Monday, May 4, 2009

There Is a First For Everything: RMM Issues Apology


Dear Team,

 


I hate apologizing.  Mostly, I avoid it.  

 

So, why am I apologizing this time?  Because I hurt people who I care about.  In my last post (deleted) I hurt Ryan O'Hara and I hurt my team.  

 

When I originally put up the offending post, I didn't think it through.  When the negative comments started rolling in, I treated them as the usual disgruntled idiots who always post anonymously.  Not all of the comments were negative, so my error didn’t immediately register as it should have.

 

Later people I know well, people who I trust and respect began asking me to remove the post.  I won't go and sully their good names by mentioning, them, but they made me reconsider my actions.  


Inconsideration is one of my hallmark traits.  I won't use it as an excuse, but sometimes it takes some others to point out the error in my ways.  

 

Ryan and team, I humbly ask for your forgiveness for posting inflammatory comments about our race this weekend.  I fully acknowledge my misdeeds in this regard and ask that you give me a chance to redeem myself.  I know that I have done damage that can not be undone, but I will do what I can to make it up to you all.  While it in no way excuses my actions, I'd like to add that nothing that I did was done in malice, again I suffer from a serious case of inconsideration.  

 

We race bicycles.  I am hoping that we can still do that together this coming weekend. 

 

RMM

10 comments:

Matt Simpson said...

As 'one' of the voices of Team Pedros +3/Svelte Cycles, and a team that races against the fine Cambridge team, you are A+ to us. Anyone willing to make an apology, regardless of how serious the issue/incident is in serious contention for good fellowship. So - very cool RMM, very cool. Hope your team knows you are well liked in the peleton by Team Pedros.
On behalf of the team Pedros + 3/Svelte Cycles - MS

zack said...

Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN CAT3 BIKE RACING!

Colin R said...

zack: nor pissing yourself, apparently.

zack said...

No, there is definitely pissing yourself--ask Cary for that story and accompanying picture.

BTW Colin, you should spend less time racing bikes and more time watching movies.

Colin R said...

zack: perhaps you should spend less time watching movies and more time remembering what the deleted blog post was about?

zack said...

Never read the deleted blogpost, and it will be a while before it's up on waybackmachine.

Anonymous said...

this from the guy that so righteously blasted someone else for removing the comments over similar drama. what a wonderful display of hypocrisy.

RMM said...

Anon:

There is no comparison to the drama that you refer to.
I removed the offending post, apologized publicly AND allowed people like you to rail me on my own blog.

In contrast, the perpetrator of the incident that you refer to did not alter the offending post or apologize. All they did was remove the comments section of the blog to avoid criticism.

Also, grow a set and use your identity when commenting and if you want to be taken seriously, though you likely remain anonymous because you know that your current criticism has no merit.

Anonymous said...

however you justify it to yourself, in the end, it's the more of the same.

in defense of Anonymous comments (as I post anonymously) most of the anonymous comments that appear on this blog are rather decent snapshots of opposing opinion (like it or not); they're not the appallingly inaccurate, often off-base, rabidly racist, hate-mongering that occurs on other forums and blogs out there. To have you and your crew highlight your own male gender role issues about who has a larger set of testicles on the internet whenever your view point is challenged only further encourages anyone who doesn't think like you to post anonymously. I'd rather not get ostracized in real life over something as meaningless as what was posted on a blog.

Now, you'll probably reply with something self-righteous about how... I don't really know you, you're not like that, you can take the heat, maybe a character witness or two to back up your point. But seeing how childishly you and your CB croonies posture and lashout when it comes to some Anonymous comments that are more truthful and on point than they are anything else in challenging your viewpoint or your authority in all things bicycle, I'm not so sure.

Although I am impressed that you continue to allow anonymous comments, maybe you're not so bad afterall. As someone more eloquent and intelligent than myself (Oscar Wilde) once wrote in a slightly different context: "Man is least in himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

RMM said...

Anon:

I understand that some people want to publish comments without their identities attached to avoid criticism in real life. I respect that and that is why I will continue to allow anon comments.

But on the other side, when a commenter is willing to publicly stand behind their words, especially when the words are controversial, the comment carries more weight since the commenter demonstrates their conviction by publicly inviting criticism.

I pulled my post and issued my apology in response to my friends asking me to do something about the post. If they had remained anonymous, the offending post probably would remain in place.

Also, the internet is not real life, though you can learn things about life on the internet. If you read my blog, you are reading about MY experiences and MY attitudes in the competitive cycling community. Sometimes I will offend people. Sometimes I will be wrong. Sometimes I will apologize for doing these things, just as I do in real life.

I have been both gratified and scared by the number of people who have both thanked me for posts and railed me for being off-base.

I will continue to do what I do. But I have learned a valuable lesson in this dust up and I will be applying that lesson to future posts and in my real life.