Randy Cassingham's Blog

For the first time in years, someone featured in a This is True story has complained about it

It took Samuel Saraiva nine years(!) to learn about the story where he's featured and call me on the phone with the complaint; he demanded I remove the story from the archive. I told him no; he threatened to sue. I offered to publish any reply he'd like to make without me editing it in any way. He again demanded I remove the story from my site. I told him no again, so he cursed me and slammed the phone down.

A few hours later he e-mailed an "error report" which demanded that I "remove this form the internet immediatelty. If not I go to the Court againte you and your publication." I again refused, and again offered to run a letter from him with the story.

He finally agreed to that, but said he needed time -- "I need preparer my comments about, reviser and send to you for publication" first. Sure, OK. That was more than two weeks ago; I nearly forgot about him, but his letter arrived today. As promised I published it -- unedited -- with the story in my archive. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to reply to his letter, and that's posted with the story too.

Mostly, I think he's just mad that his own site doesn't come up first in a Google search for his name. Mine does. And yes, I'm very confident that it's the same guy.

Let me be clear about my position: I write commentary on stories that appear in newspapers. If I make a mistake when I summarize that story, I'm happy to correct it. But complaints about accurate summaries, or whining about obvious jokes, will fall on deaf ears. Yet I'll still publish your letter with the story if I'm satisfied with your identity. Want your own site to show up in online searches before mine? Then practice proper search engine optimization. Don't like bad publicity? Then don't do stupid things that get you into the newspaper.

April 16 Update

A couple of quick letters about the man who complained about being featured in a story in True ...in 1997.

• James in Maryland: "After reading [the] complaint, I followed his suggestion and read his biography. As you already noted, his mother was a dentist, but the clincher is that, among other endeavors, he calls himself a politician, so the phrase 'some sort of idiot' seems to fit."
• Maria in Maryland: "When reading [the letter with the story in the archive], one thing came to mind: 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.' --Abraham Lincoln (I think). I am embarrassed to be from the same state as this guy."

The quote has been variously attributed, including to Lincoln and to Mark Twain.

• And Doc in California: "That it took him nine years to complain, that he apparently has no common sense, that he thinks [according to his web site] Marion Barry (gotta love that name) 'left us as a legacy an example of unselfishness and human solidarity', and though he refers to himself as a permanent U.S. resident and writes in English, seems to have a poor command of the language, all definitely support your conclusion of idiocy. But then I read the upper left of his site and it all became clear. He firstly identifies himself as a POLITICIAN! A decade behind, no common sense, idolizes other politicians no matter how corrupt and can't communicate... sounds like a politician to me. In his last paragraph he writes: 'Then I asked myself: Do the things I have done or written make some sense, or are they valid other than to rescue me (as long as I can remember) from the condition of a mere passive element of History?' So I don't understand his ire Randy, I think you did a great job of helping him in his desire to be more than a passive element; He should have been happy. Politicians, go figure."