Earnie says we should just chill

Happy Tuesday of America’s Birthday week!

In today’s photo, the smiling face to my left is Earnie Olsen, supervisor of the Marine Science Station in Crystal River.

I’ve known Earnie for so long I don’t recall not knowing him.

---

I always enjoyed Chronicle assignments at the Marine Science Station. Check it out if you’re unfamiliar. Along with providing instruction to kids during the school year, the station is known for its summer camps.

Earnie is one of those really smart guys who doesn’t make me feel dumb for not being as smart. That’s probably why he relates so well to kids.

I stopped by the other day to give Earnie a Just Wright Citrus T-shirt for correctly identifying the location of a recent selfie. He instantly recognized the Gary Maidhof Walk to Nature near the Academy of Environmental Sciences across Fort Island Trail.

Every visit with Earnie includes a stroll about the grounds. Standing near the dock, he told me of taking a group of middle school kids by boat out the Salt River one day, when he pointed out a nearby school of dolphins.

Earnie noticed a young girl in the boat crying. She had never seen a dolphin.

That’s what Earnie Olsen does.

But today’s blog isn’t about Earnie. In fact, the only Earnie part of this blog is the photo, which I’ll explain.

Every night after posting the blog on my website, I schedule it for 6 a.m. Facebook. If you’re a JWC follower it pops up on your feed bright and early.

Every morning, I check to see if it’s there. As mentioned many times, technology is not my strong suit. There’s always a chance I did something wrong in the posting process. I’m instantly awake if it’s not there.

Monday morning, no blog link on Facebook. Instead, I received a message saying the post was removed for violating Facebook’s “community standards.”

Well. That was certainly a shock.

I glanced at the blog and read it through. No more offensive than any other Monday. I tried posting it live. Same result.

I was just about to give up when it dawned on me that the photo might be the problem. It’s the one embedded in today’s blog. I’m guessing Facebook didn’t want me churning up reactions from a photo of the former and current presidents on a TV screen.
​

Either that or my bare feet. Certainly, something is offensive there.

I replaced the TV photo with my very cool Election ‘24 logo, which eased Facebook’s fears. And I made sure today’s photo was non-political. Earnie’s about as non-political as it gets.

Just kinda ironic that a post kicking off America’s Birthday week gets flagged because it might cause too much commotion.

So, of course, that has me thinking about free speech.

Citrus County is one extremely opinionated place. The Chronicle has always had a very open letters-to-the-editor policy, and Sound Off was introduced decades before Al Gore invented the internet.

We are opinionated in newsprint, online, at government meetings, and down at the neighborhood bar. 

Some are of the opinion their views are the only ones that count. The opinion that says my opinion carries greater value than your opinion.

We’re hearing it a lot down at the County Commission these days. That “we’re a conservative Christian county” blabber comes right before someone says his opinion is more valuable than someone else’s. Citrus is 57% Republican, yet to hear some people say it we’re 99.9% Republican, and the other 0.1% doesn’t count.

Every voice matters. Even the voices I disagree with.

There’s a person who goes to the microphone at commission meetings with some regularity. She was the first person I blocked off Just Wright Citrus for continuing to flaunt the “be nice” rules. Nice is not in this person’s DNA.

But know what? I pay attention every time she speaks. Same with others, even Library Guy. I believe the adage that a broken clock is correct twice a day.

We’re not going to solve the world’s problems at Just Wright Citrus, but we have a congenial conversation about them. Differing views can show respect. It drives me crazy to see readers go after one another. Go after me if you want. Leave others alone. Debate the topic, not each other.

It’s going to be a long, hot political summer. Let’s do our best to lower the temps.

And if you see Earnie Olsen, say hi for me.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.
​

---