"O" Street Blogger vandalizes new Bagley Bridge

If you haven't heard Mdot just openned the Bagley Street pedestrian bridge that is suppose to be a symbol of a united community and all that blah blah.

Turns out that folks have been tagging the shit out of the new bridge since the ribbon cutting on Cinco de Mayo; one of those folks is Oneita Jackson, the lady behind the "O"Street blog found on Freep.com.

The Detroit News has a video of Ms. Jackson using a felt pen to sign her name on the new bridge as well as an article that has a quote from Ms. Jackson admitting she was excited about the new bridge and was compelled to join all the other people who left their tags.

I read he blog post on occasion and admire her "putting it out there" style. She is a little preachy and certainly one who focuses on the smaller things in life and how each person can make a big difference by doing their part.

Her blog has focused on regular folks doing regular things, sort of Bob Talbert in dreds and a vagina. All good in my book.

So, here we have a blogger, who in her own edgy way urges folks to do the right thing, but she apparently feels it is fine to tag if you are excited about something.

If you look at the video, the thing that is interesting is how natural it seems. She has a felt pen at the ready and just John Hancocks the thing. She is just one of hundreds who likewise are so proud and excited they too are compelled to add their magic touch.

How sweet.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100...dge-in-Detroit

I find this absolutely hilarious.

Lesson learned: Don't build pedestrian walkways within 5 miles of a high school.

Oneita,

Shame on you!

:mad:

I just went through some of her blogs and she seems to be very contradicting. She appears to be the same "self destructive Detroiter" that she writes about.

I hope the Free Press has the good sense to fire her immediately.

Ms. Jackson deserves all of the negative attention she'll garner for doing that. But let's drop the fiction that this is something done by bad people in Detroit. Visit any art museum or historic site or national park in this country and you'll see the collective markings and desecrations of visitors from all over the world who wanted to "leave their mark". Some people apparently don't think beyond their own self-interest and it's not just the people who tagged that bridge.

People could start a campaign against such behavior by not engaging in street slang and calling it what it is, vandalism.

Well, I think vandalism is still against the law. She is on tape and admits it. Should there not be a fine issued here? Possibly with community service time?

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Originally Posted by jtf1972

Well, I think vandalism is still against the law. She is on tape and admits it. Should there not be a fine issued here? Possibly with community service time?

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A week in the slammer for her works for me.

She has posted an apology.

http://freep.com/article/20100508/BL...ng-I-apologize

[QUOTE=texorama;144136]She has posted an apology.

http://freep.com/article/20100508/BL... /> apologize[/QUOT

Not to excuse her action but, I imagine, it was an impulse thing. Hopefully, her expression of shame is sincere.

wonder what she wrote? maybe "here I sat so lonely hearted, came to shit but only farted"......

[QUOTE=eno;144152]

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Originally Posted by texorama

She has posted an apology.

http://freep.com/article/20100508/BL... /> apologize[/QUOT

Not to excuse her action but, I imagine, it was an impulse thing. Hopefully, her expression of shame is sincere.

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I guess it was impulse, but ti sure seemed awfully natural. One has to wonder if she's done this before. Dunno about you guys but it's not something I do on impulse.

Unbelievable this bridge is already being attacked. I work on a lot of building projects where graffiti is a problem in Chicago and we are always conscious of this issue. Concrete or brick are coated to allow paint to wash off with a hose or rain over time, and I'd certainly consider making those benches out of a steel mesh of some sort. Certainly mdot was thinking of this right?

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Lesson learned: Don't build pedestrian walkways within 5 miles of a high school.

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I think you mean Detroit, not high school.

Isn't she the blogger who talks about how well she is raising her son? How she has taught him to do the right thing? She appears to be a Kilpatrick in Jackson clothing. Saying whatever gets the bucks, but doing whatever gets the yucks.

I cannot stand this woman's writings or articles. Not too crazy about her either after seeing her on Flashpoint. I have always wondered what the Freep saw in her to give her a job. But this video is hilarious. What are the odds? I love how the camera zoomed in on her scratching after she walked away! I've been excited about a lot of new structures but never felt the urge to write my name on them and deface them! I mean, seriously, what happened to taking a picture?

[quote=eno;144152]

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Originally Posted by texorama

She has posted an apology.

http://freep.com/article/20100508/BLOG19/100508007/1319/I-was-wrong-I-
apologize[/QUOT

Not to excuse her action but, I imagine, it was an impulse thing. Hopefully, her expression of shame is sincere.

