Should Apopka Fire Chief Sean Wylam be replaced? Should City Attorney Michael Rodriguez be removed? Should Mayor Bryan Nelson be recalled?
There are a lot of important topics circulating through Apopka these days, and just as many opinions about how to handle them. Differing ideas, debates, and discussions can be healthy for a city. But it can also tear a community apart if it goes in the wrong direction.
I have been the managing editor of The Apopka Voice for over seven years, and I can tell you firsthand that this community expresses itself with gusto. Whether in public, at a city council meeting, on social media, or in comments on our news site, it's easy to know where Apopka residents stand on issues. And with so many at the forefront these days, it's easy to bring strong opinions to the table.
The Apopka Voice welcomes your comments and applauds the passion you exhibit for your community. We always have, and we always will. It's one of the reasons we chose to put "Voice" in our name. We want to hear from you. We want you to use The Apopka Voice as a sounding board.
But we also want civility from the civil discourse.
In 2018, we introduced guidelines for our readers to comment on our Facebook page or news site. They are modest boundaries that allow everyone to enjoy the experience of interaction and feel comfortable and welcome to post comments. We are asking that you follow these guidelines as you post your thoughts, insights, and information on our space:
As has always been our policy, if you have thoughts on these guidelines, please feel free to comment below this article or on our Facebook page. We are open to your suggestions.
It's been five years since we published those guidelines, but considering the current climate of Apopka politics, and the recent threads of comments we received on our news site, we decided to remind our readers of those standards.
And while I have no say over local social media or public comments at the City Council meetings, I would like to make a strong suggestion to our readers, Apopka residents, and Facebook page admins to dial down the rhetoric while the city goes through these critical issues like terminating a fire chief, a city attorney, and recalling a mayor.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not proposing we all follow Robert's Rules of Order on Facebook. But there should be boundaries in how you choose to make your points.
Here are a few suggestions that should be off-limits in your discourse:
It may seem like the person you are critical of deserves anything you can throw at them. It may seem, or even be true, that they have done no less to their political opponents than you are. But there is never an appropriate time to attack a person's spouse, their weight, or anything of a personal nature about them.
Never.
It's certainly fair to be critical of elected officials and department heads in Apopka. It's your home, and most of you are taxpayers. But it will be much more effective if your criticism is based solely on facts and policy. You lose credibility when they stray into insults.
I hope this doesn't come off as preachy. I certainly understand how upsetting these issues can be. But good friends tell their friends when something needs to be corrected. And I have always considered the readers of The Apopka Voice, the residents of Apopka, and the admins of local social media pages as friends.
The causes you are taking on are important to this community. And because of this, your communication about these causes are just as important.
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MamaMia
Reggie, you post about all these wonderful towns ya'll are visiting across this nation, where the people are so friendly, inviting, and trusting, meanwhile, this city has turned into a cesspool-like Peyton Place! It is a little hard to even welcome the morning sun arising, and find goodness, or hope, in living here anymore. What is going on in this politically - divided city is horrible, but when someone stands up there at the ciity hall's podium, and accuses the city attorney of killing a firefighter, who died in an accident, I think it is outrageous, and time to fight back, knowing that the city attorney had nothing to do with the firefighter's accident and death! Talk about rhetoric....
Monday, April 24, 2023 Report this
MamaMia
Fact:. Commissioner Becker made an apology to the city attorney, at the city council meeting, then proceeded to make a motion to have him fired! Axes to grind....
Monday, April 24, 2023 Report this
wheresthepopcorn
No profanity, libelous statements, or personal attacks against an individual, business, or organization. This is great! But these Facebook Accounts personally attack the Mayor, the Fire Chief consistently. Don't forget the City Attorney who is just doing his job. Still don't know why he is getting fired? Facebook will not remove these statements and attacks. I hope you all realize that most of what you read is not true. Some of these statements could destroy someone's career. I wish Facebook had the guidelines that the Apopka Voice does. This is why I do not have Facebook but people send it to me anyway.
It may seem like the person you are critical of deserves anything you can throw at them. It may seem, or even be true, that they have done no less to their political opponents than you are. But there is never an appropriate time to attack a person's spouse, their weight, or anything of a personal nature about them. NEVER an appropriate time to especially go after someone's spouse. And taking pictures of the City Attorney eating and posting and commenting about it weight is just down right scary...Who is following this man around?
Thank you for this excellent article! I hope other's follow suit. That is my 4 minutes...
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 Report this