Jerzy Owsiak is undoubtedly an interesting personality. He irritates some people and delights others, but everyone knows him. Everyone knows that Owsiak stammers and is an expert on youth subculture. And that he is an expert—we had proof of it in Bolesławiec.
On Saturday, December 12, 1992, from 6:00 p.m. (with a slight delay) until midnight, a concert of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity took place. It is an initiative promoted by the aforementioned man and embraced by that supposedly bad, loud and “bristling” youth. WOŚP is a series of youth-music concerts (including the heaviest rock) performed free of charge. In Bolesławiec, the following bands performed: Second Line (Wrocław), Bruno Wątpliwy (Bolesławiec), Nocne Boogie (Legnica), Obstawa Prezydenta (Bolesławiec), De Facto Blues Band (Bolesławiec) and Vincent (Wrocław). The proceeds from the concerts are intended for a fund supporting children with congenital heart defects.
One had to come and see (some parents did) how “that awful youth,” which we often accuse of insensitivity, having no ideals, and so on, provoked by Owsiak, tried to raise money for sick children. In addition to the 400 (!) tickets sold, more than 2 million złotys was collected in a donation box during the event, as well as in street collections and at schools (I and II General Secondary Schools, the Vocational Construction School and Primary School No. 10). The concert was initiated by Kasia and Marcin from I General Secondary School. They contacted Owsiak and the bands. BOK employees and Sławek Osuch (the compère) contributed only their experience and selfless assistance. More than 15 million złotys will be transferred to the fund. Compared with other, larger centers, this is no small sum and may make both the young people and their parents, guardians and other adults proud. It is a pity that not everyone could see those moving moments when, before the concert began, people came onto the stage with packages of money collected in their communities and heartfelt words.
And here I toss a little stone into TLB’s garden. The gentlemen did not receive a special invitation, so they preferred to spend Saturday evening with their families. After all, that is how everyone reasons! Everyone except an editor, journalist or employee of an institution established to perform a specific public service. The municipal TLB was established precisely to provide information about important events in the city. Since the editorial office of “Bolesławiecki Pegaz” ceased to exist, reports have appeared from cultural events that are not always the most important socially, but are often convenient for TLB employees to cover. Arguments about not receiving an invitation or lacking the opportunity are unconvincing. After all, media outlets are invited to promote matters that are less recognized or private. We all know examples of journalists pursuing issues so persistently that they are considered downright nuisances. Ours evidently prefer to parade their discretion and restraint with pride. I believe that charitable activities for the children of Bosnia or for children with congenital heart defects are not necessarily cultural events, although they are supported by culture and art. They are—quite simply—important events in the city and the country, which Lower Silesian media publicized, while only our local television showed no interest... I believe that “Owsiaks are not born this way.” In this manner, one cannot even create a genuine chronicle of the city. I am not even thinking of the dedication shown by cultural workers, who sometimes work on holidays and at night for similar or even smaller sums, without waiting for invitations.
Anticipating the question about a report made, as in “Pegaz,” by BOK employees, I reply: it is impossible to do several things at once, especially without suitable equipment, and then to receive biting comments about the program’s technical quality.
Moreover, as I have written before, every program requires editing, and BOK has no facilities for that (only TLB has them).
In any case, we inform you that the event took place, lasted a long time and unfolded in a heated atmosphere, while most of the young people behaved in a manner worthy of the event’s purpose. They were simply swept up by Owsiak’s personality.
And you, gentlemen from TLB, do what you want, so that you can at least partly demonstrate journalistic—or at least chronicling—personality.