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Yeah, that's it. Impulse. Everyone walks around with a Sharpie in their pocket.

[quote=wash_man;144197]

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Originally Posted by eno

Yeah, that's it. Impulse. Everyone walks around with a Sharpie in their pocket.

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Now wait a sec. I admitted somewhere else today that I carry a Sharpie in my purse. I carry a highlighter, too, but I don't go around highlighting all text I see.

Well the Detroit News sure had some fun with it on their site. The comments were incredible..... what a mess. Poor choice decision Oneida. My parents were sticklers about not throwing paper on the ground, not being a litter bug... I guess all of that is old fashion thinking now.
quote=eastland;144121]I hope the Free Press has the good sense to fire her immediately.[/quote]

LOL! I often have on too... as an artist and what not. Well, I guess I best leave it at home lest I be tempted. Not!;)[quote=LodgeDodger;144198]

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Originally Posted by wash_man

Now wait a sec. I admitted somewhere else today that I carry a Sharpie in my purse. I carry a highlighter, too, but I don't go around highlighting all text I see.

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That would be in the line of Kwame K. thinking and behaviors.

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Originally Posted by Michigan

Isn't she the blogger who talks about how well she is raising her son? How she has taught him to do the right thing? She appears to be a Kilpatrick in Jackson clothing. Saying whatever gets the bucks, but doing whatever gets the yucks.

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Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

Now wait a sec. I admitted somewhere else today that I carry a Sharpie in my purse. I carry a highlighter, too, but I don't go around highlighting all text I see.

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Shoot, I'm lucky to even have a pen on me walking around, and I'm architect. Carrying sharpie..... Why??

Not shocked by the vandalism, after all, it's Detroit. I do commend her for owning up to it, apologizing and writing about how stupid she is. That's something more people need to do. Make a mistake, own up to it and hopefully learn a lesson. Too bad Kwame won't be like her.

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Originally Posted by wolverine

Shoot, I'm lucky to even have a pen on me walking around, and I'm architect. Carrying sharpie..... Why??

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I'm not sure. I just always carry a Sharpie, a highlighter, my nice pen [[black ink), and a red pen. Sometimes there's no explaining things.

At all times, I have on my person a ball-point pen and a magic-marker. I use the magic-marker at work, a lot. I keep it with me because I'm not inclined to "load up" stuff like that before I leave for work, and I'm not one of those folks who has an obsession against carrying anything in their pockets. I carry half of my damn life in my pockets. So if you see me outside in my street clothes, I can produce that marker quicker than Zorro drawing his goddam sword.
As for the pen, I have found that it is inconvenient to not carry a pen. You never know when you might want, or need, one, and I'm not one for excusing myself and asking nearby folks if they have one I can borrow. Plus, I am a natural self-expresser [[to the great chagrin of many in my immediate vicinity,) so it is natural for me to carry an implement with which I can write.
All of the "Why?" reaction to the woman carrying a Sharpie is not surprising, here on DY, though. It is common practice on DY to insist that anything other than one's own way of doing things is odd, warrants suspicion, and indicates low & furtive motives.

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Originally Posted by Ravine

At all times, I have on my person a ball-point pen and a magic-marker. I use the magic-marker at work, a lot. I keep it with me because I'm not inclined to "load up" stuff like that before I leave for work, and I'm not one of those folks who has an obsession against carrying anything in their pockets. I carry half of my damn liefe in my pockets. So if you see me outside in my street clothes, I can produce that marker quicker than Zorro drawing his goddam sword.
As for the pen, I have found that it is inconvenient to not carry a pen. You never know when you might want, or need, one, and I'm not one for excusing myself and asking nearby folks if they have one I can borrow. Plus, I am a natural self-expresser [[to the great chagrin of many in my immediate vicinity,) so it is natural for me to carry an implement with which I can write.
All of the "Why?" reaction to the woman carrying a Sharpie is not surprising, here on DY, though. It is common practice on DY to insist that anything other than one's own way of doing things is odd, warrants suspicion, and indicates low & furtive motives.

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For a while there, I was feeling a bit twisted. Thank you for making me feel okay about myself. ;-)

What is twisted is the implication that there is something remarkably strange and downright suspicious about someone having a Sharpie with them. But, as I stated, that type of egocentrism is rampant here on DY.

