Quite some time ago, I was struck by the irony of some posts on Facebook. People had joined the United States of America fan page in order to post on the bulletin board about how much they hated the United States of America. You will not see me signed up as a fan of things I do not like. You will not find me reading the New York Times or visiting TheBlaze.com or in possession of Mein Kampf because I do not support the people involved therein or the ideas they present. While I have read books like Rules for Radicals and the Communist Manifesto, you will not see me quoting them in support of my ideas or discussing them excitedly because I disprove of their content and character.
About a year ago when I started posting my own thoughts on my Facebook every other day or so, I started to lose friends. The first of these of whom I was aware continued to post contrary and argumentative comments that bordered on flaming. As moderator, I decided to silence his ability to post to my wall. He eventually left. My facebook, my blog, my website, my journal, etc., are all mine to do with as I wish as long as I am moral, legal, and ethical. I cannot conceive of anything I have written to offend anyone, at least not on purpose, but if I have, let me know and I will be happy to give you satisfaction and make restitution for wrongs, true or imagined, occassioned by the foibles of youth. Don't key my car, block me from messenger, or libel me on the Facebook walls of other friends. I cannot fix a problem if I do not know you are offended.
You have thoughts, ideas, and opinions every day too. Much of what you do is relevant only to the moment or 'shop talk' that isn't easily understood by people in other fields. Occassionally, you may say something that shocks you and share it with someone else who wasn't there. How is what I do any different except that I do it all the time? What people say of your decor (even on blogs and Facebook) tells you more about them than it does about you. I have never tried to offend anyone on purpose. Only people who do not know what they think or want can honestly be affected by what I say. Others will acknowledge it and move along when they finish with anything of value they take from it.
We've all recently been deluged by Harry Potter mania. Who decided that what JK Rowling had to say was any more important than what you have to say? People have paid her franchise $5.5 billion in merchandising for a bit of fiction that isn't really very intellectual or inventive. Someone or some people decided that it was worth reading and sold it to others, and now she has the last laugh, because until this started, she was a british welfare recipient barely eeking out an existence. Moreover, what of Chaucer or Melville or Shakespeare? Who decided that their stuff was good? Shakespeare struggled very hard to sell his plays, and I'm sure people thought he was delusional or arrogant to think he could sell those stories.
If you don’t like what I have to say and think I’m arrogant, why do you read my status updates? I don’t force you to look at my Facebook or read this blog. I do what I do here so that instead of “I feel like fish and chips” or “I am headed to see Harry Potter LXXII” you can read something substantive.
About a year ago when I started posting my own thoughts on my Facebook every other day or so, I started to lose friends. The first of these of whom I was aware continued to post contrary and argumentative comments that bordered on flaming. As moderator, I decided to silence his ability to post to my wall. He eventually left. My facebook, my blog, my website, my journal, etc., are all mine to do with as I wish as long as I am moral, legal, and ethical. I cannot conceive of anything I have written to offend anyone, at least not on purpose, but if I have, let me know and I will be happy to give you satisfaction and make restitution for wrongs, true or imagined, occassioned by the foibles of youth. Don't key my car, block me from messenger, or libel me on the Facebook walls of other friends. I cannot fix a problem if I do not know you are offended.
You have thoughts, ideas, and opinions every day too. Much of what you do is relevant only to the moment or 'shop talk' that isn't easily understood by people in other fields. Occassionally, you may say something that shocks you and share it with someone else who wasn't there. How is what I do any different except that I do it all the time? What people say of your decor (even on blogs and Facebook) tells you more about them than it does about you. I have never tried to offend anyone on purpose. Only people who do not know what they think or want can honestly be affected by what I say. Others will acknowledge it and move along when they finish with anything of value they take from it.
We've all recently been deluged by Harry Potter mania. Who decided that what JK Rowling had to say was any more important than what you have to say? People have paid her franchise $5.5 billion in merchandising for a bit of fiction that isn't really very intellectual or inventive. Someone or some people decided that it was worth reading and sold it to others, and now she has the last laugh, because until this started, she was a british welfare recipient barely eeking out an existence. Moreover, what of Chaucer or Melville or Shakespeare? Who decided that their stuff was good? Shakespeare struggled very hard to sell his plays, and I'm sure people thought he was delusional or arrogant to think he could sell those stories.
If you don’t like what I have to say and think I’m arrogant, why do you read my status updates? I don’t force you to look at my Facebook or read this blog. I do what I do here so that instead of “I feel like fish and chips” or “I am headed to see Harry Potter LXXII” you can read something substantive.
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