Wednesday, April 25, 2007

What a concept...

I read a blog entry tonight that I really didn't like. It was the second time this week that that same blogger had said something that really put me off.

So rather than comment, either nicely or nastily (not that I'm in the habit of making nasty comments, but that response is certainly not unheard of in blogland), or go off on a diatribe on my own blog, I decided to just unsubscribe them from my Go*gle Read*r. So simple, so efficient. One button and poof, they're gone.

This does illustrate though how little we truly know other bloggers. I started reading this particular blog because its author was funny and asked some interesting questions. I would never have suspected how very different we were in certain fundamental beliefs. While I think the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same, and while I do value diversity and tolerance and love a good, open, RESPECTFUL debate of the issues, there are some worldviews that just leave me cold, and unable to find common ground. Today I saw one of those worldviews.

Some bloggers, like Tertia, let it all hang out so to speak. Others speak honestly but use pseudonyms. Still others talk only of fluff. Most though, find their own way somewhere in the middle. Like an old Billy Joel song, we all have a stranger inside ourselves. Some things we share, some we hold secret. Blogging gives those stranger aspects of ourselves an outlet though, a way of choosing who and what we want to be at any given moment. I tend to blog pretty openly because that's the kind of person I am, but there are some aspects of my life I don't choose to share. I wouldn't use this platform to share the gory details of a fight with my husband because I believe that things like that should remain private (and of course because he reads my blog ;-). Hi honey.) I wouldn't share something that would humiliate my family or anyone I care about. I wouldn't share the name of my town. Others draw the line in different places, some further in, some further out. Either way, we need to remember that reading a blog is not the same as living with someone day in and day out. A blog is just a narrow slice of someone's life. Sometimes we just "click" with another blogger and know without a doubt that we're twins separated at birth. Other times, like today, we read something and wonder how much we ever knew them at all...

In any case, as for the blogger who prompted this introspection, sayonara baby. It's not worth my time or energy to either debate you or allow myself to get dragged down by what you say.

7 comments:

Space Mom said...

Yes, sometimes it is easier to walk away...

And I apologise in advance for my gloating when the Sabres beat the Rangers...

Robin said...

Them's fightin' words! We are WAYYYYY overdue for some serious butt kicking. And, when the Rangers have previously swept their series they've gone on to the finals. (Not saying a word about how often or how long ago LOL...)

Fairly Odd Mother said...

How insecure am I? I had to run over to my blog, read my last (totally bland) post, and let out a sigh of relief that you had commented. LOL!

Yes, I thought you were offended that we were participating in TV Turnoff Week. How dare we???

I've had to do the same and it was with a very big blogger who everyone reads. You know, we are both surviving just fine without each other. And, my blood pressure is lower too.

Robin said...

LOL. Not to worry FOM, you're in the clear ;-). Unless of course you decide to root for the Sabres tonight too...

Janet said...

Hooray for you for just walking away...sometimes, that's the most difficult thing!

Lady G~ said...

Like "fairly odd mother", I had went back to my blogs to check them out. I don't think I wrote anything that could hurt anyone's feelings. At least I hope not.

I do agree with you. I've stopped visiting certain blogs because I realized that we really didn't have as much in common as I had thought. Now this doesn't mean that I'm narrow minded and people are suppose to think just like I do. But some are just itching to debate and are not willing to agree to disagree.

My blogs are mainly to share a little about my life. Sharing what has helped us along our journey, in hopes of helping others out. Also to keep family and friends up to date with our family.

I always enjoy visiting you. No fluff here. Just heart to heart sharing. :o)

Robin said...

Believe me, if anyone out there is questioning what you could have written that might have been offensive, it wasn't you. This was pretty clear cut and very hard to miss. Very surprising too given what had come before. I'm not going to out them or give any specifics, but believe me, if you're sensitive enough to question whether it was you, it wasn't :-).

And LadyG, I always like visiting you too. I really enjoy the way your love for your family shines through in every post, and how much in love you and your husband still seem to be after so many years. You always put a smile on my face.