I was saddened and dismayed to read that yet another member of our community had been skewered through “The Blotter.” I do not know Rebecca Paul well, but I know her well enough to know that she didn’t deserve the press she received, and I know her well enough to be confident that she is clearly not a threat to this community.

I was saddened for the obvious pain that these folks must already be experiencing, but I was even more saddened that their pain must be compounded by the pandering that appeared in this paper, and the inevitable judgments that follow. I am compelled to ask, what possible good can this practice provide for our community?

It is one of the basest of human emotions that derives pleasure from another’s pain. Why do people somehow feel elevated by another’s fall? Why do people feel compelled to tear down their neighbors? I am reminded of a scene in junior high school, where someone stumbles, and rather than offer a hand of help, everyone stands back and sniggers.

Hopefully, we as a society have progressed beyond the practice of public shaming as a form of punishment. If one needs reminding of the tragic consequences of that era, let me suggest a reading of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Scarlet Letter.” When someone’s name appears in the blotter, they become a branded person, a person who has been judged based on a few lines in the paper.

I have personally experienced the devastating effects of having been judged by the court of our newspaper. I know how people, and by association their children, will suffer from being included in the weekly salacious scandal sheet.

In my case, as I suspect it is in many cases, all allegations were dropped and dismissed. Unfortunately, that information is not printed in the newspaper. Regardless, the damage is done.

If the paper wishes to print court records, and I don’t suggest even that is a good policy, would it not make more sense to print only convictions? Sadly, for many people, conviction has already been concluded once it appears in the Town Crier.

Sometimes people lie, sometimes the police make mistakes, sometimes people are accused of things they did not do; that is why we have developed a legal system to try to sort those things out, and that is why the blotter is a disservice to our community.

Further complicating the situation are misconceptions about some of our laws, particularly those that fall under the category of “domestic violence,” which is so broad as to include “persons who have dated.” Domestic violence is a terrible problem, one that I certainly do not wish to diminish, and there are defensible situations for the procedures written into law, but there also are some negative consequences.

If the police are called for some ordinary disagreement, the police have many options: they can arrest both parties, they can arrest one party or they can arrest no one, as the situation warrants. However, if the people fall into the category of a “domestic relationship,” an entirely different set of laws applies. For whatever reason the police may have been called, they are compelled to arrest one of the parties, and further they are compelled to arrest only one of the parties. This results in painting the picture that one of the parties is necessarily “guilty,” and further that only one of the parties is “guilty.” Obviously, things are rarely so simple.

Temporary Restraining Orders are another area of misconception. Again, these are tools that have a valuable and much needed function. However, virtually no burden of proof is required, these are issued based simply on one person’s statements about another. Consequently, these orders can be used spuriously and vindictively, and if someone chooses to misuse them as a vehicle of character assassination, they now get the added bonus of free press.

Does the blotter provide titillating grist for gossip? Clearly. Does it sell more papers? Probably. Does it provide a valuable service for this community? Doubtful. Is it worth the added misery of those victimized by it? I would submit that it is not.

We as a community don’t need to gloat over the emotional and financial difficulties of our neighbors. We are better than that.

It is time to silence the sniggers. It is time for our community and newspapers to take the high road. It is time to offer a hand to those who stumble. It is time to offer compassion.

It is time to lose the blotter.

Allan Phelps has been a property owner for 26 years and has lived in Homer the last seven. He is a semi-retired educator/scientist who has weathered many of life’s tempests.