CyberBully

I was cyberbullied today. Actually, I'm fairly certain that this cyberbully attacked me on another site just a few weeks ago. It's a risk that all of us bloggers face when we put ourselves out there, but it's still sobering when it does happen.

To this blog entry, an anonymous person wrote:

At 2/05/2009 9:49 AM, Anonymous said...
Just as well; Wanda, your pretentiousness was becoming absolutely unbearable.

As a Chinese-American immigrant, I am familiar with the kind of bullying that happens in the classroom, hallways, and playgrounds of school, and I am good at fighting those tormentors. However, the faceless "anonymous" cyberbully is a whole new level of cowardliness. More than cowardliness though, this kind of cyberbully is, most of all, insecure, hiding behind anonymity to spew venom that is untrue and uninformed. Such a person is never seeking the truth or dialogue. I feel sorry for cyberbullies, actually, for they must lead "lives of quiet desperation." So much so that they must belittle others to feel grand themselves. So sad, really.

Then, there's the whole pretentiousness accusation. I have to admit that I am a music snob. However, when I say that, what I mean is that great music (in the classical and folk traditions of the world) is for everyone, despite differences in race, language, culture, wealth, etc. This belief has made me who I am, a Chinese-American girl who loves to sing Bach, Handel, Mozart, Britten, and Messiaen, and my favorite band in the whole world is Duran Duran.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that pretentiousness means: making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing). On this point I have to disagree with my anonymous accuser because I have not exaggerated. The increase in audience size during Noon-3pm which occurred during my watch happened, in largest part, because of my choice of music and presentation. There was no Music Director programming my music and telling me what to say. I chose the music and wrote the words. As the only one who knew how to run the radio listening stats in my department, I also know this because I've seen the numbers and have run the analysis. I am in the trenches every day, as a musician and educator, interacting with people who listen to classical music, and I use this knowledge to inform my choices. As the person who answered listener comments for nearly seven years at my former radio station, I also know what people are thinking because they have either called or emailed me. So, no, anonymous, I am not making pretentious claims.

Atlanta deserves a full-time classical radio station that plays the great works acknowledged as canons of the repertoire, for instance, the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Copland, Ravel, Handel and more. However, there's so much exciting music of the 20th century that we have ignored on the radio because of its perceived discordance, and we also need to nurture these sounds on the air. At one time all music was new, and the old guard hated the new, i.e., Monteverdi's Seconda Prattica. We may call it ancient music now, but back in the beginning of the 17th century, this was revolutionary and discordant. And, there's great music being made today, right here in Atlanta. We all deserve the best classical music, and if we provide people with access to great content, young and old alike will join the community, a community that believes in the power of beauty to transform us into better human beings. How's that for pretentiousness.