the editor talks with you

Afriend told me the other day that he thought we had a grudge against SC Electric & Gas when we started questioning what they were up to. That surprised me. The two of us have known each other for years. He should know I don’t harbor grudges, Life is too short to make myself miserable. “When all the dirt started coming out, I realized you were right all along,” he said That was an ‘aha’ moment for me.

In the years I’ve worked as a magazine and newspaper reporter, photographer, editor and owner, I’ve covered many stories of abuse, malpractice, misfeasance and other $25 words. But what’s behind all of it is a lack of moral character, greed, selfishness and often criminal intent. These people know what they are doing is wrong. That does not stop them. We have reported on such sickening acts as the ransacking and burning of a small rural Baptist church in Dixiana. It started with an angry phone call from the friend of the congregation. She demanded that I drive to the far southeastern edge of the county to see what mean-spirited vandals had done.

We started reporting on the efforts of a biracial group to rebuild the church and restore its grave yard. National media, even Readers Digest, picked up the story. Sandra Johnson, wrote a book about it, “Standing on Holy Ground: A Triumph Over Hate Crime in the Deep South.” What did we get out of it? A few threatening hate calls that we ignored. Most people who call aren’t really dangerous. They’re just angry because we question their motives or criminal actions. The one I worry about is one who gives no warning, loads a weapon and walks in firing like the one in Annapolis, Md. I try to control my emotions about what we learn in this reporting but it’s hard. When you see injustice, you also feel it.

Our stories about the burned church stirred me because it was a senseless attack on a church, a place of comfort. But the story that upset me the most was the one about the Babcock Center. We reported documented crimes against people who could not protect themselves. The victims were mentally disabled people. The perpetrators would not have dared try what they did against the rest of us. Their cowardly crimes were against vulnerable victims who couldn’t fight back. When we published the first article about the abuses, neglect and even deaths, my email and phone lit up like Christmas trees. For 4 years, sources called and tipped us to new crimes being committed.

Do I carry a grudge against SCE&G? Of course not. Some of our neighbors work for this company. I feel badly about what the scandal has done to their stock values and the comfortable retirement they hoped it would one day give them. I’m also grateful for their help when our power is interrupted and proud of them when they go far away to help the customers of other power companies. We should count them among the victims of greedy and uncaring managers.

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