Misquote June 11, 2008
Posted by Zack in Missouri , trackbackCheck this out, it’s interesting. Someone who was quoted in that NYTimes article I posted last week says she was misrepresented…and has the power to set the record straight thanks to her own blog:
This particular article ends with a quote from yours truly, so I feel I must comment. It says,
Letitia Wong, 32, who said she favored a fence along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants, added: “As much as our faith informs our political views, we aren’t united in one way of thinking. What unites us at the Journey is the power of Jesus Christ.”
I don’t remember saying specifically anything about a border fence, other than when asked how many people present thought it was too easy to enter the US, I raised my hand. And, if you think my quote sounds a little weird, so do I. In its proper context, I meant to convey that The Journey’s primary emphasis is on faith in Christ and not on political stances. We have thoughtful liberals and thoughtful conservatives in church who derive their political leanings from their interpretation of how the Bible’s precepts apply to public policy, and I think that’s fair enough. We can disagree all day long about who and what to vote for, but at the end of the day, it is important that we recognize that we are Christian siblings who share the love of Christ. And in that context, politics takes a back seat.
I have been misquoted a number of times, so I know how this feels. And I think that too many journalists feel free to be careless with the quotes of “ordinary people” — i.e. people who they don’t mix with in their professional and personal life. “Ordinary people” have no recourse. They’re not going to be on TV saying, “That jerk misquoted me!” They won’t be writing an oped refuting the claim.
But more and more, they have the power to blog about it. And tools like Technorati and Google alerts ensure that people following the conversation will hear about it…like I just did.
Comments»
was there supposed to be an appolgy in there?
I didn’t misrepresent Wong, the NYTimes did. I would apologize on behalf of the NYTimes, but they’d probably sue me or something.
[…] like I’m not the only one who hates being misquoted….over at Revolution in Jesusland (I love that blog, call it a guilty pleasure) they are linking to Letitia’s railing about a […]