:oActually, quite a few people commenting about the article in The Detroit News question why anyone would carry a marker with them...

I never "play the race card," but I'm going to play it, here.

If that had been a white guy in his 40's or beyond, the "tagging" may have been condemned, but I don't think the Sharpie-carrying would have been held to such scrutiny and suspicion.

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Originally Posted by Ravine

At all times, I have on my person a ball-point pen and a magic-marker. I use the magic-marker at work, a lot. I keep it with me because I'm not inclined to "load up" stuff like that before I leave for work, and I'm not one of those folks who has an obsession against carrying anything in their pockets. I carry half of my damn life in my pockets. So if you see me outside in my street clothes, I can produce that marker quicker than Zorro drawing his goddam sword.
As for the pen, I have found that it is inconvenient to not carry a pen. You never know when you might want, or need, one, and I'm not one for excusing myself and asking nearby folks if they have one I can borrow. Plus, I am a natural self-expresser [[to the great chagrin of many in my immediate vicinity,) so it is natural for me to carry an implement with which I can write.
All of the "Why?" reaction to the woman carrying a Sharpie is not surprising, here on DY, though. It is common practice on DY to insist that anything other than one's own way of doing things is odd, warrants suspicion, and indicates low & furtive motives.

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Maybe because sharpies have a risk of leaking and making a mess more than a pen. An artist I could understand carrying one around with other supplies if they do work all over the place. But it's a common occurrence for me to see young adults around here in Chicago to whip one out and start scrawling their street alias on the corner of a building or on the bridges. For all the responsible people, it is just strange. What exactly on the street or running errands would you use it for? Why not keep a sharpie or highlighter at the office or studio, and one at home like most normal people. Back in architecture school, I used to use X-acto knives on a regular basis. Does that mean I carried it around with me all the time?

So yes call me one of those common people on DYES who likes to judge. I have no problem with that.

An article i read stated the bench was wooden, and had been carved on. That was just extremely poor planning.

As for Ms. Oneida, I would guess that she planned to do it, especially if there was a camera there. Strikes me as kinda immature.

"...For all the responsible people, it is just strange."

Nah, not really. But, I am strange.
And I don't presume to think of anyone as common, nor do I think you are being horribly judgmental. A little bit, maybe, but in some ways, I can't tell if you are agreeing, or disagreeing, with me.

As for me, I work at an office, but I don't have an office. The stuff I need, I must carry, which is why for me, clothes that lack pockets are useless!!

[[Sometimes, the pocket-loading thing works against me: forgetting that I was toting a nail-clipper, I was compelled to surrender it before boarding an airplane. Sorta pissed me off, but it was my error for not having remembered to place it inside my luggage.)

Jeez. I forgot to state, for the record, that I think it was truly childish, irresponsible and deplorable of that foolish woman to do what she did, especially [[other posters have already made this point) since she regularly prattles on about her efforts to impress social responsibility upon her children.
That "do as I say, not as I do" bit is OK for folks who don't mind later visiting their kids in prison.
She probably doesn't accurately measure the gravity of this misdeed, but it pretty much puts her column in the same general area as Mitch Albom put his when he pretended like he was somewhere that he wasn't.

We're all Graff Artists. Everyone who responds to this thread is one, by definition. This thread is one big endless wall waiting to be tagged even further.

Sometimes a point can be stretched so far that it just snaps apart and leaks weird gunk all over the place.

I'm no fan of Oneita. I find her articles weakly written and uninteresting. That being said, she has taken responsibility for her actions and expressed shame and regret. She has made herself an example of the very people she writes about. We've all done something that we later regret, hopefully nothing as serious as vandalism. All things considered, I'd hate to see Oneita fired for her momentary mental lapse. She's not the only one who would suffer from her loss of job and income. Fortunately, the State had the wisdom to apply a protective coating onto the bench so ink wouldn't permanently adhere to it.

I'm not for firing her, either. While she is not exactly famous, the fact is that most of us are not publicly recognized, at all whatsoever, so the type of "public" embarrassment she is now undergoing is rather punishing, on its own.
And-- God, I hate to use terms such as this one-- she has the opportunity to use this episode as a "teachable moment" for herself and her children.
As for her readers, I would say that she has, at least temporarily, self-revoked any little credibility she may have possessed.
Still, she's only a blogger. None of this is all that deep.
Although I will say, given that she is only a blogger, I side with those of you who found her appearance on WDIV's "Flashpoint" to be puzzling. Hell, if she qualifies for being a panelist on that show, I think I qualify, too.
[[But that wouldn't work out; as some of you may have noted, once I get "the floor," I can drone on for quite a while...)

this to me is the same as the idiots i see daily in detroit toss their mcdonalds wrappers out the windows of their escalade.....

someone else will take care of it.....

