POV ≠ CH

I was asked by a friend (one of the few people who actually reads this blog) what is my real point of view about the state of negotiations. She claimed my blogs were like Switzerland -- self-motivated neutrality. Ouch. My point in the preceding blogs has not been about devil's advocacy. Or creating doubt or disharmony. If you read them, you see that it's about seeking the facts and making a decision on truth not rhetoric (which we get from both AMPTP and the WGA). We need to scrutinize our leaders, actions and motives as much, if not more than the other side does. When we understand and accept our weaknesses, we take away the vulnerability of those missteps. They cannot be used them against us. Let's be a pack of wolves not a flock of sheep. On Monday, I was at Warners. A couple people from the negotiating committee were there answering questions. Members fired off a lot of queries about money and strategy. But there was also this zen-like vibe from many members, requesting that the guild not engage in the propaganda warfare. In essence, stop sending the doomsday emails about how we're being screwed (that's an exaggeration but you get the point). Our guild, our members, know how Big Media is manipulating the facts. We know their tactics. We read Nikki Fink. We trust our leadership. All we need are calm, factual updates. There seems to be a sense of urgency on PV's part to discredit AMPTP's PR spin. In his communication he sometimes cannot distance himself from that emotion. It bleeds all over his missives. The most encouraging thing about the chats on Monday was the honesty. The reps from the guild copped to their imperfections. They are listening to us and are willing to learn from their mistakes. That's all we can ask for. That and a fair deal.