"I HAVE ALWAY'S DEPENDED ON THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS" | 2005-08-18
That is the first line in Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Well, the only person stranger than Whitaker's blog readers is Whitaker himself. And I depend on the kindness of you folks who are stranger than fiction.
If I write something good, I like you to tell me so. If I write something bad, I need you far, far more to SAY SO. I mean this sincerely: If you don't call me down, then when I say the same thing out in the cold, cruel world it will cost me, and more importantly, the cause of truth, a great deal.
If a congressman gets caught in a remark that is factually absurd, somebody on his staff is going to pay for it big time. I don't have any power over you, but I do depend on you in much the same way.
When Ole Bob says he doesn't mind criticism, he is understating the case by several parasangs. I NEED criticism, and this is the one safe place to get it. If I say something here and you don't call me down, I can't fire you, but I sure can be ticked off.
So if you don't want an old man's curse to follow you to the grave, weigh in.