DEEPA BHARATH -- Reporter’s Notebook

I never thought a day would dawn when I didn’t have an opinion on an

issue.

Sure, as reporters many of us probably strive for that seemingly

unattainable goal of objectivity. You try to be objective but avoiding

subconscious feelings and opinions is humanly impossible.

I’m not saying I’m 100% objective on the Dennis Rodman issue, but I

feel like I have a boarding pass to

disinterested-pursuit-of-the-truth-land.

I’ll tell you why. And bear with me if I’m making a short story long.

I rarely get to do that.

Last week, I got an unbelievable opportunity -- a chance to interview

Rodman -- to get the story from the party man himself.

The former NBA superstar is facing criminal charges that allege he

disturbed the peace of his neighborhood, as well as civil lawsuits

relating to noise generated from Josh Slocum’s restaurant, which Rodman

is associated with.

As I prepared to interview the man at the core of the controversy, my

head was like a crowded bus terminal -- when one thought pulled out,

another swerved right in. Just too many questions:

Dennis, what are you thinking?

What’s your definition of noise?

Do you think you are being discriminated against?

The man, in trouble with the law, the city and his neighbors, was

calm, in control and surprisingly restrained in his answers. He spoke his

mind and used some words my mother wouldn’t approve of, but he seemed at

peace.

“I just ask the city and the police every time,” he said. “What do you

want me to do? I’ll do it. You want me to control other people who come

to my parties? I can’t do that.”

Simply stated. But enough to get his neighbors’ blood boiling. I even

received phone calls from some of them the day after Rodman’s interview

was published.

John Slocum’s neighbor Mary Sericati said she sleeps with ear plugs

and a sound machine every night because the loud music from the

restaurant beats against her eardrums and sends vibrations through her

house.

She says her quality of life has been destroyed.

“[Rodman] says, ‘All you people who complain about noise, get a

life,”’ she said. “Well, you know what? I had a life before this. I liked

my house and my old life. It was a slice of heaven. Now, it’s all gone.”

Sericati’s passionate words turned my thoughts in a different

direction. How would I know how bad the noise is until I experienced it?

I don’t make much noise. I get irritated when I’m in the car with my

husband and he turns the volume up to the point where the sub-woofer

kicks in.

To have that noise -- probably amplified -- every day in my living

room? I shuddered at the thought.

It was that sudden episode of virtual reality -- of putting myself in

someone else’s shoes -- that jolted me out of my subjective perception of

the noise issue that stemmed from my initial instinctive response, which

was: “Leave the man alone.”

That’s right. I don’t have an opinion on the issue anymore. My mind is

a blank tablet. I officially don’t know whose side to take.

But I hope that my inability to pick sides will just help me be a

better reporter, peel the layers of the onion and understand the point of

view of those who sleep with earplugs and go to work with tired,

sleep-deprived eyes -- the people many call the “silent majority.”

And if you’re one of them, speak up. Because it’s your turn.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers cops and courts for the Pilot.