Should Jeff Pearlman have apologized for this?

Seems to me the real issue is not only one of precision but stems from the use of the phrase "deserted by hope . . ." coupled with a few stereotyped markers of poverty. I live in a community, albeit a more rural and remote one, with similar issues - a lot of double-wides (which here is a sign of affluence because most of the trailers are not double-wides) and other obvious signs of, if not abject poverty, hard times. A McDonald's would be a big step up here, as would a supermarket or a drug store, not to mention both a newspaper that covered the community and people who could afford to buy and them. I'd take a street full of newspapers in exchange for that.

The place has been deserted, certainly, but mainly by the government, the global economy, and the affluent. The only thing people have left is hope, as futile a dream as it may be. Whether the residents of Florence realize it or not, I think they were actually reacting to the characterization that the situation was hopeless - they know, better than anyone who does a flyover, what their issues are. But they don't like the spotlight being put on it and they don't like being told they have no chance. In communties like this, kids survive and some even thrive because they don't realize how bad things are and because they are not quite beaten down past hope. Take hope away and you just give up, and even in the worst place imaginable, most people haven't given up, are doing the best they can, and, even if given the opportunity, wouldn't leave, because it is home and the place where the people they care about live as well.

 

Reread again and have come to the conclusion that both the residents of Florence and Jeff Pearlman are too sensitive.

Pearlman paints for the reader a vivid picture of the city of Florence where Holmes grew up. Having this picture is an important part of the overall story.

Pearlman created a real life version of "The Eighty Yard Run".

Jeff we have seen this before. You have to stop being so insecure about your work. Stop apologizing. It was a great story. Stand by it. Give us more.

 

Thanks for coming on to explain, Jeff.

Lots of lessons here.

Anything you write could haunt you in some way.

Any email you send could get blasted to the heavens.

If you are writing a story, make the effort to contact the principals involved.

 

Yeah? So? Rust is my favorite color.

 

Jeff, your cheeks should burn in shame!!
Don't you know that just as Nice is the crown jewel of the Riviera, Florence glitters brightest in the Pee Dee region?? The considerable charms of Cheraw or Clio pale in comparison ...

 

Aunt Helen and Uncle Casey live there in a gorgeous 4,000 sf house.

Uncle Casey is a college professor and Aunt Helen plays a lot of tennis.

They and their neighborhood don't strike me as devoid of hope.

I've only been there a few times, but it struck me a little like Augusta. Nice sections, older sections, godawful sections....

 

Does Uncle Casey keep boring you with that damn strikeout story?

 

Saying you're sorry doesn't mean you're sorry. Sometimes it just means I'm sorry (you're making such a big fucking deal out of this, fuckwad).

 

OK, I hate to jump into a thread twice, but the unspoken issue here needs to be spoken ... "a little like Augusta ..." -- what that means is, where the WHITE PEOPLE live is real naassss, and where the BLACK PEOPLE live is "deserted by hope." And the WHITE PEOPLE are real pissed that he tarred, so to speak, their country-club enclaves with the same brush. They don't feel at all connected to those areas. Because, of course, racism and a legacy of segregation have nothing whatsover to do with the way things are where the black people live, it's just the way THOSE PEOPLE are.