Careful, Goose. The last time I cited that particular bit of Detroit sociopathology, I was accused of racial stereotyping... although I suppose my having used "KFC boxes & empty Martell half-pint bottles" as the example may have had something to do with it... still, I was merely [[hello, John) reporting what I saw.

She apologized because she got caught...plain and simple. She's a hypocrite.

She's an editor. That is why she was carrying a marker. It really isn't that hard to figure that one out.

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Originally Posted by Ravine

I never "play the race card," but I'm going to play it, here.

If that had been a white guy in his 40's or beyond, the "tagging" may have been condemned, but I don't think the Sharpie-carrying would have been held to such scrutiny and suspicion.

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It would have been condemned by the minority as an outsider defacing their community. It would have been defended by the majority as good natured fun. The minority would be accused of being hypocritical. The cycle continues.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

It would have been condemned by the minority as an outsider defacing their community. It would have been defended by the majority as good natured fun. The minority would be accused of being hypocritical. The cycle continues.

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Only in your mind.

Outrage spreads, unsurprisingly.

Chris J. Kobus, an associate professor of engineering at Oakland U., has a strong blog post here -- with 20 provocative comments. Excerpt from his post yesterday:

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Jackson, apparently fearing for her job, is sorry that she got caught. . . . Would she be ashamed if she weren't caught? I doubt it.

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Regrettably, the suburban educator with a doctorate -- who should know better -- couldn't resist this broad-brush swipe:

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Residents have been waiting for this span for 42 years, and vandalized the hell out of it in less than 24 hours. This pretty much sums up Detroit in its totality: They want everything paid for by someone else, and when they get it it turns to fecal matter in mere hours.

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He's at theblogprof@gmail.com for anyone inclined to react directly.

"O" is nothing short of a Class 1 ~~~~~~ bag. She is absolutely, fucking awful. Having her "put it out there" is gimmicky and is a poor reflection of the Freep editorial staff.

Quit trying so hard, Freep.

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Originally Posted by Michigan

Only in your mind.

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Why haven't you been banned yet?

I had an older nun in high school who used to always say "Fools names and fools faces are always seen in public places"
and that was before sharpies!

I suppose after reading these responses I guess I should be different in my response. What Ms. Jackson was stupid. She allowed herself to indulge in an old habit of tagging and she got caught. Egg on her face and she had to apologize.

For the record vandalizing is so dumb. Spraying graffiti on bridges, on walls, anywhere is so tacky that rational minded adults like Ms. Jackson should avoid participating but they can't help it. They got to put their mark down so the whole world can see it. Just dumb.

That said, the response to this is mind-blowing. The actions of one dumb Detroiter who is Black actually opened up comments about Blacks and their role in society. I read comments about how Blacks cry victim to get something for nothing and I had to ask what does that have to do with a dumb female who resorted to pulling out a marker to mark on a bench? Graffiti is as old as apple pie. Taggers are of all colors, all races and they are in every state in the union. From New York City to Los Angeles, people are tagging walls, bridges, streets, cars, etc... It happens and it's wrong but so is murder and murder like tagging have no preference in race or color.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

It would have been condemned by the minority as an outsider defacing their community. It would have been defended by the majority as good natured fun. The minority would be accused of being hypocritical. The cycle continues.

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It is difficult to tell whether you are talking in generalities about Metro Detroit, or about the City of Detroit itself. If you are talking about Detroit Proper, then I guess the minority you speak of would have to be the people of Southwest Detroit, the majority of which make up a minority of the City. I am not either one, so I couldn't comment on what the Groupthink would be, and the regular meeting of my particular ethnicity and race isn't until next week, so I haven't been told how we'd respond to something like that yet. Not even sure it is in the minutes.

Either way, you are not really describing a cycle, more like a 180 degree half-moon. I really couldn't see anyone in this area - "minority" or "majority" - defending vandalism as "good-natured fun." .

