Dear Mr. Spacey,
Considering your recent sexual assault allegations, I am disappointed that you would choose now as the time to publicly announce that you are a gay man. Being gay is something that many people struggle with and I don’t want to diminish the value of your own personal journey in any way however, using this as a tactic to change the conversation is harmful to more than just your own reputation, it harms the reputation of all LGBTQ members and reinforces negative stereotypes about gay culture being sex-driven and that gay men are predators themselves. The media has quickly wrapped its hands around this story and the attention has spread to even the most casual of your fans and especially to your haters. It also spreads to those who seek to harm the LGBTQ community. Now we unfortunately have to look for positive examples of gay people in the media to overshadow your own issues. It is unfortunate to be welcomed into the LGBTQ community with this backlash, but that is a christening that every gay person has had to go through, so you will fit in. That said, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for redemption. #Thanks4Now E. L. Grahamwood
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It’s nothing personal, I want you to know that. I want it to be clear that I have had every intention to read you and that if there were more of me around, I probably would have read you. You see, life has just gotten away from me. Yes, I still buy new books and yes, I’m still reading those text books, but you? You have been on that shelve for five years now. You have sequels and a movie adaptation now. I tell people that I’m going to read you, or worse, that I already have. One day, maybe. Who am I kidding? My list is growing longer and longer. Every day it feels like I have discovered another book to read and I’m drowning in a pile of unread literature. I will never get to all of you, not even in my glory years when this list is a mile long. Eventually some will have to be overlooked. I hope it’s not you, but it could be. I’ll have to make room for reading the next big thing and keeping up with the bestsellers. Life is only going to get even busier. Maybe when my kids are grown, they can recap the stories that they read to me and it will feel almost as good. It won’t. I miss reading every day. I miss relaxing in my chair for hours, never being able to find a comfortable position but by the end of the day I had finished a great story. I miss running to my room with my book in hand and telling people not to bother me because I had to finish the story today. Now I read for work, for school, out of boredom. With social media, it’s clear that I’m reading now more than ever but every article I click, every boring narrative from a friend’s timeline is not as important as the books that are growing old and stiff on my shelves. I miss you all. I want to be swept away again. I want to laugh, cry, get angry, throw the book across the room and half to run over and pick it up because I need to know how the story ends. I miss that. I miss you. Where is the time going? It seems as if it’s all moving too fast. Maybe I’m writing my own story now, but does that mean I must give up the joy of reading others? Respond to this letter as quickly as possible and let’s run away together. You were my first love and now I barely see you. Anyways, #ThxForNow E.L. Grahamwood I miss you every day. When October rolls around I remember the good times more prominently than any other time of the year. I loved you. You were my best friend during a period of my life when I had so few others. Sometimes the line between friendship was blurred. You were a comforter, a person to experiment with, a healer, and sometimes an abuser.
I recognize that now. As much as I enjoyed your company there were so many times that you were just not good for me. That’s why we met such a tragic end. As much as I thought we’d be friends forever, it just wasn’t meant to be. I’m with somebody new now. I love him as much I loved you. If it wasn’t for you I don’t think I would have ever been in a place so low that I could recognize someone who genuinely cared. You gave me that contrast. I appreciate the good memories you gave me and I truly believe you saved my life once. Thank you. That said, you also put me in a place much darker than I’ve ever been. I changed so much because of you but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Because of you, I don’t trust anybody anymore. I find it hard to be myself, to be kind, and to be genuine around others. I worry that they are going to leave me, to hurt me, like you did. I worry that I am going to be played as a fool and loose everyone around me. You’ve left me insecure. I don’t know what to do when I think about you. Should I try to stop myself? Be angry? Pretend like you’re a part of a forgotten past? Sometimes I wish you were still near. When I see the photos from our time together, I only remember the good days. The bad seem to have melted away. I just want to forgive you. I want to have one last chance to tell you how much you mean to me. I want to be able to look at you and say that as much s I wish things were still the same, that I am glad that they have changed. I’m glad that we went our separate way. I just wish that those paths weren’t so far apart that there was an opportunity for conversation. I really do miss you. I have for two years now. I never can stop thinking about you, so I guess you won. You’re on my mind now, always. #Thx4Now E.L. Grahamwood My fellow newsies,
You matter. You are appreciated. Your work is so important. I know these are things that no one tells you and you are more accustomed to being told what a horrible job you are doing or what an awful person you are. As journalists, we are more used to hearing terms like “fake news,” and “media propaganda,” than expressions of appreciation. It can be overbearing at times to remain consistently professional in such an environment. You face both the good and the bad of society and are generally overlooked as a contributor to democracy. More and more people are tuning out, turning off, and abandoning the traditional media and this is both a financial burden and mental strain for you. I get it. We all want to do good and I know so many journalists have dreams of changing the world. After the 30th time covering a mass shooting or a rigged election it all starts to become fuzzy and the point of trying is forgotten. Some days we just want to abandon society, give up, and let the consumer wander in a world without journalists on their side. Don’t let freedom die on your hands. Every day we must get up and document this ever-changing world. We must find the voiceless and the forgotten and give them the power to speak. We must trust that the truth will win over all else. We cannot forget what it means to be in human. We are human. The news is not a machine, it is an assembly line with so many individuals doing their part to inform, entertain, and help the masses. Even as people can get more news from more sources, your voice is something unique and crucial to the way our nation works. Without you our democracy is one thread thinner. If we have the freedom to write the facts, we shall press forward and write them. You do so much more than just writing and reporting the events of the day. You are a gatekeeper for the entire nation, the entire world. You’re the one who gets invited into the home, a trusting beacon, to convey horrific events in ways that calms the masses. As the future may not be clear we must remain steadfast in reporting truthfully and ethically. Sometimes we get it wrong. You know this, I know this. The consumer can be abrasive but we must forgive them. They want the same as we do, a path cleared through all the statistics, social constructs, and misinterpretations. I am confident in your abilities to make this world a better place. I know that my freedom depends on your freedom. I know that we are better now than we once were. We can get through this story too, and the next, and the next. We will continue to be a frontline in a desert storm of propaganda, fallacies and silencers. Keep it up. #Thx4Now E.L. Grahamwood |
Erick L. Graham Wood
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