In Defense of Alisa

Just to clarify, it’s Alisa with an “isa,” not a “yssa.” A Washington Times story recently cleared that up. But we’re not done clarifying here; to clarify further, she’s from D.C., not Denver. Wait a minute – when did our nation’s capital move to Virginia? Wow, I’m really behind on the times.

Yes, I’m being snarky like Alisa (AKA She Who is Forever Reviled by the U2 Fan Community) on purpose. But I’m also going to take a stab at defending her here. Because, U2 family, I AM Alisa.

Not literally, of course. If I had come to Bono’s rescue in Central Park that day, you better believe I wouldn’t have called him “Sir” because I would have recognized him through the helmet, athletically appropriate glasses and whatever other odd bicycling gear he had on – any self-respecting U2 superfan would. But here’s what I do have in common with this mom from Reston, Virginia: I’m fully capable of rubbing people the wrong way without realizing it – thinking that I’m being funny, charming or quirky, but really just being a douche. Yes, women can be douches. Alisa and I know this now.

And, like Alisa, I have been known to point out when I have done something no one else wanted to do. At home and at work, I make sure everyone knows when I picked up their slack. It’s not because I want all kinds of credit (okay, maybe a little). But it’s also about letting people know there is a deficiency here, I have noticed it, and it has been taken care of. For Alisa, she saw that no one else was calling 911 and she acted. She was dumb for pointing it out that way, but I’ve done the same thing. Except I usually do it in front of a handful of people in my home or office, not an audience of 20,000. So maybe we’re not exactly the same, but I thought it might be nice if someone in the U2 universe extended the olive branch to Alisa – and of course, that person was me. Because no one else was doing it. (*winkyface*)

Plus I’m from California, where (some) people are nice.

As she reminded us in that loud, shrill whine: People, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. So let’s tip our hats to Alisa and hope that out of this experience, she becomes a better person. If Bono is grateful for her, then we should be too.