My Jul 17, 2014 Toledo Talk comment

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/177284/21May2014/Wheres_Econcat88_been

From that Jul 16, 2014 iheartglasscity.com post :

What Toledo doesn’t need… is to be bullied; especially by one of our own residents.

EconCat88 is Toledo’s biggest bully and #1 enemy number.

The sum of $1, yes one dollar, will be paid to the person(s) who divulges any knowledge leading to the unmasking of Toledo’s Biggest Bully.

I would consider the July 16 iheartglasscity.com post to be a form of Internet bullying, or as historymike described it, "virtual terrorism."

Using bully tactics and a mob mentality to complain about a so-called bully may invalidate the point of the iheartglasscity.com website and any similar positive image ideas.

I can see the message:

Welcome to Toledo, Ohio where all approved viewpoints are welcomed. We enforce a knuckle-dragging form of progressive thinking.

More from that post:

The part that bothers me the most is he’s doing all this damage anonymously; he is cowardly hiding behind a screen name.

There is no honor in hiding behind a camera video after video, while trying to embarrass the city where you live. There is no courage in anything you, Mr. EconCat88 are doing.

He calls EconCat88 a coward, yet he writes:

I want every resident to know whom and to where to send their thanks, praise and adulation.

Does he really want "thanks, praise, and adulation" sent to EconCat88, or was the author being sarcastic? If the latter, then what are the author's real intentions? If the author is courageous like he claims, then the author should define what he really wants to happen to EconCat88 by outing him, instead of hiding behind coded language.

The author states:

The saddest part is I don’t believe EconCat88 is intelligent enough to understand the damage he is inflicting on Toledo’s future. I am surprised he has figured out how to upload videos on YouTube.

For many reasons, Toledo's population and business landscape began declining in the late 1960s or early 1970s, at least 30 years before YouTube was launched. Reversing this complex slide is much larger than YouTube.

In my opinion, videos either way will have no impact on Toledo's future because successful investors are not that simple-minded.

The author implies that EconCat88 is unintelligent, but the author makes an absurd point in a June 19, 2014 post

If I were a CEO of a business looking to relocate my company or to build a new office/warehouse in expansion, I would do some extensive researching, and I would likely start with a simple Google search.

Any CEO or business man who would Google the city of Toledo would find such attractive stories like “Most Miserable City”, “Worst Winter”, Gang Maps and John Stainbrook.

Let me ask you… if your only way to learn about the “Glass City” was by reading the Toledo Blade, would you move your business or start a new office here?

EconCat88 has focused some of his negative opinions on downtown Toledo, but Promedica and now Lathrop have announced intentions to move downtown.

I doubt that a successful CEO will base a decision on a simple Google search or by reading only the Toledo Blade. I'm guessing that the CEO is concerned about remaining successful, and when moving or starting a new business, a huge number of variables get considered that are probably more important than newspaper stories and social media content.

• And besides, if Toledo's current situation is so fragile that YouTube videos could destroy its future, then it's already too late to improve the city.

More from the July 16 post:

Econcat88 offers no solution to any problem at any time during any video.

Apparently, the author provided a solution in his June 19 post:

To fix an issue as big as blight, a city must have extra capital. To gain extra monies, the city needs to increase it’s tax base. To increase the tax base a city must add jobs and new businesses. It is simple mathematics.

Add jobs and new businesses. Open a jar of businesses and add water. I'll check Amazon.com for a starter kit. It has to be that simple.

A relatively old term exists called "Detroitification." It basically means that bad political decisions and a struggling public school system have encouraged residents and businesses to leave the urban center for the surrounding communities.

I wonder if the author has researched the destructive actions, if any, by Toledo government over the past 50 years. Taxes, fees, assessments, over-regulating, bureaucracy, incompetence, malfeasance, misplaced priorities, cronyism, nepotism. None of that has occurred in Toledo government over the past 50 years, correct?

Since I moved into Toledo in 2001, I have not observed anything unusual and I assume the previous 30 to 40 years were also free of political shenanigans. I'm not from this region, so I have no idea why many Toledo residents and businesses left for the surrounding communities. I'm guessing they left for newer and bigger homes, buildings, and lots.

In my opinion, it appears that the iheartglasscity.com author opposes diversity, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.

From the June 19 post:

Once again the Toledo Blade is doing a “Special Report” investigative series on another negative issue affecting Toledoans. In the past, the daily newspaper has showcased Toledo by focusing on our “Brain Drain” and gang problems, even evoked legal action to get a special gang map. This time the Toledo Blade wants to tell and show the world about our blight issue ...

For some, that's called journalism. I don't see any problem with it.

From the July 16 post:

Mr. EconCat88; if you wish to remain anonymous, I strongly suggest deleting your YouTube videos and page.

It looks like the author is using militant tactics to moderate legal content on a site that he does not own. Apparently, the author is intolerant to different viewpoints. Back to that saying:

"I want to force others to accept my brand of tolerance."

If we're going to be overly dramatic about how Blade stories and EconCat88 videos can harm Toledo's future, then in my opinion, the July 16, 2014 iheartglasscity.com post is equally destructive to Toledo. If that post is an example of the flip-side to EconCat88, then it's a bad sign for Toledo.

To me, it's a disturbing post, and hopefully, that thinking is not widely accepted by Toledoans, otherwise, it would definitely be a reason not to remain in or relocate to Toledo. A few wackos are to be expected and welcomed for comedic fodder. But I assume and hope that most Toledoans are not that intolerant and extreme.

Instead of attacking other messengers because you disagree with their viewpoints, you do like this author did and start a website and encourage others to create videos, showcasing the region in order to distribute your own message. The idea started fine, but swerving into some kind of digital vigilante project is demented.

Apparently, the goal now is to silence different viewpoints instead of promoting new views.

I like upso's Jul 16, 2014 comment :

I’m just trying to enjoy life, and have fun. I think Toledo is great. The midwest is great. These are values I’ve had for my entire life.

If other Toledoans share similar feelings, then it should be easy to promote those thoughts without resorting to "virtual terrorism."

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(my second comment)

Instead of worrying about one Toledo resident, maybe the digital terrorists should research why 100,000 Toledoans have fled the city over the past 40 years. Important information could be learned that may prove useful for evolving Toledo's future.

One part of that July 16 iheartglasscity.com post was hilarious:

For those of you that are wondering “why my reward is only a buck…?” Because this guy isn’t fucking worth two.

Yet earlier in the post, the author wrote:

Yesterday, EconCat88, took 5 hours of my life as I was hooked on viewing ...

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Ohio's minimum wage is $7.95 per hour.