Matt Zimmer

[West-River_Jack]

Re: Matt Zimmer

I congratulate Mr. Zimmer on writing a darn good "read". As the parent of children who earned a number of "participant" ribbons I did feel frustration when other peoples kids were getting medals and championships. However, I knew that there were a couple of genuine truths involved. 1) The other kids had done better and deserved the recognition, and 2) If my own kids wanted that recognition they would have to earn it and to do so they would have to want to do so. I am very proud to say that they did work hard and they did pursue their desires and that competition did become an important factor as they have a very good beginning in the road to success. As parents, we can sign them up for lessons and take them to practice. We can take the credit or the blame for their genetically provided abilities or lack thereof. However, we cannot force desire into them.

Each discipline, whether it is athletics or academics or the arts or whatever, has its own forms of recognition. Are they equal? No, they are not! I have long stated that equal isn't always fair and fair isn't always equal.

On a somewhat unrelated note, and I bring this up because of the name of the act and not because of its contents or results, I have always been concerned about the No Child Left Behind Act. Would it be appropriate to rename it the No Child Allowed to Move Ahead Act? I think that this wording, not necessarily the law itself, is the type of concerns that Mr. Zimmer raises. Thank you Mr. Zimmer.

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Matt Zimmer

While I agree with almost everything in this entry to his blog, my guess is that if he did get in trouble for this entry it was the line about kids deserving to be alienated if they aren't good at sports. That is not true, they need to be "redirected" to other activities that they may be/are good at. If a kid enjoys being involved with sports, but doesn't have the capabilities to play a lot, the kid needs to learn to get his enjoyment from practice, etc.

I really can't believe this entry is what got the blog taken down. It seems to me that Stu had a similar entry a while back, or maybe it was an article about coaching soccer, but this was not the first time the sentiment expressed by Matt Z had been presented under the Argus banner. I missed the Tebow entry, but would love to see that if anyone has a direct link.

As for the letters for academics, in my home town I believe they gave them for being in National Honor Society, because I received one and I can't remember getting one for any of the sports I played in. I'm only a couple of years away from my 30-year reunion, so maybe we were way ahead of the curve.

[sfsd]

Re: Matt Zimmer

FYI, Matt's blog has been suspended (however not for the youth sports post), but he's doing OK and is still employed at the Argus. I won't plunge into any more specifics.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: Matt Zimmer

I was able to read the blog post this afternoon on the Argus site, however, now I can't. I'll have to admit he raised some very good points. I believe parents are "babying" their kids too much these days. Matt's blog was funny and made some good points at the same time.

I don't know if anyone else saw this, but some guy left a comment that was funnier than the actual blog, it explained how they did academic "pep rallies" at Washington High. It made me laugh out loud just reading his comment.


GREAT BLOG MATT!

[boxerboy]

Re: Matt Zimmer

I am not sure that this rant was his opus (I just thougth he was a Berke Breathed character) He also did a scathing job of calling out Tim Tebow and phony christians yesterday. I can't remember if it was in his parents column or his weekly wrap up where he used the phrase God.Dammit. as two sentences to get around acceptable language, I guess)

My guess, if there is trouble, it was a confluence of events that led to this. Not any one in particular.

Well, I guess I will be the dissenting voice here. I did not read the article on helicopter parents but based on what you are all writing I would have to agree.
I did however read the article on Tim Tebow and my remarks are based on that. I wasn't going to say anything for fear of being considered prudish but realized that was a cowardly way to approach it.
When people like Tebow decide not to be interviewed for Playboy and are widely criticized I realize the values and beliefs I was raised with are not as relevant in society today.
I don't quite understand the criticism and how not supporting magazines like Playboy makes people "phony Christians". I guess I will have to search my Bible a little closer to figure that one out. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 why we believe as we do. So I applaud Tebow and realize his decision by most will be considered stupid. He made the tough decision and for that he is widely criticized by people like Matt Zimmer. I choose to applaud Tebow for being willing to stand up for truth.

[Jacks-02]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Well, I guess I will be the dissenting voice here. I did not read the article on helicopter parents but based on what you are all writing I would have to agree.
I did however read the article on Tim Tebow and my remarks are based on that. I wasn't going to say anything for fear of being considered prudish but realized that was a cowardly way to approach it.
When people like Tebow decide not to be interviewed for Playboy and are widely criticized I realize the values and beliefs I was raised with are not as relevant in society today.
I don't quite understand the criticism and how not supporting magazines like Playboy makes people "phony Christians". I guess I will have to search my Bible a little closer to figure that one out. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 why we believe as we do. So I applaud Tebow and realize his decision by most will be considered stupid. He made the tough decision and for that he is widely criticized by people like Matt Zimmer. I choose to applaud Tebow for being willing to stand up for truth.

I agree with your feelings, and am guessing that post may be more of the reason behind his "suspension".

[sfsd]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Matt is not "suspended." His blog is on hiatus.

[Nidaros]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Matt is not "suspended." His blog is on hiatus.

Keep us posted on what is going on. I never read the blog so I am trying to piece it together from the posts of others. Not sure what is going on here.

Christians generally turn the other cheek while others seem to be convince beyond any doubt that God is on their side. If criticize them, you are criticizing God. Dangerous and hard to defend that type of position.

Hope Zimmer stays, he is a good writer.

[filbert]

Re: Matt Zimmer

I suppose you're always in murky territory when you're blogging on your employer's site. You can say whatever you want, as long as it's what the employer wants you to say. If not . . . down the memory hole with that blog entry!