There was probably a thread on this, but shortly after the section of the Dequindre Cut was opened, despite all of the grafitti enveloping the cut, it seemed the lightposts, emergency phones, garbage cans, and even parts of the path were vandalized with sharpies. [[I'm not blaming O Street for that...yet).

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

It would have been condemned by the minority as an outsider defacing their community. It would have been defended by the majority as good natured fun. The minority would be accused of being hypocritical. The cycle continues.

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OK, I'll bite. You just may have the right take on that one. Interesting point.

And it is a cycle, and cycles do continue; it's that forward-motion thing.

many ways to deal with graffiti, here is one answer: http://i.imgur.com/ZNecI.jpg

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Why haven't you been banned yet?

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Maybe the powers that be enjoy seeing you look foolish on occasion.

Isn't this blogger originally from NYC? Or am I mistaking her for someone else who frequents Flashpoint?

An interesting thing occurred to me yesterday. I was at the restaurant and had a beer while waiting for our table. When our table was ready, I paid for our drinks at the bar. Bartender comes back with the "credit card" slip for me to sign, leaves a pen and takes off. I'll be damned. The pen quits right when I'm about the sign the slip. Waited about 10 minutes for the 'tender to come back and gave me another pen to use. While I was waiting [[nobody else around me had a pen for me to use), I reflected on the posts earlier on this thread that talked about carrying a pen "just in case, you never know when you'll need one". lol. I guess I'll be packing from here on out.

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Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

An interesting thing occurred to me yesterday. I was at the restaurant and had a beer while waiting for our table. When our table was ready, I paid for our drinks at the bar. Bartender comes back with the "credit card" slip for me to sign, leaves a pen and takes off. I'll be damned. The pen quits right when I'm about the sign the slip. Waited about 10 minutes for the 'tender to come back and gave me another pen to use. While I was waiting [[nobody else around me had a pen for me to use), I reflected on the posts earlier on this thread that talked about carrying a pen "just in case, you never know when you'll need one". lol. I guess I'll be packing from here on out.

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Nobody ever said carrying a pen was foolish. Unless you are confusing a pen with a marker or highlighter. Either that or you misread.

Neither. I just thought is was ironic. Not ball pointing any blame.

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Originally Posted by English

Isn't this blogger originally from NYC?

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Yup, she is . . . and mentioned that -- oddly -- in Saturday's quasi-apology as her tagging training roots,

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I was excited when I saw the bench and that people had written on it and wanted to add my tag to it. That’s what we did in New York City when I was young: We put our tags on the park benches.

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The word goes forth nationwide . . .

. . . via high-traffic Poynter Institute journalism news blogger Jim Romenekso, who has this as his 3rd item as of Monday AM:

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Detroit Free Press staffer apologizes for vandalizing new pedestrian bridge bench

The Detroit News caught Free Press copy editor and blogger Oneita Jackson writing on a new bridge bench. "Vandalism is the willful and malicious destruction of property. What I did was willful," she writes. "I was excited when I saw the bench and that people had written on it and wanted to add my tag to it."

Posted at 8:17 AM on May 10, 2010

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Originally Posted by Michigan

Maybe the powers that be enjoy seeing you look foolish on occasion.

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Still doesn't explain why you haven't been banned......

http://bonedjello.com/blogger10/detroitbridge.jpg

Insert your caption here:________________________________

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Still doesn't explain why you haven't been banned......

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Oh, be nice. I bet Michigan is just a poor, developmentally disabled kid who's just learning how to post online. Leave the poor tyke alone. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by gnome

http://bonedjello.com/blogger10/detroitbridge.jpg

Insert your caption here:________________________________

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1.) Free Press bloggers, represent!

2.) If you're happy and you know it, then your tag will surely show it.

Your turns.

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Originally Posted by gnome

http://bonedjello.com/blogger10/detroitbridge.jpg

Insert your caption here:__Iheartthed will love this!____________

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Must add characters to post this caption.

interesting...

Oneita D Jackson
Female | 40s

Parker St
Detroit, Michigan 48214 show full address[[313) 822-2159

FIRE HER. Was she on official Press business? that event was community and press focussed. far as I know, she does not live in Southwest Detroit, so I can only assume she was there as a Press representative.

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Originally Posted by southwestsaavy

FIRE HER. Was she on official Press business? that event was community and press focussed. far as I know, she does not live in Southwest Detroit, so I can only assume she was there as a Press representative.

