"When I look at my blog stats, I notice that the vast majority of people who read don’t comment, and it just always leaves me wondering what they get out of it or how, if at all, it affects them."fannie from Alas, a Blog
If I'm unfamiliar with what's being discussed, I don't comment. That doesn't mean I don't get anything out of reading blogs. To the contrary, I get quite a bit, especially when I don't have other resources. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here. Also I'm bad at expressing anger effectively online, and I don't want that to come across as complacency, though not responding at all, I guess, is pretty complacent. Only recently have I begun to consider that being able to walk away from a discussion is a form of privilege. This, from La Lubu, was pretty eye-opening: "The power to ignore others is a very effective means for shutting them down."
Granted being a small-time blogger with an audience you can count one hand is a lot different than being an editor of a big-time blog with a large and diverse community, and ignoring your readers when they saying "Hey, something isn't right here," or "I feel threatened/silenced/ignored" is far, far different from being a reader who opts of active participation, but does it, at some point, become disingenuous?
I think I'm still figuring out -- at least within the activist blog world -- when I should and shouldn't talk. A few months ago, a blogger I respect was taking crap from a commentariat unwilling to listen. I wanted to jump in, but I didn't want it to look like I was "coming to her rescue." I hate when people -- especially those privileged on axes I'm not -- "defend" me. My voice is pretty insignificant. And I don't say that in a self-defeating way, it's just the truth and a sad reality even in spaces that are supposed to be progressive.
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