Only Wayne - Update

From WikEd

Only Wayne was posted two months ago as an experiment in Wiki based Case studies. As explained in Only Wayne, attention was anticipated by the principals and other related characters in the story because it is a format that allows the contributions from everyone to be considered in a democratic, unedited manner.

To date, there have only been a few “edits�?. However, I have received reactions by email, phone calls and direct communication from principals and others involved in the story. I’ll relay some of the information from those contacts in an anonymous form.

1. Within hours after I posted Only Wayne, I received a phone call from a local parent requesting that I remove it. The parent was afraid that retelling this story would make racist bullying worse for students in the local schools. The parent told a story about subtle and not-so-subtle acts that were perpetrated on his/her daughter, who was a minority student. However, this parent was not willing to express these experiences in Only Wayne. I resisted the temptation to remove Only Wayne since almost four years had expired since Wayne left town, and none of the principals are currently associated with the local schools. If the local schools still have a bullying problem, it needs to be exposed, not shuffled off into a corner.

2. I’m impacted by how much pain was experienced by the principals in the Only Wayne story. The story itself offers evidence that Wayne, the victim, suffered for several years. Also, others that I’m calling bullies, and those that chose to be associated with the bullies or their victims, suffered. Two of these reported weeping openly as he/she read Only Wayne. Another emailed me and explained how Only Wayne had failed to portray some of the deep manifestations of pain that were still being felt. The feelings were so deep that there was no way that words could convey them - thus a wiki-format was not very conducive. Another conveyed a history of extreme mental and physical anguish that was prompted by these events four years ago. It appears that being a victim of racist bullying is not limited solely to the target, but may include the bullies and their associates. It’s possible that some or all of these persons may contribute to Only Wayne in the future.

3. One bit of optimism has to do with Wayne, himself. Reported to me was the information that he is now a junior in high school and is doing well. He has continued to celebrate his ethnicity and is now considered one of the top dancers in Indian country. Recently, his dance troupe performed at the opening of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian and then flew to Ireland where it did an 8-city tour.

4. I have been recording the number of hits on Only Wayne since posting it 2 months ago. It has had a rather consistent 4 hits/day with a total around 400. Then, on April 2, 2005, it was posted in a Community Blog and the total increased to around 3300. Needless to say, there are several perspectives being vented on the blog. Check them out.