A public meeting is public

One thing I’ve sometimes found baffling are people who make comments at public meetings and then don’t want it reported on. It’s the one word, “public,” that some people forget is in that aspect of a meeting.

I’ve had it happen more than once where someone in all seriousness has asked if I needed to report on something they commented on. One example was more than 10 years ago someone at a council meeting asked if the local police department had enough officers or how much was in the department’s budget. I called up the person after the meeting to double-check on some aspects and they asked if I had to report on it. I pointed out it was a part of the meeting. One time I included in a story a person’s comment at an Elko New Market City Council meeting. I received several voicemails from the person about that. The one day those voicemails came in was a busy day where I was out of the office covering several events. I was able to call the person that same day they left the voicemails. We talked about it and worked out any differences.

To be honest, I haven’t reported every comment people have made. If I did, some news stories would be more like a short novel.

I find it strange how people are in public places during public events and they believe they have a shield of anonymity. Many people have made comments on social media for so long without any real consequences they believe they have a type of anonymity in other aspects of life.

Unfortunately for some, they get reminded they are not totally anonymous when someone pulls out their phone and they start filming this person unnecessarily berating someone or when they have a very public meltdown.

A sad aspect in how some people want to be anonymous in life is that it doesn’t allow for public discourse. In one way, some people are concerned about how their true feelings on a subject may affect their social standing or people may not like them anymore because they feel a certain way. It seems there was a time when people would talk to their neighbors or family about religion or politics. Sometimes, it did lead to agreeing to disagree. Other times, it led to a battle of words.

We do need to remember through public meetings and discussions we can trade ideas. Sometimes those discussions can lead to a better understanding of why someone feels the way they do on a subject. Other times the discussions could lead to ideas people can share and help improve our society.