Stanislaus County Syringe Exchange Issue & "Mono Park 2" In the News

I am the kind of person that doesn't always believe what I read. Especially in the newspaper. Even more especially online. I have a keen awareness of the fact that a news article, a special report at 6, or an online news brief can only offer so much of the truth. It's all about perception and spin - and some situations are spun more than others. When 2 volunteers of the Modesto Needle Exchange were busted in an elaborate undercover sting operation by the Sheriff in April, the blogging world started to buzz. Some thought they knew the whole story (even though they didn't), independent publications were sharing their piece. People were talking, the word started to spread. The "Mono Park 2" was born. Surreal. It's hard to sit back and accept some of the things being spit out there in the cyberworld. The volunteers have been judged, labeled, lied about, and called names. The truth has been skewed, important facts left out, and biases have been painfully evident - on both sides of the issue. At one point during the past 6 months they had to stop paying attention. It hurt. It was frustrating. It was stressful. And it didn't seem fair. More recently, the Modesto Bee has joined in telling the Bee's version of the story. Merrill Balassone is great and has been very supportive. And having the Bee want to put a piece on the front page is a pretty big deal right now. Some think it was a decent article, others thoght is was weak, abd others still thought that it painted the volunteers in the wrong light. Even though we did have some problems with the article - how things were worded, the weak title, and all of the important stuff that was missing - the Bee did the right thing by deciding to run the piece front and center. It was a good start for raising some awareness and stirring some debate. The Bee will do follow-up on the volunteers' legal struggles and will also watch what Off the Streets does in the future. Some of the facts were slightly incorrect, but the Drug War Chronicle also did a write-up. It was a pretty good piece - and really, every ally and every bit of media we can get counts for something. The more people who know about the issue the better. Click on the links below to read some of what has recently been written about syringe exchange in Stanislaus County. The Modesto Bee - October 25, 2009 Drug War Chronicle - October 23, 2009 With more media attention coming up, Off the Streets will post the links for you here as they are released.