Wedge LIVE! has reluctantly embarked on what is sure to become a long and bitter feud with the Strong Towns website.
While at a Planning Commission meeting yesterday, I tweeted about the idea of incrementalism — comparing a 100-year-old 4-story building to a 6-story proposal across the street — and made a reference to Strong Towns as a prominent proponent of that idea. This was directed at the consternation among commissioners over whether a 6-story building was appropriate. Later that evening, Strong Towns founder Charles Marohn found a way to take umbrage.
As I replied to Charles yesterday, I meant no disrespect by the original tweet. And looking back on it, if I could choose my words more carefully, I would have included some actual disrespect.
We didn’t choose this fight. If you’re reading this, Charles Marohn (he definitely is reading this), you brought this stupid and intentionally petty fight to us. If I’m being honest, I never wanted to care one way or the other about Strong Towns. I didn’t think it would ever affect me personally. Now that it has affected me, in the form of Charles Marohn himself, I am actually ashamed for all the times in my past when I haven’t been saying mean things about his website.
How you can help: I am requesting that you pick the side of Team Wedge in this conflict. Post messages of support using the hashtag #WedgeStronger. When discussing Strong Towns with your friends, please use derisive misspellings of their name (for example: “Strong Won’ts” or “Wrong Tons”). I urge you to unfollow Strong Towns and support an organization with a more coherent and compelling philosophy, such as Gay Towns 69.