¡Órale, pues!

Associated “Content Producer” Delete-Happy with Reader Comments

Mexico’s drug carteles are no joke.  Neither is President Felipe Calderon as he attempts to hire the best and brightest to combat the horrifyingly violent and incredibly pissed off elements of organized crime throughout Mexico.  It’s sickening how quickly the narcotraficantes pick off Calderon’s appointed crime fighters, often within days of starting the job.  The most recent assassination occurred in Cancun, where Retired General Mauro Enrique Tello Quinonez was found mutilated alongside his aide/bodyguard and driver. 

But what I find sickening is Julia Bodeeb’s assertion in an article she wrote for Associated Content (and which is subsequently being reposted around the Internet) that tourists should stay far, far away from Cancun:

 If you are looking for a lovely beach vacation, I would recommend you avoid Cancun.  It does not seem therisk with organized crime murdering so many people.  Find a safer place to vacation at.  Cancun, Mexico needs to solve their violent crime problem before tourists return there. 

To read the entire “article,” click here.

I will leave the grammatical errors, torturous syntax, and accidentally omitted words for another tirade.  But this is clearly an opinion piece, no?  And Associated Content allows for comments.  One would think that such a strong editorial, urging tourists to stay far away from Cancun (and indeed the entire country) would be followed by a rousing dialogue on whether such an extreme stance is warranted.  Alas, this is not the case, as the author of this article, Julia Bodeeb chose to continually delete comments that respectfully disagreed with her position. 

Several members of the Cancun Care forum attempted to post in response to her article.  Their comments were almost immediately deleted.  None used profanity, all were respectful, and all were immediately deleted.  Julia Bodeeb then posted a link to a site which discussed accidental deaths in Cancun over the last few years.

One intrepid Cancun lover, Vegas, wrote directly to that siren of journalistic integrity, asking what her problem is and why she is not allowing any discussion about her article if the comments disagree with her position.

Julia Bodeeb’s response? It’s a good one, and one that Vegas posted for us all to marvel at:

VivaLasVegas,

Another Content Producer, Julia Bodeeb, has sent you the following message on Associated Content:

When you are a writer here feel free to expect your comments to stay.  otherwise, you blow.

Julia Bodeeb, are you really a writer?  Because, despite the great publications you seem to have been published in, it seems that you are missing the point of what good Internet writing does.  It provokes thought.  It engages people so that they want to respond.  It starts a conversation, especially when the platform for a conversation is right there in the form of a comment box.  It brings to light different opinions that may even enable the original writer to re-examine her original position.

But Julia, why do you keep deleting comments?  What do you know about Mexico beyond what you’ve read on CNN?  Is it possible that you are so uninformed about the incredible complexity of Cancun that you are threatened by those who possess more knowledge about this dynamic city of almost one million?  Is that why you refuse to engage with them?

And why, oh why, would a freelance writer, one whose Internet reputation is their bread and butter, tell someone “you blow.”  Fo’ real? 

Perhaps you should stick to articles like your Gift in a Jar Ideas for Valentine’s Day.  You TOTALLY rocked that one!

But we all still really want to know: Julia Bodeeb, have you ever even been to Cancun?

To the Cancun Care community: feel free to post here your comments that were deleted from her article.  I promise not to make them disappear.  Unless, of course, you tell me I blow.  But I know you’re all too classy to say that!