Is Ivancic Trying To Intimidate Me?

Isn’t it interesting? Mark Ivancic, the Managing editor for The Bradford Era insults me, talks down to me, and attempted to dictate what words I was permitted use in my copyrighted syndicated columns. He said that unless he tells me my opinion is an opinion then my opinions are not opinions. He tramples on my First Amendment rights and now sources tell me that he is upset because I have made known my feelings pursuant to his actions.

In my column “Editor’s Actions Could Have Racial Consequences,” April 23, 2013, I set forth my opinion in clear and reasonable language how if I were inclined to race-mongering his actions could be turned into a racial battle that would potentially bring unfair accusations and unwarranted scrutiny to the town of Bradford and its residents. And I stand by that opinion based on a lengthy history of said arising when the same and/or similar behaviors are exhibited against persons of color. Even though Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have accused media of being racist for far less.

In my Daily Rant titled “Editor Caught Altering Content,” April 19, 2013, I again set forth what was taking place and included direct quotations from people who live in and around the Bradford area plus copies of redacted letters from confidential sources at the Bradford Era.

I made nothing up. I shared my opinion in a way that presented the issue as a teachable moment where race could very easily be injected into a First Amendment rights issue, but I was calling for us to view the situation through a prism of Americanism, not racialisms.

Now sources are telling me that Mark Ivancic is upset to the point that he has threatened to sue me for libel if my opinion column has been published in other newspapers. He’s upset because I called him a bigot. He is a bigot and yes that was published in my syndicated column. A bigot thinks they’re superior to others and that is the exact opinion I came away with after first speaking with him.

He talked to me with the condescending arrogance of a Southern plantation owner in the Jim Crow south; I explained to my readership et al. that this is a teachable moment that we can utilize to rise above using convenient arguments based on color — even though it would be very easy for me to make this an issue based on race. And Ivancic is upset. Isn’t that rich?

He doesn’t have to carry my column. But he doesn’t have the right to alter it to make it read other than I intended. He doesn’t run my columns that are critical of Obama, liberals, the media, and/or focus on issues of race and that’s his right — it’s his prerogative. But he doesn’t have the right to think I am just going to shuck away with my tail between my legs and my head down.

I’m an American, and as such I have First Amendment rights. I also have the right and the responsibility to point out injustice, and to use said injustice as teachable moments to help others to view situations through a prism other than race. I refuse to reduce myself and/or allow others to paint Ivancic as a racist. However, I am prepared to argue until I see glory that he is a bigoted, arrogant, insulting, narcissistic, diminutive elitist who has been censoring my opinions.

I’ve been critical of the mainstream media for over 40 years, so there is a long record of same. Specific to that point, he is the first who has acted like a child with a diaper that needs changing because I’ve pointed out what the public already believes, i.e., that the mainstream media cannot be trusted. And the fact that he altered my copyrighted, syndicated column in a way that I can only view as attempting to make it say other than I intended would appear to validate their belief.

I’m not backing down. I will not be silenced for pointing out how the media and specifically Ivancic’s actions can/could lead to racial discord, not when race-mongers like the Sharptons and Jacksons are placed on pedestals for fomenting racial division. Nor will I allow Ivancic to undermine my First Amendment rights.

The last time I checked, the First Amendment guaranteed my right to freedom of speech. That said, I will not be bullied and/or threatened into silence just because the truth hurts. I didn’t pick this fight, he did. And if he weren’t so pompous and arrogant he would realize he picked it with the wrong American.