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<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom:0in"><b>Response to Tom Melcher</b></p>
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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> </p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> I just
wanted to take the time to respond to the article written by Tom
Melcher in a recent edition of this newspaper. Tom and I have had a
few phone conversations and I have seen him at a few board meetings
of Mendocino County Public Broadcasting over the last year or so.
While I respect that he has some experience in understanding the
complex issues surrounding our only countywide community radio
station, and many good ideas as to how it may go forward into the
future, it is my fear that he does not yet have the depth of
understanding to interpret the current state of affairs at KZYX. I
will say that it took many years for me to learn the history of the
station and years after that before I actually met and got to know
the diverse and varied cast of characters that make up the KZYX
family. After almost a decade of experience at our local radio
station, both helping to produce multiple programs and serving as the
programmer's representative to the board of MCPB, I would like to
throw in my two cents. I will say that in my experience everyone I
know who is associated with the station has its best interests at
heart. This may be difficult for some to believe, as it is easy to
point fingers, and even easier to get angry when someone appears to
be acting out in an irrational way.
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> I
wonder how many of you were raised in a family that had issues? If
your family is anything like mine, you probably experienced more than
one irrational outburst from a parent or family member over the
years. This is pretty typical and no one is to blame, for life is
complex and we are all working on something, right? Nobody is
perfect. Problems arise, however, when the pressures that cause
these outbursts don't get resolved. Those pressures build and build
until somebody becomes overwhelmed by them and lashes out in any of a
variety of ways. These situations often devolve into real
self-destructive behavior. Because everybody has issues, and nobody
is perfect, the world of psychology typically does not address mild
symptoms. Only when the problems prevent an individual or family (or
community) from functioning in a healthy way is intervention
necessary. At that point, without intervention, these unhealthy
patterns can become habits that are very difficult to break.</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> One
thing I have learned when observing dysfunctional relationships is
that it takes two to tango. All addicts invariably hang out with
enablers. Enablers are typically hiding problems of their own behind
the obvious foibles of the addict. Very often there is passive
aggressive behavior going on which is difficult for an outsider to
understand, and even many insiders can't see it unless the passive
aggression is targeted towards them. A lot of people have control
issues and will do whatever is necessary to maintain control even if
that behavior triggers the addict. A lot of people have addictions,
its not always as obvious as drinking alcohol until falling down or
hitting the crack pipe. Things get complicated really fast. In
psychology the “addict” is called the identifiable patient. They
are very easy to spot and often take the blame for the dysfunctional
situation. What is interesting, however, is that if the enabler is
treated, the easily identifiable problem almost always resolves
itself as well. As I said, it takes two to tango. It is important
to have compassion for both an addict and an enabler as these are all
just coping mechanisms for trauma that happened in the past.
Resolving past traumas usually results in the cessation of this cycle
of violence.</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> Just
pointing out the identifiable patient only enables the enabler! It
will only make the identifiable patient more self-destructive. As a
community I caution against that kind of thing. Yet living in denial
can cement unhealthy habit patterns, causing the destructive
situation to last for years. Only by bringing these issues out into
the daylight can they be resolved. Most of the time when you bring
the skeletons out of the closet, you find out they are just
skeletons. The mortal remains of past trauma that no longer really
apply to what is happening right now. There is nothing to be afraid
of. No Hitler, no Stalin, and no megalomania, just old coping
mechanisms that aren't working anymore.</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> So how
does this relate to our KZYX family? Well, you will have to fill in
the blanks for yourselves. All I can say is that the radio is a
great place to talk things out. I hope to hear more Open Lines type
discussions in the future, allowing as much input from the community
as possible. Also, I really like the mission statement of MCPB when
it says, “the membership controls the stations programming and
operational philosophy,” and I do believe the airwaves should be
open to “all points of view.”
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"> By the
way Tom, I hope you don't catch that nasty virus that's going
around...</p>
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</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in">Doug
McKenty</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in">Elk </p></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 10:23 AM, doug mckenty <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dougmck@gmail.com" target="_blank">dougmck@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I have been thinking about all the infighting at KZYX and what to do about<br>
it. The us vs. them "bunker" mentality of staff combined with the all out<br>
attack mentality of Sakowitz is really dragging the reputation of the<br>
station down throughout our community. While John Coate has improved the<br>
stations situation financially, he has done so by increasing personal<br>
donations, acquiring rural status with NPR, and receiving another $120K<br>
from the CPB in the last two years, membership dues have remained<br>
stagnant. This implies to me that the community as a whole is not<br>
satisfied with the service KZYX is providing.<br>
<br>
Much of this dissatisfaction from the public is, I believe, a result of the<br>
constant infighting that continuously plagues the station. Many people are<br>
just tired of it. As Ed Keller said in last weeks debate, KZYX now has a<br>
hard time finding people willing to volunteer. I have spoken with many<br>
ex-volunteers who just walked away after encountering the confrontational<br>
attitude at the station and never looked back. Many now help out at other,<br>
smaller radio stations around the county.<br>
<br>
I have written an article for this weeks AVA at least outlining what I<br>
perceive as the problem. I am not sure what the solution is but the entire<br>
community needs to at least start talking about it without pointing fingers<br>
and naming names. Yelling back and fourth is not functional<br>
communication. There will be no change for the positive until we become<br>
capable of listening to each other with an open mind.<br>
<br>
Check this out and let me know what you think,<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Doug McKenty<br>
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