Robert Scoble, who blogs for Microsoft, has been blogging about from a stroke, and how that s changed him. In addition to being a superb post, he touches on the unfortunate amount of hostility sometimes found in blog comments.
I m glad I went through this personal time after my mom s stroke.
It helped me refocus on what s important and what my blog means to me. This blog is mine. It is what I m thinking about, and what I m seeing in my life.
It isn t a news article. I am not vetted. It isn t done by a committee.
I am not being held to any standards.
On the other hand, I don t like the lynch mob. It s going to take a strong blogger to stand up against hundreds of blogs who are urging action one way.
But, we need that kind of diversity of ideas if we are going to make this a truly strong media.
The lynch mob. Maybe it s because I m an antiwar organizer and more used to such things, but they re just part of the background.
You don t have to focus on them. And don t take it personally either.
There s something about posting comments on blogs and boards that brings out the worst in people.
They ll say things they d never say in person to you. That fire-breathing dragon in the comments sometimes turns out to be an introverted nebbish in person.
You can, of course, delete comments.
I deleted a multitude of them recently on an immigrant rights thead. There s no need to respond to attacks either, unless, of course, you want to or have a witty putdown for them.
At antiwar protests, some will go up to counter-demonstrators and try to convince them to change their mind.
Why bother? If they re hardcore enough to be there, you won t change them. Work the middle instead.
Best advice: Talk to those who want to listen. You may want to take a look at the NY Review of Books this week. It has an by Michael Massing on the controversy that has arisen as a result of the Mearshimer-Walt article challenging the Israeli lobby.
Look in particular who AIPAC contributes to, and you may understand why the Dems have been so quiet on the Middle East.
Hmmm, many of us in the antiwar movement have understood that for quite a while and know all about AIPAC!
The centerpiece of US policy in the Middle East has been its unwavering support for Israel, and that this has not been in America s best interest.
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