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Rather than firing her, how about Oneita do some form of community service in the area where she did her marking.

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Originally Posted by hybridy

interesting...

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[[What's interesting about posting information with the sole purpose of harrassing someone in their home? Would you care to post your personal information, hybridy? People have her contact info [[including her work number) on the Freep. Why put her personal safety [[and her son's) at risk? Shame on you.)

As for my 2-cents, I am disgusted by her actions. I truly enjoy her blog, and appreciate what she writes, but don't find this funny at all. It's so sad. Not just that she did it, but she only wrote about it after she had to. She knew it was wrong, because when she saw the camera, she froze and pulled away immediately, like a child who had been caught. And her explanations sounded like excuses [["it easily washed off, other people did it first, we did it when I was a kid," etc).

[[For the record, folks, it was a green Pilot fine-point pen, not a Sharpie. But I've enjoyed the Sharpie discussion)

It's not "tagging", O, it's VANDALISM. It's a crime. And the more you trivialize it by calling it a cutesy name, the more acceptable it becomes :mad::mad: You said you feel stupid about it, and you should.

If you're reading this, Oneita, I hope you take this advice seriously: You now owe the city of Detroit. You not only committed a crime, but did it in broad daylight, and left a mark inspiring others to follow your lead [[remember your excuse of "other people did it first"? Ironic, huh?). If you are truly repentant, you will volunteer some serious time to clean off other peoples' stupidity, and write about how vandalism and blight contribute to the city's problems. Use your blog as a tool to combat the disrespect people show when they commit vandalism.

Then you can start championing the funding of arts in Detroit Public Schools, because clearly young people [[and unfortunately many adults) have limited ways to express themselves and have no creative outlet. I truly believe there is a connection here. Arts have all but disappeared from DPS, and have been among the lowest priorities and we are all paying for it.

Although, you have a well-known blog to express yourself, so what's your excuse?

Argh. I'm done.

I'm not for 'capital punishment" in any form so I think the Freep should let Jackson should keep her real, behind-the- scenes job as copy editor. But she should probably withdraw her preachy blog and the regular article publication. There's nowhere that column can go now. Rather than the responsible adult she has positioned herself to be publicly, she is really an adolescent with a sharpie. What else has she defaced around town when she's excited?

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Originally Posted by Michigan

Isn't she the blogger who talks about how well she is raising her son? How she has taught him to do the right thing? She appears to be a Kilpatrick in Jackson clothing. Saying whatever gets the bucks, but doing whatever gets the yucks.

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Roundup of "what people are saying about the fallout" has that Saturday afternoon post as the third comment selected.

Quickie animation created yesterday by 'AdventuresInJournalism' via a service called Xtranormal.com. Just 1:52.

"I'll have to punish you." - Editor Paul Anger

"You do remember we work for Gannett." - Oneita

Count how often you chuckle or laugh aloud, then tell us.

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Graffiti is as old as apple pie.

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Well yes, and no. It's even older. Cave drawings are widely considered the first forms of graffitti art. People have been leaving their mark as long as they have been able to do anything but eat, sleep, and sh*t. They can't help it, it's part of the human self-expression. I just wish they would do it on surfaces that don't attract such negative responses. Tagging up places not meant for individual self expression make the more considerate graffers look bad. Tagging on that brand new bridge was completely selfish and disregards the fight we Detroiters are in to clean up our city. She could have drew on the walls of the Dequindre Cut and no one would've cared.

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Originally Posted by RealityCheck

Roundup of "what people are saying about the fallout" has that Saturday afternoon post as the third comment selected.

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I agree with the poster who said: Rival tried to paint her in a bad light because she is employed by the Free Press.

There was graffiti on the bridge but the story turned into: Free Press blogger vandalize bridge. The poster made a point. The News should have led off the story with; "Oneita Jackson, Free Press blogger vandalized new Mexicantown bridge" instead of "Vandals mar new pedestrian bridge in Detroit" when the only vandal that was caught in the video was Oneita Jackson. Since she was dumb enough to get caught on camera marking her spot then the News should have put her on blast.

All this over writing her name with a sharpie on a wooden bench? Awful lot of hand wringing going on. God forbid that any of us get caught on camera doing something silly.

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Originally Posted by gnome

http://bonedjello.com/blogger10/detroitbridge.jpg

Insert your caption here:________________________________

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Playing with this device is more trouble than I'm willing to go to, but here's my caption:

"Hey, does this Sharpie make my butt look big?"

