This will be the last “Hate Mail of the Week” for a while. Hate Mail has been, without a doubt, Yellowhammer’s most popular weekly feature — but I’ve decided to give it a rest for a while and possibly resurrect it in the future when the timing feels right. Tuesdays will now be home to a new feature called “The Mailbag” which you will be hearing more about soon.
Truthfully, the Hate Mail has always been my favorite post as well. Nothing has been more gratifying than knowing Yellowhammer makes liberals mad enough to take time out of their day to send all-caps, expletive ridden tirades to my inbox. And while I’m under no illusions that Yellowhammer always makes a significant difference, I can point to numerous instances where we did indeed move the needle.
Rep. Craig Ford’s political future took a big hit with the “Too Hot for YouTube” videos. And when the Alabama Democratic Party removed the Bill Maher event from their website prompting us to post the screenshot the next day, national media outlets from all over the country cited us. But there are countless other posts I could point to that subtly changed the narrative or slightly reframed the debate in the state’s major news publications or even in the legislature. And I’m proud of every conservative victory, large or small, that we have played a role in.
I know a lot of you clicked a link on Facebook or Twitter to come here and watch AEA cronies lose their minds one more time, but I’m only posting one email this week because I want this to be the one you remember.
I received the below email early one Wednesday morning a few months back while I was still juggling Yellowhammer, classwork at UA, and traveling back and forth between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa as much as my professors would let me get away with. The strangest feeling hit my stomach as I read the anonymous message that gave a minute-by-minute account of what I had done the day before.
9:37 Leaves home
9:59 Arrives at parking lot near Ferguson Student Center
10:03 Walks to Gorgas Library, 1st floor
11:46 Walks to Ferguson Student Center
12:27 Walks to ten Hoor Hall
1:40 Leaves UA campus
1:56 Arrives at home
3:43 Leaves home
3:59 Arrives at APCO Credit Union
4:03 Leaves APCO Credit Union
4:10 Arrives at UA Recreation Center
6:47 Leaves UA Recreation Center
7:02 Arrives at home
I’d be lying if I said this email didn’t affect me to a certain extent. As I walked to my car after late-night sessions in the legislature, I was much more aware. I also quickly became much better armed (not in the State House). And that’s one of the reasons I never posted the email — I didn’t want them to know they had gotten to me at all. But as I debated last night whether or not to post this, I realized it doesn’t matter if they bother me a little. What matters is whether or not I have the courage to continue on.
So to whoever sent that email — Yellowhammer is still up and the truth is still flowing. You lose! Good day, sir!
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