Personal attacks and insubstantial commentary

Ruth Tighe has made it apparent that she subscribes and desires to continue to be “personal” by making a veiled imputation about me vis-à-vis her column. What is unfortunate, and clearly not recognizable by Tighe, is that it is not very professional to utilize the First Amendment right of freedom of the press to attack someone “personally,” as opposed to being critical of them with substantive commentary.

At the onset, Tighe did not get my name accurately: It is Dr. Jesus D. Camacho and not Dr. Jesus B. Camacho.

For the record, I was born in Texas and raised in several states (primarily California). I went back to the Marianas during the ‘60s. Although I have not been to the CNMI, I was in Guam for several years. My Chamorro heritage reflects the Marianas, i.e., Guam and the CNMI. I have relatives from both areas.

Is there a vast difference in terms the characteristics of all the islands comprising the Marianas, i.e., Guam and the CNMI? And, are the Chamorros on Guam practicing a different culture than the Chamorros in the CNMI? Since Tighe is not of island descent, I am not certain if she truly comprehends that Chamorro culture and language transcends throughout the entire chain of Marianas and the differences one might see are subtle, as opposed to significant.

If Ruth Tighe thinks it is a prerequisite for one to be physically in a place to understand what the environment and culture is like, she is categorically wrong. There are people of island descent like myself who were brought up “with the island culture,” notwithstanding the fact they were not on the islands growing up. To suggest that I am not familiar with the island and Chamorro culture because I have not been on the islands as long as she has been reflects a perspective that is myopic and vacuous.

Moreover, what makes Ruth Tighe think that just because she has been in the CNMI for years that she is “intimately familiar” with the culture of the Chamorros, Carolinians, and a host of other ethnic backgrounds that reside in the CNMI? She might be familiar with the culture on the surface, but in terms of truly comprehending what the culture is all about, she is “lacking” for the simple reason, she is not of “island descent” and was not brought up with the culture.

The same would apply to me if I lived in Germany for many years, but was never privy to being brought up by German parents. I might be cognizant of cultural nuances, but I would not have a complete familiarity with the essence of the culture.

My involvement with staying abreast with what is happening in the Marianas stems from my compassionate concern for the Chamorro people and the overall island community. In all of the articles and letters that I have submitted to the media, I have always been consistent in my criticisms, with substantive rationale and never with the intent to personally demean the individuals I am critical of. Although I am not a journalist by profession, I believe that journalism welcomes “substantive critique” and frowns upon anything that is slanderous and libelous in terms of someone’s character and disposition. If I am wrong on this, I will stand corrected.

If Ruth Tighe wishes to gain the respect of individuals active in writing articles and letters to the media, then she will need to cease and desist with utilizing her column to personally attack and reduce the credibility of people she happens to have issues with.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California