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Originally Posted by RickBeall

God forbid that any of us get caught on camera doing something silly.

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Not to worry, R.B. - - we ordinary schlubs can go on about our silly business with scant concern for these types of public rebukes now heading toward Day 4.

Even the retroactively apologetic bench tagger understands why she's in the spotlight.

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I make a living running my big mouth telling people how they should behave.

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Here's how two of the 634 [[!) readers commenting on her mea culpa put it this afternoon to explain a distinction you seem to blur:

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In your position at the Freep, especially when you babble on about vandalism and how it impacts the city, you must be held to a much higher standard. -- AshamedOfYou

O.J.'s action both at work and outside of work are a direct reflection on The Detroit Free Press. She -- and other Freep employees -- are held to a higher standard due to the types of jobs they have. -- Dtroit4evers

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Originally Posted by RealityCheck

Quickie animation created yesterday by 'AdventuresInJournalism' via a service called Xtranormal.com. Just 1:52.

"I'll have to punish you." - Editor Paul Anger

"You do remember we work for Gannett." - Oneita

Count how often you chuckle or laugh aloud, then tell us.

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I was more creeped out than amused. What's the Gannett reference about?

All I can say is if the Freep cans her for this, I will not buy another issue. I already feel silly for dropping a buck for the crossword puzzle each day. Journalism is dead in this city.

In today's Freep. our own Stephen Henderson writes a truly pained response to the whole incident.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...te=fullarticle

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So I was beyond disappointed when I learned, last Friday, that one of the strongest voices in support of our approach, a voice I edit, had "tagged" a bench on the new Bagley Street bridge. My heart sank.

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But what she did, as captured by a Michigan Department of Transportation camera, was callow and impulsive, exactly the kind of behavior that she scolds in her work.

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Her blog will be inactive until May 31. Her column will reappear June 6.

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Next week, the Free Press will meet with MDOT representatives to talk about how we might work together to clean up some of the mess and, just as important, change the culture around here so that bright symbols of our future aren't seen as targets for vandals

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I feel for Stephen. He has a tough job in the best of times, but when one of your 'stars' does something so mindless it really must require a lot of patience to not go all Visigoth.

The thing about Oneita's tagging video was the ease in which she uncapped her sharpie. Like it was natural and ordinary. That can only mean that our dear "O" expresses herself that way all over the city.

O, marvelous.

I agree that she seemed very comfortable, casual almost, whipping the pen out and tagging the bench. Obviously one act with a pen appears minor, but I think the larger issue that people are reacting to is that in her apology, O. cited growing up in New York, that it's "what we did." If tagging is a deep-seated, cultural thing, we definitely have a divide in this town between those who believe in it and those who don't.

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Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

"O" is nothing short of a Class 1 ~~~~~~ bag. She is absolutely, fucking awful.

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Off topic re this quote from earlier in this thread, and really just a rhetorical notation. Based on the number of ~ before the word 'bag,' I'm guessing O is being called a ~~~~~~ bag. I find it interesting that the word '~~~~~~' was considered too vulgar to type in, but in the next sentence, 'fucking' is used to emphasize just how awful she is.

Made me think about TV's uneven censoring of vulgar language. They bleep out words like 'shit' and 'dick' but always allow 'goddam.' Who gets to choose what is profane and what is not? Words describing body parts or function are in poor taste but using the lord's name in vain is not? More blurring of Carlin's 7 words concept. Well, hmm, gosh-dang me to heck, anyhow.

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Originally Posted by gnome

Stephen Henderson writes a truly pained response to the whole incident.

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. . . which draws 175 comments by noon.

While I've been part of the banter here and elsewhere [[though not at Freep site), this post by 'troyd' has a point worth considering:

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I wish Freep could get as many comments on an important story like that poor 15-year-old gunned down in a drive-by last week. But no, we're still talking about a small tag that washed away in the rain, and why someone wasn't fired over it.

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Originally Posted by eno

I was more creeped out than amused. What's the Gannett reference about?

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They love their minorities at Gannett.

there should be more opportunities for commissioned murals in the city, have some professional and youth graffiti artists create murals on these abandoned buildings, at least make them interesting to glance at for once...

Even considering the "higher standard" talk, it still seems like much ado about nothing to me.

http://www.zazzle.ca/o_no_detroit_fr...26545269846297