One of my favorite toys in life is desktop publishing; that, and journalism. So I’ll play around with concepts of both in this article, since it will possibly be one of my last signed pieces of the semester. So let’s play.
A racially-toned flier, or in this case, a reverse-racially-toned flier, was recently posted on campus with a purloined and distorted picture of me, that claimed I was the “spokesman” for the Campus Coalition Against Hate.
The flier was flawed on many levels.
The first lie was that I would ever be a “spokesman” for any group. The confession that I reject hate-mongering, fight to prohibit marginalizing groups because of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identification, or any other what-have-you embraced by separatists, is one to which I proudly claim title.
Anyone who has noted anything I’ve ever written or spoken will attest that Duke Rescola would be a “spokesperson.” This ideological confession comes from my lifelong adherence to feminist philosophy.
Because I have cause to sue for libel, I won’t expose all of the germs the flier attempted to spread. Suffice it to say, somebody will likely need an attorney.
California libel statutes are something the publishing practitioner needs to know. I paid for and took media law classes, on starving student wages, so I won’t give the ignoramus a freebie on this one.
The same might be said for the theft of my picture from a copyright protected source. It may not be used, altered or “played with” without permission (unless it’s in the realm of satire), which must be clearly identified as satire. Yet they manipulated the picture to “biker” me up.
I’m going to stray from Media Law 101 (not an actual CSULB class) for a moment.
I received an official Cal State Long Beach e-mail last week admonishing me to “Meanwhile, cease posting flyers.” Having never posted one, I perceived the warning as a personal assault on my individual and student rights. I had never been asked if I knew of the posting, or if I had done it myself, or if I authorized the crappy paper hanging.
I had nothing to do with this illegitimate use of my name or image and many are knowledgeable about my work quality.
I’ve taught my sons desktop publishing. My youngest laughed when he first saw it. “Dad, please tell me you aren’t so old that you would waste paper and ink on this bunk,” he chided. He could whip something better than that garbage out in three minutes, in his sleep.
We laughed and laughed. He looked at it again and we laughed some more.
In the interim, I posted the official message on list serves across the university and made a few phone calls. Frankly, I stood up for myself.
Apparently, groups who promote hate in our community are infiltrating the list serves. Acting a bit prematurely, a “spokesperson” from one lunatic group intercepted my posted notice. The intellectually challenged chump started rumoring that I had been academically disciplined.
I say prematurely because I had not yet posted the apology from the kind person who had sent me the official warning, indicating I was not being reprimanded and who agreed that, without investigation, any unwarranted scolding plan was premature.
I, like all other CSULB students, am prepping for final exams, and thus experienced mild angst over the notice.
That hate-mongering clown, who by no means is the literary equivalent of Ralph Waldo “Emerson,” started to fill my e-mail box with harassing messages and personal attacks.
“Cool,” I thought. I love to flush these idiots into the open.
After several back-and-forth communiqués, I sent notice to the head creep of the racist group suggesting he put his goon on a leash. This e-mail moron has been so bold as to assail students, professors and employees at The Beach, apparently as his organization’s official “spokesperson.”
I informed the lead gibbon that my intent was to triangulate Internet Provider addresses for potential law enforcement investigation.
Such IP triangulation has been fruitful in combating and apprehending identity thieves, child pornographers and other paperhangers.
At this point in time, I won’t announce the weak-minded suspect of the unauthorized posting. That’s already being offered to the administrators in charge of handling “knuckleheadedness.”
I will close with the promise that all recent, past and future documents will land in the proper legal hands.
In fact, many already have, because I am competitive in the mind games of life.
Duke Rescola is a senior journalism major and the opinion editor of the Daily Forty-Niner.
