Hey ass hole this is Chris Rincon I admired I was wrong but how about you look at how the most was edited and the fact people did show up at my house and I wasn’t fired I left on my own you wanna say I’m a miserable excuse for a human being how about you speak to me like an adult and learn the facts be for hand because a lot is,not being said
Not very often do the subjects I write about respond to what I have to say about them. Over the past 13+ years, I’ve heard from a few people I’ve written about- some happy with what I had to say, some not so much. I can honestly say that never has one of my subjects responded so…incoherently and so inaccurately as Chris Rincon did. And never have I felt so moved to respond without reacting to the provocation. It turned out to be a good choice.
A few days ago I wrote about Rincon, who learned the hard way what can happen when you posted emotional, unedited reactions to Facebook or elsewhere on the Internet. In Rincon’s case, he took a very cheap, arguably racist shot at the Obama family. It was as ignorant as it was offensive; you can read my post to get the details, but I don’t think I was wrong in my assessment of the situation.
Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Rincon yesterday (see above). To call it poorly written and virtually incoherent would be something of an understatement, but what he had to say set me to thinking. It can be easy to lose sight of the reality that I write about people, and that, whatever their foibles may be, they have feelings. I was a bit taken aback by Rincon’s personal attack, but something about what he said set me to thinking, and so I responded…and not in kind:
I’d take you far more seriously if you could communicate in complete sentences and without resorting to profanity.
If you’d bothered to read what I wrote, you’d understand that it was actually a defense of your right to free speech. I don’t support your speech, and I fact I find it quite offensive, but I did stand up for your right to say it. As much as I deplore your speech, I’m actually on your side.
Sorry you’re unable to see that.
Cheers….
The truth is that I was on his side- not that I supported his egregiously offensive speech, but as I’ve written for so many years, sometimes free speech can be offensive and obnoxious speech. So it was with Rincon, and I felt it would have been hypocritical for me not to support his right to express himself…even as I was repulsed by what he had to say. The 1st Amendment doesn’t come with a PC filter, and while his Facebook post was offensive to anyone with a functional sense of decency, I felt honor-bound to defend his right to say what he did. It’s what our right to free speech and expression is about. Sometimes free speech and expression means giving voice to something truly stupid and/or inappropriate.
My freedom of speech is not important the fact my life has been put in danger because the fact remains the day of,incidents I apologized to everyone but Facebook deleted it,I am sorry I jumped at you but you know how many articles I’ve read that no one,actually wants to hear what I said not only did I admit the use of the word but publicly apologized multiple times to everyone I can’t stress enough that no one has given the chance to hear my side like how edits were made and how people were messaging me. I have been harassed everyday because of this I can’t stress enough,I’m not a Racist my flag is a symbol of the right to bare arms again I’m sorry I’m just tired of getting slandered but you also called me a miserable human being and a dumbass when in fact I’m not eather
Rincon lost his job; whether wholly or partially due to his Facebook post is something I don’t feel compelled to concern myself with. My concern was that his reaching out to me felt like he was acknowledging, at least to some degree, that he’d made a mistake, and that he just wanted his truth to be out there. I have a feeling that the whole truth has gotten lost in the reaction and Sturm und Drang over his Facebook post. Some of that is warranted, but I do think Rincon should have the right to defend himself.
The problem with the Internet is that it’s not always concerned with the truth. It can be, and very often is, a very harsh and unforgiving place, loathe to proffer second chances. Display yourself as a racist, and you’d best be prepared to be so branded for the rest of your existence. Coming back from something like that on the Internet isn’t easy. It’s not impossible, to be certain, but you’d best be prepared to do some SERIOUS penance and hope the Internet will judge you to be sincere. And don’t hold your breath.
Perhaps…but your Facebook post doesn’t support your defense of your character. I stand by my criticism, but I understand we all make mistakes. Lord knows I’ve made more than a few myself.
Unfortunately, the Internet is a harsh and unforgiving place, not prone to allowing for second chances. You have only yourself to blame, but you deserve the opportunity to apologize, make amends, and move on. The piling on and the threats are needless and do nothing to make a positive contribution.
I didn’t slander you, nor was that my intent. I was voicing my opinion, using my right to free expression in the same way you did. Unfortunately, the choices you made in the way you expressed yourself probably weren’t the wisest. Live and learn, right?
I do wish you well, and I hope that you’ll learn from this. I suspect I fundamentally disagree with most everything you stand for, but that’s OK. That’s what makes America great- you get to say your piece, and I get to say mine. Sometimes feelings get hurt, but that’s what can happen in a democracy.
Good luck moving forward. I hope the best for you…and you will get past this. Learn what you can, let it go, and move on. The Internet will eventually forget you and move on to their next object of righteous outrage.
I abhor what Rincon posted about Malia Obama. It was offensive, poorly thought out, and worst of all, directed at a child- this from a person who has a child of his own. Whatever his intent, it was wrong and hurtful and there was absolutely no reason for it. He screwed up…but I get the sense from our correspondence that Rincon feels at least a lit bit of remorse. As a father himself, one might think he’s be more cognizant of a father’s duty to protect his child as he respects the children of others. His cheap attack on Malia Obama was as crude and offensive as it was just plain wrong. I think that on some level he recognizes that and wishes to be granted the opportunity to make amends.
We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all done things that in hindsight could only be judged astonishingly stupid. Lord knows I don’t have to think hard to come up with a few cringe-worthy moments from my own dissolute youth. I’ve never believed a person should be defined by their mistakes, but by how they bounce back. We’ve all screwed up…but how do you come back from that? Do you crawl into a metaphorical manhole and pull the cover over your head? Or do you own it, learn from it, and move on?
In Rincon’s case, what sort of example do you set for your child?
The FAcebook post you saw was staged/edited the next day Facebook deleted the whole Facebook that was only one post and because I can’t defend my self on it I have no leg to stand on I understand your freedom,of speech but these articles don’t affect just me but will hurt a lot of people I ha e offered interviews to everyone the tumbler admin has not defended his page and has actually encouraged harassment not,just to jobs
Yeah, well…there’s certainly a constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech, but there’s no corresponding right to expect that said speech will be joyously greeted with open arms. There can be no defending Rincon’s Facebook post as anything resembling appropriate. It was offensive, unkind, and as ignorant as the day is long. To be kind, he screwed up. Some would believe he deserves whatever he gets, but I don’t believe people are disposable. A second chance is something all of us deserve from time to time, and I believe Chris Rincon deserves one here.
How does he recover from something so frankly stupid and ill-advised? As I said in my correspondence to him, I suspect I disagree with virtually everything Rincon stands for, but I see no reason to wish him ground to dust. We all deserve a second (or third, or fourth, or….) chance. I am where am I largely because of the second chances I’ve been allowed along the way. My journey- and I’m no different from anyone else in this respect- has been an amalgam of epic f—kups and barely deserved redemption. Chris Rincon has an opportunity to learn from a truly egregious mistake…but that mistake need not define him unless he allows it to.
I’ve always believed that it’s only a “mistake” if you fail to learn the lessons available from a faux pas. We all mess up along the way; it’s called experience, and it’s how life teaches us what we need to know. My hope for Rincon is that he’ll accept what he did as a stupid mistake, and that he’ll be able to muster the resolve and courage to learn from it and become a better person for it.
