Bloggers are supposed to quit when it no longer is, right?
I hope these are not absolute rules, because blogging is no fun at all when I am subjected to a relentless barrage of media bullshit. Why? Because, much as I'm glad to have this blog as a remedy for what Glenn recently called "preening, point-scoring irresponsibility," there's so much of it that it tends to overwhelm me. Surely, it can't be any more fun for readers to read my complaints about bias for the 1427th time than it is for me to write them?
Am I alone in thinking that it's a real drag to have to sit down and write another blog post every time I'm bothered by media bias?
It isn't fun. (Nor is seeing people blown up on subways.)
But does that mean I should quit?
There has to be some other remedy.
I'm not even thinking of quitting blogging, mind you. But I wrote this post because I just turned my television off after seeing some CNN expert pontificate about the usual need to "understand" the terrorists' anger. This made me very angry, and made me want to ask as politely as I can a question along the lines of, "Understand their anger? What about understanding my anger?"*
But the more I felt a creeping, probably misplaced sense of obligation (is "duty" a better word?) to address such questions, the more I was reminded of that little nagging phrase in which I try to believe: blogging is supposed to be fun.
How then, are war, terrorism, and the unending stream of media bias to be made fun?
I don't know, but I do know that I had fun turning off the damned TV.
The flow of preening, point-scoring irresponsibility immediately stopped.
And right now the birds are chirping outside!
(Preening, no doubt. But they're at war every bit as much as we all are.)
*ANOTHER QUESTION THAT'S NO FUN: If this is in fact a war, why should we keep asking questions like "Why do they hate us?"
I mean, shouldn't the enemies be the ones asking that question?
posted by Eric on 07.21.05 at 02:16 PM
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Comments
"Fun" is, perhaps, a mistaken word to use.
It may not be "fun" to blow off steam but it may be necessary.
It may not be "fun" to type a long post when your typing skills are sub par, but perhaps that practice will help in the long run.
It may not be "fun" to, well, write another stupid book review (*cough*) but at least it helps you keep track of your reading...
When somebody says that blogging is supposed to be fun, they are basically stating that blogging is not an obligation. However, the fact that it is not an obligation does not automatically mean it has to be fun. There are many reasons to blog, and it is only when the dread of writing another post outweighs those personal reasons that you should stop blogging.
"Understand their anger? What about understanding my anger?"
Exactly what I was thinking! -- and what I've been thinking ever since 9/11/2001.
Warblogging, political blogging, blogging about bi-ass in the media, is a good way to blow off steam, but it can get exasperating, too, especially as the supply of blood-boiling idiocy and treason seems inexhaustible. I hope you will forever continue blogging about eternal Classical Values, as you always have been doing. I need to get back to blogging about spectra, etc., as soon as I can.
It doesn't all have to be politics and society, after all.
Sigivaldr · July 21, 2005 05:53 PM
Actually, I'm starting to notice now, more so than previously, that pro-war bloggers are having less to say and the things they are saying have become a lot more visceral than cerebral.
Have you noticed? "Bastards" is the one-word summation most have done. The rest is disgust, aversion, or even overt anti-intellectualism. "Who cares why they hate us?"
The conversation, the debating has stopped. This is a crucial moment, maybe...
The pro-war bloggers have pretty much said all there is to be said about this War in the first few months after 9/11/2001, and there really isn't any more that can be said. How many more bombings, beheadings, and other butcheries will it take to convert those who weren't already converted that first day by the 3,000 who died in the World Trade Center? Ward Eichmann will be who he is, and those who agree with him will go on agreeing with him. Those who hate Bush more than they hate bin Laden will go on hating Bush more than they hate bin Laden. It's like arguing with Holocaust deniers. I don't know how Charles Johnson (Little Green Footballs) goes on. He has a stronger stomach than I do, obviously.
"Am I alone in thinking that it's a real drag to have to sit down and write another blog post every time I'm bothered by media bias?"
Sir, your frustration finds its source in the assumption that those with whom you disagree will respond rationally to your points.
One post notes, "Actually, I'm starting to notice now, more so than previously, that pro-war bloggers are having less to say and the things they are saying have become a lot more visceral than cerebral."
This is a logical response to the obtuse. If you've ever dealt with children with oppositional behaviors, you'll recognize the similarities between those and the petulant leftist barrage of opposition in the face of reasoned argument. Eventually, one tires of presenting reason to the unreasonable and decides it isn't worth the effort anymore.
Suggestion- Make your 'bias' posts without observation. Let your readers do the churning for a while.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
"Fun" is, perhaps, a mistaken word to use.
It may not be "fun" to blow off steam but it may be necessary.
It may not be "fun" to type a long post when your typing skills are sub par, but perhaps that practice will help in the long run.
It may not be "fun" to, well, write another stupid book review (*cough*) but at least it helps you keep track of your reading...
When somebody says that blogging is supposed to be fun, they are basically stating that blogging is not an obligation. However, the fact that it is not an obligation does not automatically mean it has to be fun. There are many reasons to blog, and it is only when the dread of writing another post outweighs those personal reasons that you should stop blogging.