Pseudo Independent Blogging
There's a phenomena that I called "pseudo-independent blogging." That's when someone, who normally doesn't vocalize any thoughts, blogs demonstratively and says what they think to be polarizing, groundbreaking things. With a flurry of keyboarding, a bearing of chest, and a raising of the chin (all in the confines of their home office mind you), these keyboard assassins reign down anger, hatred and judgementalism on.....
No one in particular.
More often than not, blogs are populated by people who are willing to criticize from afar. With a large amount of polarity, these blogs claim to be calling out someone, but that individual(s) is usually not well known to them. Rather, its a person impersonalized by distance and namelessness. No one who could take offense, or really learn from the blog. It allows the pseudo-independent blogger the chance to flame on, but without offending anyone. But then, what's the point?
If you're trying to keep the peace with everyone around you, who's going to really care? Who's going to see that you have a backbone enough to say something? Who's going to learn anything from your blog? The pseudo-independent bloggers like to think they're literary contriteness is doing something, but its not - because its a kiss-ass to the ones he/she knows would read it - by trying not to offend those readers.
Now, I don't take the same approach. Hence, I've lost a few possible friendships along the way. That said, my friends who do read my blog have told me that they actually learn something. Okay, maybe very occasionally. Okay, maybe never. But they know that I stand for something. That I don't pander to political correctness nor do I falter into political genuflecting. If I don't like you, I won't. Nor will I need to.
There stands a chance that my attitude and my outright belligerence can alienate me from the rest of the world. I tend to think not. In fact, most people I know wouldn't even think that I have strong opinions. But beneath my veneer of politeness and professionalism, I absolutely state clearly my disdain, dislike, or disapproval of people. This may attract volleys of dishonesty and falsifying, but its not. If you can't read between the lines and understand non-verbal communication, you'd miss it entirely.
So I suppose that I may lose friends again with this blog. But I really have difficulty understanding the point of the pseudo-independent blog. The availability of expression does not necessarily require its use, nor does it make it valid.
No one in particular.
More often than not, blogs are populated by people who are willing to criticize from afar. With a large amount of polarity, these blogs claim to be calling out someone, but that individual(s) is usually not well known to them. Rather, its a person impersonalized by distance and namelessness. No one who could take offense, or really learn from the blog. It allows the pseudo-independent blogger the chance to flame on, but without offending anyone. But then, what's the point?
If you're trying to keep the peace with everyone around you, who's going to really care? Who's going to see that you have a backbone enough to say something? Who's going to learn anything from your blog? The pseudo-independent bloggers like to think they're literary contriteness is doing something, but its not - because its a kiss-ass to the ones he/she knows would read it - by trying not to offend those readers.
Now, I don't take the same approach. Hence, I've lost a few possible friendships along the way. That said, my friends who do read my blog have told me that they actually learn something. Okay, maybe very occasionally. Okay, maybe never. But they know that I stand for something. That I don't pander to political correctness nor do I falter into political genuflecting. If I don't like you, I won't. Nor will I need to.
There stands a chance that my attitude and my outright belligerence can alienate me from the rest of the world. I tend to think not. In fact, most people I know wouldn't even think that I have strong opinions. But beneath my veneer of politeness and professionalism, I absolutely state clearly my disdain, dislike, or disapproval of people. This may attract volleys of dishonesty and falsifying, but its not. If you can't read between the lines and understand non-verbal communication, you'd miss it entirely.
So I suppose that I may lose friends again with this blog. But I really have difficulty understanding the point of the pseudo-independent blog. The availability of expression does not necessarily require its use, nor does it make it valid.
posted by Richard at 5:58 PM
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