the tragedy as happening after a night of drinking was just plain inaccurate! The reporter should check the facts before submitting the story. I've known Ian for most of his life and will forever miss his smiles. He was one of the most compassionate (unlike you) person I've ever known and his family will miss him forever. How dare you!
che, you miss my point. I do think you may sound callous when you say,
"it could have been a heck of a lot worse had they hit someone."
Though I appreciate some components of your comment, I don't wholly agree that it "would have been a lot worse" - hence my comment that all death is a tragedy.
Having lost multiple friends in Fairbanks due to drunk drivers, I concur that it is an emotionally charged conversation to have. The predominant reason I wrote a letter to the editor is that the DNM missed an invaluable opportunity to inform. We live in a society wherein MANY people think that 2 beers with dinner is no big deal. That ideology is reinforced by people (and newspapers) that portray all accidents where alcohol may have played a factor as occuring when people are partying. This is just not true.
I hope that my lengthier explanation makes sense - I apologise if my reply earlier sounded loaded or forceful - that wasn't my intent at all. Thank you for your kindness as well.
Thank you to others who have commented with compassion here as well. It is much welcomed. We have been lucky - this community is our family. It has provided comfort, support, companionship, and laughter when we need a break from crying. I'm not going to lose any sleep over a couple of offbase comments when I know that the hearts of the people who have shared our lives here for over 30 years are open and giving.
My problem? Crappy reporting. I completely agree with JM and have felt so since the original story was written those few years ago -- it stated that they had left an "establishment that served alcohol." Even though the police weren't willing to make assumptions, the DNM failed to report that the so-called establishment also served food. Their poor choice of words apply slant towards a situation when it is impossible for all the facts to have been obtained. The DNM does it on a fairly regular basis, especially in tragic situations.
I'm not sure if the reporters are to blame, or if it's the editor. Do they realize that the word choice reflects a slant on their part and makes for biased reporting? And really, regardless of whatever type of article a "reporter" is going to write, getting their facts straight would seem to be a good idea --- don't just 'be sure,' check.
Either way, Julia my heart and thoughts are with you. And may I extend an apology to you and yours on behalf of all the jack@$$ idiots of the world that feel that just because they have an opinion they need to share it(reference to dukit22)? Well, I'm sorry.
Thank you for taking the time to write a letter to the editor during your time of grief to clarify the facts.
POST SCRIPT:
Did the DNM even bother writing a retraction/correction?
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