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| Where One Empire Ends, The Next Begins - A Farewell | ||||||
| Well people, I never thought that this day would actually come, but alas, it has. You are looking at the final Gerry Wachovsky column in the Daily Forty-Niner, and I can almost hear the sighs of relief on one hand, and the exclamations of "Say it ain't so!" on the other. After two-and-a-half years of writing this column, my empire, as I like to call it, is coming to a close. | ||||||
| I remember my first article for this newspaper back in January of 2003, "Pacifists, and why I hate them." This article was met with the response that I had hoped to achieve: letter after letter from liberals, angry that someone had finally called them out on their nonsense. This article set the stage for what was to come. Each week, I would write another opinion piece, and most of the time my eloquent essays were met with a steady stream of letters to the editor, which continually proved and reassured me that I was accomplishing my goal: to present a different, provocative and usually controversial viewpoint on issues ranging from politics to pop culture. | ||||||
| From the critics of mine to the sycophants, one thing was sure: each week people would pick up the Daily Forty-Niner on Tuesday to see my column. So many critics have told me either personally, through email or in their letters to the editor, that they would never waste time on me, that they wouldn't bother responding to what they considered to be the ravings of a "neocon." Each week, however, I had the last laugh, when these people who claimed that they would never give me the satisfaction of responding would consistently write in, professing their disgust for one of the only vocal conservative writers on this campus. I truly loved the fact that people got so angry over what I had to say that they would sit down, put pen to paper (or, in most cases, finger to keyboard), and compose a letter commenting on my articles. Can you smell it? That's the smell of sweet victory. I attained my goal. | ||||||
| Soon there came to be a collection of the usual suspects who disagreed with me, most notably among them being the Campus Progressives and the Muslim Student Association. Don't get me wrong, though, I don't hate those groups, not by a long shot. The truth of the matter is that I am truly saddened by the way that those two particular groups (among others on campus) do business. Their ill-thought out opinions and circular arguments are a passing phase, a phase that many college students go through in the search for their inner-person, if you will. In time, they will see the error of their ways, and they will realize, "You know what, maybe that Gerry Wachovsky guy was right!" Well, I was right all along, and I will accept your future apology now, because I'm that kind of guy. | ||||||
| ����������� Looking back, there is an innumerable amount of people that have made a difference in my life, and their advice and support has not only been useful in the field of journalism but also to my personal existence. Professor William A. Mulligan deserves special recognition here, as he was the one that pretty much got me interested in journalism in the first place and encouraged me to write for this great newspaper. Also instrumental in my rise to Cal State Long Beach fame have been the various staff members and editors of the Daily Forty-Niner for the past two-and-a-half years, whose names, if all were listed, would take up the rest of this page, but you know who you are. I also must acknowledge the general populace of this campus, from the professors that read my columns week after week to each and every student here who picked up a newspaper and read my writings. Kudos to those that complimented or challenged me in person as well; the feedback was never unnoticed, trust me. | ||||||
| ����������� So, what's next for me? Well, mark my words: you definitely haven't seen or heard the last of Gerry Wachovsky. One day, be it through the beauty of the printed word or through the auditory pleasures of talk radio, I will return. To the future Opinion Page writers of the Daily Forty-Niner I offer this suggestion: don't leave any stone unturned or any topic untouched; write about what you feel, and don't let anyone else cloud your point-of-view; and above all, don't be afraid to challenge authority, even teachers, and call them out when necessary. I didn't win the "Best Columnist" award at Journalism Day here at CSULB for the past two years in a row by being timid, remember that. | ||||||
| ����������� In the meantime, I advise everyone to relish in these rapidly approaching tranquil times where your views will go unchallenged and unchecked, and fear the day that I will return to spark controversy upon the world once more. This, my friends (and enemies), concludes our broadcast day. | ||||||
| Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2005, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | ||||||
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