Friday, Jul 25, 2008
Salon readers lash Dan Savage -- or laugh with him.
Jan 29, 2000 | Last week Salon sent writer Dan Savage to Iowa to cover the presidential primary caucuses. While there, he came down with the flu. The story he filed -- a feverish, compelling and disturbing account of how candidate Gary Bauer's crusade against gays drove him to try to infect Bauer with his flu -- was not what we had in mind.
Nevertheless, after reviewing the story carefully we decided to run it. It was savage (no pun intended), powerful writing, Swiftian in its desperate, satiric outrage at anti-gay discrimination. Perhaps predictably, it engendered a comparable outrage in our readers -- as the selected letters below show.
We still believe publishing the article was the right choice, but we also feel compelled to say: We didn't assign Savage to infect Bauer. We don't condone or endorse what he says he did.
But every day Salon prints good writing that describes ideas, points of view, even actions we don't endorse or condone. We've published a defense of David Koresh by a former Branch Davidian; the vaguely fictionalized diary of a Manhattan call girl; and unapologetic first-person accounts of drug addiction, sex addiction and other extreme behavior. Our own staff at Salon harbors a wide range of opinion on Savage's article and his actions -- but we defend his right to write about them.
Here's a sample of what our readers are saying about "Stalking Gary Bauer." You can also follow the controversy in Table Talk.
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I assume that Savage's story about trying to give Gary Bauer the flu is a put-on. Right? Otherwise, he's accomplished something that I thought impossible: He's made Bauer a sympathetic figure.
-- David P. Graf
I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be more outrageous in their views than Gary Bauer, but Dan Savage has managed to make Bauer look normal.
If Savage's "sick" reporting is Salon's idea of a new kind of witty journalism, they should remember that wit requires humor and I'm not laughing.
-- Bill Stanley
I'm sure all of you compassionate liberals are just snickering away at this cute little article. But I'm sure you would be OUTRAGED if some mean-spirited conservative used biological warfare against Al Gore or Mr. Charisma. BTW, Savage, you might have exceeded your own expectations -- you might have infected them with AIDS as well. Have you had a blood draw recently?
-- Russ Starrett
Dan Savage -- you rock! That is the most brilliant, inspiring and damn funny story of political sabotage I've ever heard. Thank you for having the courage to lick doorknobs!
-- Stephanie Marracco
I was appalled to read the article about the "reporter" that thought it would be a good idea to sabotage the Bauer campaign. I love the militant gay Democrats who think that if you have a difference of opinion, they have a right to do whatever they think necessary. What ever happened to freedom of speech? I suppose that is only for the Democrats. How many laws and moral codes did this reporter break getting close to the campaign to spread germs and actually voting? I guess perjury and germ warfare are OK if you are a Democrat.
-- Katie Balem
If Mr. Savage's article is a riff on every would-be politically motivated undercover saboteur's fantasy, then it is hugely amusing and creative.
If his story is true, however, then it violates my definition of media ethics. The only adequate penance Salon could perform would be to publish an apology to Mr. Bauer on the front page of your Politics 2000 site, and to discontinue publishing articles from Mr. Savage.
Please inform me of the truth, or lack thereof, of the story. If I do not hear from you, then I will discontinue visiting your site.
-- Jeff Friedman
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