Robert Gerometta, former Archivist of the City of New York and the Society’s historical records consultant wrote a guest column in the "Editor's Note" in the May 2019 Muscle Car Review, and proceeded to just rub me the wrong way by being a know it all asshole who went above and beyond to insult anyone in the auto enthusiast hobby, from bloggers to car owners, who isn't named Gerometta, and isn't part of a non-profit organization.
Am I over-emphasizing for effect? You judge, here's what he wrote:
"If you haven't created a formal organization - or, in the U.S., registered as a not-for-profit - and surrounded yourself with others who can pick up the ball and run with it when you climb that stairway to heaven (cue Led Zeppelin), then you have also failed."
"This essay has a point beyond showing you how you may have missed the mark, even with good intentions. This is a plea for all of you with those good intentions to collaborate with a professional association to merge your efforts and knowledge with those who have thought it through and who have someone on staff that knows the best way to really preserve auto history."
"The idea of deciding how and where to save it, the best way to save it and the decision on what to save all are mistakes most make."
(and the self important expert got the order of "all are" reversed, and should have correctly said "are all")
but click on the above, and find out for yourself how you're failing to live up this jackasses standards
Am I over-emphasizing for effect? You judge, here's what he wrote:
"If you haven't created a formal organization - or, in the U.S., registered as a not-for-profit - and surrounded yourself with others who can pick up the ball and run with it when you climb that stairway to heaven (cue Led Zeppelin), then you have also failed."
"This essay has a point beyond showing you how you may have missed the mark, even with good intentions. This is a plea for all of you with those good intentions to collaborate with a professional association to merge your efforts and knowledge with those who have thought it through and who have someone on staff that knows the best way to really preserve auto history."
"The idea of deciding how and where to save it, the best way to save it and the decision on what to save all are mistakes most make."
(and the self important expert got the order of "all are" reversed, and should have correctly said "are all")
but click on the above, and find out for yourself how you're failing to live up this jackasses standards
What this writer fails to realize in all his self importance is the fact that the vast majority of historical knowledge and even artifacts are saved by individuals not organizations. Long before something is trendy or deemed historically important by the so called experts there is a group of ordinary people that have gone to the trouble to preserve these things. Organizations also die and lose their trove of information and objects. Witness the mass closing of car museums around the world due to lack of interest. Where do you think the historically important cars and information go to be saved...to individual people who care and go to great lengths to preserve the past! The collector of information and vehicles is the one most important part of the overall equation, most organizations just capitalize on other peoples hard work and foresight. My opinion for what it is worth(probably very little!)
ReplyDeleteArrogant prick. First he spits in the face of 'owners' then insinuates that if we don't donate our collections to him or people like him (I hope he's the only one)we have somehow failed. As pzak said, there are plenty of millionaires and billionaires who've preserved automotive history in ways that museums and historical societies cannot, and more have often picked up the remnants of museums that mismanaged their way into oblivion, or helped keep museums open because they bought vehicles and other items from them. Not to mention the average Joe and Jane who search the ads, network, join clubs to gather the parts etc. that are of interest to them, often saving items that are of no interest to museum curators until they need them.
ReplyDeleteyou're not very smart. I'm not asking for donations, and not telling anyone how they are failing to accomplish their goals but how I'm doing their job better. Also, I must be blogging ridiculously well for you to keep reading along even though you feel such contempt for me
ReplyDelete