Damage Control

It seems things got a little heated in the comments on my last post. I suppose, given the sensitivity of the subject, and of related subjects, it’s not surprising. To be clear, I would like to say that the opinions expressed in the comments section are not necessarily those held by the blog owner (that’d be me). However, I would also like to say that having read the comments, I have tried to look from each persons perspective and I think I understand where each of the parties were coming from. I’m of the opinion that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We all come from different backgrounds and different experiences - this is what our feelings and views on any subject is based on. I think it is important to be able to respect this even when someone’s opinion or view may be contrary to our own and may also be personally hurtful.

That being said, I also believe in a person’s right to stand up for themselves, to express their anger if they’ve been hurt, and to respond to the individual or group who they feel have overstepped the bounds. As this is my blog, a forum in which I express my opinions on a range of subjects, I fully expect that not everyone will be pleased or agree with the things that I say. If people want to respond to something I post, I welcome the comment and am glad to open up discussions.

I do feel some responsibility for the comments section because what I write is the catalyst that prompts the first comment and it flows from there. I’m pretty open with my comments policy because I do believe in free speech (with some exceptions - I will not tolerate threats, racial slurs, discrimination based on sexual preference, etc - I don’t believe any of these are necessary to get one’s point across). While I find it unfortunate that anyone was upset by any comments (or if anyone was upset by anything I wrote), I will ask that commenters refrain from name calling or personal attacks on other commenters. I understand completely that sometimes anger can make it nearly impossible to self edit, however, any such comments made in future will be deleted. I certainly don’t want it to appear that I don’t respect the validity of any commenters feelings or that what they say may well be the true view of the person making the comment, but this is my blog. If anyone is going to call some one an idiot (fucking or otherwise), it will be me.



Note: I did have an entirely different post in mind for the follow up to the last one but I felt I should respond to what had happened. I’ll be posting that in the next day or so, if anyone cares to check back.