Bo Greene. Annlinn Kruger.

just now

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Why Can’t We Hear What Soothes, Not What Sells?

After the unimaginable tragedy of losing three precious Islanders last weekend, I’ve thought a lot about how we tell stories and what we want to hear. I watched TV crews from all over Maine swarm to the site of the tragedy and then to all corners of Mount Desert Island. Even before close friends knew what had happened, it became the news most sought after. Every crew out there was looking for a clip, a comment, anything that could grab attention and make theirs the “exclusive” story. To them I say this:

What if the story you’re after isn’t the right one? What if you don’t chase down the grieving father at his home the day after he loses his children and his mother? What if you don’t call the younger brother who is immersed in grief for his mom and his brother’s kids? What if you don’t beg anyone to stand in front of a camera and tell you absolutely anything so that you have an “exclusive?” Because it doesn’t really matter what you get, does it? You can show a “coming up” clip that you have something, and it sells. People will tune in, even if it’s nothing new, nothing that’s not already out there. I know it’s your job and you’re doing as you’re told, but what if you tell us something that helps, rather than simply what feeds our addiction to drama, that fuels speculation and leads to divisive and harmful online arguing?

Three different TV reporters reached out to me. Who am I other than someone who loves the family? It’s not my story to tell, even if I had one. They literally want anything, a clip or a quote of someone saying anything about the tragedy, the driver, the kids, the extended family. They don’t even care what you say, just tell them anything and they’ll call in to say they have something. These are not bad people, it’s just a bad business. It’s not just social media either. People want to see photos of the road so they can convince themselves it couldn’t happen to them. They want to try and make sense of something that doesn’t make sense. It’s human nature. But can we disrupt our obsession with spectacle? Can we begin to replace the compulsion for details with compassion and leave it at that? I’m not sure we can until we agree to tell stories differently.

MDI and Downeast Maine are very diverse communities, perhaps not in skin color, but in so many other ways—educationally, economically, politically. That challenges and strengthens us. One reporter told me she was here for two days and had gone all over the island, but couldn’t get anyone to talk to her about the tragedy. She was tired and disappointed because she needed something and she dreaded having to tell her boss she failed. I felt for her because I understood that she was doing her job and she was kind and very respectful. But she was also desperate for absolutely anything. Someone got to the father and that made her less successful than that reporter. Later that day I got two more messages from reporters, asking for information. It’s literally a competition and it made me sad.

In my driveway where I said I would not speak with the reporter on the record, I suggested she tell a different story. What if she and all the other news chasers told the story where they found a community that not only supports their families, but protects them too? That surrounds them with love and food and financial support and gives them the space they need to grieve. What if the media celebrated that no one would give them the sound bites they wanted? What if they simply reported on the phenomenal support they saw. What if they told a story of an entire island of all different kinds of people who may not agree on much, but all agree on the communal priority of wrapping this family up in love and support? When we are constantly bombarded with news of all the things that divide us, imagine if our news media focused on what brings us together? Why can’t we hear what soothes, not what sells?

To all the bosses who directed those reporters to come here and get something that sells, I say leave the family alone, leave the friends of the family alone. Report on what you found, not what you didn’t find. This corner of Maine is so special. Tell that story.

Bo Greene

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The Complexity of Elections

Elections are always complex. Now they have been made fraught. Outcomes have always been anxiety making. Now we are forced to contend with the process itself. Mainers vote. In fact, we consistently lead the nation in voter participation.

Until recently, protecting and facilitating our citizens’ voting rights was a bi-partisan effort. In the past years, our governor, secretary of state, and attorney general have had to join other ‘blue state’ officials in going to court to protect the privacy of our own voter data and our state’s right to conduct elections. Conducting elections has always presented logistical challenges. Now it presents personal danger – from a riled up and resentful minority of Americans and the full force of a federal government ruled by a party desperately running scared of losing its majority.

Behind the scenes, there are our neighbors working to facilitate a regular process and reliable results, as they always have. They have always been on the frontlines, now they are in the crosshairs of especially nasty voter suppression efforts. We here on MDI, and throughout Maine, are fortunate in election officials and workers faithful to our national and state constitutions, to their oaths, to their mission, and to our communities. For the good of the nation and us all. They deserve our admiration, support, and protection. As early voting begins, and the weeks culminate in Election Day, let us honor our hard won rights and our brave neighbors’ hard work – with our full and respectful participation.

Annlinn Kruger
Bar Harbor

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FUNDRAISERS FOR THE GRUBB FAMILY

The link to the GoFundMe is here.

SAWYER GRUBB FUND (a basketball scholarship in honor of Sawyer Grubb to help kids go to basketball training clinics and basketball summer camps at The Forge Training Center in Ellsworth for children whose families cannot afford to send them. You can donate straight to the “Sawyer Grubb Fund” under Jennifer Sargent at The First National Bank. Last 4 digits of the fund account are 5930.

SAWYER GRUBB FUND

“I will be starting a basketball scholarship in honor of Sawyer. The funds will go toward basketball training clinics and basketball summer camps at The Forge Training Center in Ellsworth for children whose families cannot afford to send them. If you feel inclined to help send children to basketball clinics and camps in little Sawyers memory, please let me know,” Sargent wrote.

You can donate straight to the “Sawyer Grubb Fund” under Jennifer Sargent at The First National Bank. Last 4 digits of the fund account are 5930.

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