Disclaimer
Let’s get something straight. I am not one of these people who goes around criticizing and correcting people in public. In fact, I think doing so is damn rude. There was a post on this blog that I have deleted because some personal criticisms were being made in the comment section. (It’s probably a very bad precedent to set; it allows people to push me around on my own blog. But I’m setting it anyway.)
I would like this blog to be a place where we can trade ideas and disagree on occassion. I will not allow it to be a place where people simply critisize without adding to the conversation. I’m open to constructive criticism in the proper forum. This is not the proper forum. The proper forum might be in a private email or it might be in a private conversation; that’s up to peoples’ individual judgement. I know I’m screwed up; so’s everybody else. And most of us in the world– including me– have an easy time seeing where others are messy and a tough time seeing where we are.
I conduct conversations on blogs with people who say what seems to me plain stupid or straight-up heresy. I read blogs by people who call all Christians words which I would not repeat; I read blogs by people who write what I believe to be complete heresy; I read blogs by people who are different from me in their religion, sexuality, politics, and morality. I read blogs by people who are total hypocrites (like me, like everybody). Never have I felt the need to personally critisize any of them. I read the post, and if it speaks to me, one way or another, I respond. I don’t always agree. But I do always thoughtfully address the questions asked, and not the other person’s personality, actions, or worth.
If you don’t like my blog, avoid reading it. If you don’t like certain conversations with me, avoid having them. If that means that you really just can’t be around me at all, avoid me. Hopefully some day we’ll all meet each others’ high standards but today is not that day.
Grace,
-Mel
October 5th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Very well put.
October 5th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
i agree. very well put, indeed…
October 5th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
Deana, how’s England!?! How are Max and his Monsters? Hope you guys are having fun.
-Mel
October 5th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
home now…it was GREAT!!!
October 6th, 2006 at 8:46 am
I admit to never seeing the entry or offensive comments in question, but my impressions are thus: apparently the only people at fault here are those who would be offended because their completely legitimate line of work has been likened to prostitution, and therefore respond with insults to what they obviously took as an insult (fire with fire and all that). However, blame on the original insult remains as absent as an apology for it.
I hope I’m way off here.
October 6th, 2006 at 9:51 am
The comments, which by the way did not make it through the censors I have set up (meaning that I had to look at them and approve them before they would even appear here), were profane and obscene in content.
I think it can safely be said that they were offensive, within both the legal and societal sense of the phrase.
-Mel
October 6th, 2006 at 9:53 am
By the way, shameless plug for using Vox as your web log of choice: does your web log allow you to set up censors for certain words? Very handy in keeping out Spam!
October 6th, 2006 at 11:47 am
I’m certainly not defending any highly offensive comments made. That’s not cool.
Calling my work prostitution is also not cool.
Maybe I missed the apology part.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Yeah, sorry, the apology was in a comment I made to the original post, which I forgot to include in the new post after I deleted the other thread.
-Mel
October 6th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Cool.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good writing.
October 7th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
oh man, i missed the whole drama and i hate when people don’t know how to discuss things properly in a blog setting. keep up the good work
October 10th, 2006 at 2:18 am
apparently i missed all that fun, but way to stand up for yourself. it’s YOUR blog. and i just go with the protected posting on my blogs… that way nobody can comment unless i’ve allowed them to.