I'm not coming to a conclusion as to what speculation and what gossip belongs in public discourse.
But, the past day, I thought a bunch on it, thanks to coach Jerry Sloan's resigning from the Utah Jazz.
There was all kinds of speculation and innuendo surrounding his stepping aside. I entered the discussion with a relish, and not much restraint.
But, supposing Jerry did what he did because someone frustrated him, I do see an example of civility in how he reacted. Twice he was asked a question, and twice, rather than answering the question directly, he redirected his answer another direction.
Call it evading the question, if you will. He gave his own reasons for resigning and left it at that. He didn't give a "yes" or "no" on the reason fed to him. There are times when answering a question "yes" or "no" should be done. But, other times, a person should be allowed to choose his or her own words for what he or she wants to convey, wants to reveal. Requiring a "yes" or "no" can be a mild form of placing words in another person's mouth.
I repeat, there are times when a "yes" or "no" is expected. I just judge the Sloan press conference not to be one of them.
Had Sloan answered "yes," it would have cast a negative image on another person. It certainly is civil to restrain from casting another person in a negative light. I don't know Coach Sloan's reason for not answering "yes" or "no," but I can see it might have protected someone.
So, among the things I learned from this, is that it is not always uncivil to avoid answering with a "yes" or "no." And, it follows that there might be times it is uncivil to require a "yes" or "no."
I learned civility can be resisting endorsing the wording given by another person. A person might say, "Don't you think . . ." and rather than agreeing, the better answer sometimes is, "Well, what I think, is . . ." and then giving an appraisal that falls outside of "Yes, I agree" or "No, I don't think so."
(This is my 3rd try at posting this evening.) Your posting reminds me of a portion of Sean Hannity's show that I witnessed. He asked a Yes & No question after he implied to his guest that she was pro-terrorist. When she gave him answer defending her views, he interrupted her; repeating his question & demanding a yes or no for a anwser. She was being more civil than he was. I thought it was poor taste of Hannity to keep badgering her the way he did & my opinion of him did not improve. I wish Hannity had shown her the same respect as the media showed Sloan when he behaved civily. It is people like Hannity, Beck and Oberman who give the media a black eye. As least Keith Oberman saw the light and got off the airways. I hope when he comes back that he will be more civil to his audience and his quests. I wish Fox News would ask the same of Hannity & Beck. But at least Fox News has Huckabee. He always speaks kind to his quests & I don't mind listening to him when I catch his show. Wish I could say the same for Hannity & Beck.
ReplyDeleteWatching a little Beck, or listening to him, is something I keep meaning to do. Nor have I ever caught too much Hannity, or Olbermann. I catch a some from the KSL stable, the Nightsiders, Doug Wright and maybe Enid Greene. I need to make it more of a priority to listen to the nation talk shows, to get a feeling for them.
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