A reporter blogging on his newspaper-employer's site is (I would imagine) walking an extremely narrow tightrope. There's a pretty natural conflict between the reporter role (as in reporting the who, what, when, where, why of a story) and expanding the last one (the why) into the role of a commentator, which I suppose you're always at the risk of doing if you're blogging as a journalist.

Giving strong opinion in a blog article, while also being a full-time journalist (with all the expectations of fairness and objectivity, vs. a full-time commentator whose job is to have opinions) seems to me an awfully, awfully, awfully hard thing to pull off successfully.

[JackJD]

Re: Matt Zimmer

My guess is Zimmer's blog may been pulled not due to the opinions expressed but due primarily to the manner in which they were expressed. For example, referring to "douche bag psychologists" was probably a little tough for Zimmer's editors to accept. His point could have been made successfully without the coarse language.

Some may wish to take issue with my point so please understand this: I hear (we all hear) similar language all the time and I am not bothered by it. In my opinion, when language like that is used in print, the writer looks immature. Perhaps Zimmer would have been better served to borrow a little from a good rule many writers keep in mind when writing dialogue: swearing and coarse language, when printed, has about four times the shock value as when spoken. A corollary: Coarse language is intended to evoke a strong response. The problem is the response is often unpredictable. Call somebody a sonuvabitch and you may get laughed at or you may get punched in the nose.

So, I think Zimmer's writing style and choice of language, not his points or the subject matter, caused him to have a little difficulty. If I was Zimmer's editor, I would have pulled the blog due to style.\

And, of course, I would present him with his own copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" with a couple of points marked with Post-It notes.

[Jacks-02]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Matt is not "suspended." His blog is on hiatus.

Sorry, didn't know a better word to use, hence the quotations around it.

My bad.

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Well, I guess I will be the dissenting voice here. I did not read the article on helicopter parents but based on what you are all writing I would have to agree.
I did however read the article on Tim Tebow and my remarks are based on that. I wasn't going to say anything for fear of being considered prudish but realized that was a cowardly way to approach it.
When people like Tebow decide not to be interviewed for Playboy and are widely criticized I realize the values and beliefs I was raised with are not as relevant in society today.
I don't quite understand the criticism and how not supporting magazines like Playboy makes people "phony Christians". I guess I will have to search my Bible a little closer to figure that one out. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 why we believe as we do. So I applaud Tebow and realize his decision by most will be considered stupid. He made the tough decision and for that he is widely criticized by people like Matt Zimmer. I choose to applaud Tebow for being willing to stand up for truth.

This is why I said I would love to see the blog entry. If he was criticizing Tebow for not doing an interview because of his religious beliefs, he was flat out wrong, immature, and conduct that you do not expect from adult employees. IF that is what he did, he deserved to have the blog pulled and told that the standards of this paper are higher than what you have done, don't let it happen again. I assume after he shows some contrition on his part for embarrassing the editors and publishers of the paper, his privileges may be reinstated. And yes, this was meant to be a comparison as to how people have reacted to Mr. Rieff's situation.

[EQguy]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Well, I guess I will be the dissenting voice here. I did not read the article on helicopter parents but based on what you are all writing I would have to agree.
I did however read the article on Tim Tebow and my remarks are based on that. I wasn't going to say anything for fear of being considered prudish but realized that was a cowardly way to approach it.
When people like Tebow decide not to be interviewed for Playboy and are widely criticized I realize the values and beliefs I was raised with are not as relevant in society today.
I don't quite understand the criticism and how not supporting magazines like Playboy makes people "phony Christians". I guess I will have to search my Bible a little closer to figure that one out. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 why we believe as we do. So I applaud Tebow and realize his decision by most will be considered stupid. He made the tough decision and for that he is widely criticized by people like Matt Zimmer. I choose to applaud Tebow for being willing to stand up for truth.

Thought I should clarify myself. I didn't intend to infer that Tebow was a phony christian, I have no clue who or what he is other than a quaterback for Florida. What I took from the blog is that if you stand for something you stand for it all the time not just when it makes a splash. If Tim is truly the type of person that lives as a christian every day of the week, then good for him, and I am likely to be more of a fan. As for Zimm, I thought there were good points made in the blog. But, it was the second time this week I had read a blog of his and went "wow, he's really towing the line with this one"

[EQguy]

Re: Matt Zimmer

This is why I said I would love to see the blog entry. If he was criticizing Tebow for not doing an interview because of his religious beliefs, he was flat out wrong, immature, and conduct that you do not expect from adult employees. IF that is what he did, he deserved to have the blog pulled and told that the standards of this paper are higher than what you have done, don't let it happen again. I assume after he shows some contrition on his part for embarrassing the editors and publishers of the paper, his privileges may be reinstated. And yes, this was meant to be a comparison as to how people have reacted to Mr. Rieff's situation.

I didn't feel like he was criticizing Tebow. He was questioning the true ethic of just making a grandstand moment just for the sake of grandstanding. The point was you see so many of these athletes stand up when it makes a splash and then you see them at a frat party hanging all over some starry eyed freshman co-ed.

I am not going to go all Joeboo and defend all of Zimm's actions or words in the blog as I only read it once. I thought it might help discourse if I posted what I thought of the article. I would like to hear more of what others who did read it thought.

[BitsTD]

Re: Matt Zimmer

Does anyone have a link to the Tebow blog. I was interested in reading to see what the big deal was and couldn't find it.