The Martlet

A fellow journalist once told me a story about a controversial article he ran years ago. The story was about an alleged sex scandal between Jack Nicholson and Pierre Trudeau’s wife, Margaret. Though it was a slightly weak piece, he made the decision to run it in his newspaper.

The next day, as expected, he was met with a deluge of angry readers. They accused him of “yellow journalism” and said he never should have run the piece.

However, many of the letters he received referenced the primary piece of evidence against the pair: the fact that Nicholson’s shoes were seen under her bed in a hotel room. That tidbit of information was tucked deep in the story, only a few sentences from the end.

“They may have hated it, but at least they read it right to the end,” he told me.

I’ve been writing a regular column for the Martlet for two years now, and am no stranger to controversy. It seems even my most innocuous articles — on subjects as banal and arbitrary as lifeguarding or going to the bathroom — often provoke a response.

By the end of the year, while I worked as the Opinions Editor, many letters were aimed directly at me. “Will Johnson’s writing sucks,” claimed one. “You can’t write,” said another.

They said I had no talent, no future in journalism and that my columns were “garbage,” “a waste of time” and “should be used as toilet paper.” I’ve been called a bigot, a jerk and a “misandrist.” Others declared that I would never be able to get a job at a “real” newspaper. One even told me to “watch my mouth.”

My friends would ask me if I’d seen the letters, and I would tell them that not only had I seen them, I looked forward to them each week. Why? Because these people were taking the time to read my articles and even respond to them. Nothing could be more flattering.

My personal favourite letter was received in March 2009. “This belongs on the walls of the bathroom stalls in the basement of McPherson, with all the other pointless shit trying to pose as intellectual thought. [Johnson’s writing] comes across as pretentious, incoherent ramblings,” it said.

Later in the letter, I was called UVic’s “2 Girls, 1 Cup.” I’ve never met the author, but if I do, I’d like to shake his hand.

Then, of course, there was my article about criticizing Pope Benedict XVI last April. If I were to measure my success in the number of letters I’ve received, then that article is far and away my most successful piece to date.

With angry readers flooding our office, a seemingly endless stream of emails coming in and an angry phone call from Rome, it was a crazy experience. I was even interviewed by CFUV and Victoria News about the backlash.

These days, my hate mail has been a little bland. Internet comments like “ur a fag” and “you suck” aren’t as intellectually stimulating as carefully crafted responses from Dan O’Hara, a Deputy with the Knights of Columbus, or Sean Murphy, Director of the Western Region of the Catholic Civil Rights League. Both wrote lengthy responses to my article about the Pope.

So, I guess what I’m saying is this: keep it coming UVic.

Whether I’ve offended you, you think my writing is weak or you just feel like taking a swing at me, I welcome it.

It’s nice to know that people have a vested interest in student journalism and are actually reading the newspaper.

And don’t worry. I’ve got pretty thick skin.