Grr

[ritaxis]

Look, we're grownups here. We each use these journals in different ways. My primary purpose for this journal is supposed to be talking about writing -- to keep me honest, as I'm supposed to keep track, not just of the writing, but of the marketing that's much harder to do and much harder to bring myself to do. Secondary purposes are: diarizing, rhapsodizing, working out what I think about things that are important to me, linking, and reading: I have a whole raft of RSS feeds from sites outside lj on my "friends" page (Iwish they'd call it a reading list or something).

My purposes do not including indulging in junior high school mob behavior. "Let's all do this" is occasionally interesting, but it's gotten ridiculous. People seem to think that demanding participation in a group posting thing is a substantive political act in itself. But: "If you believe in gay rights, put exactly these words in your journal, with exactly this subject header. If you don't believe in gay rights, just ignore this, thanks." Say what? "Write exactly this, or you're a homophobe?"

A jounral is not a street chant. It's not the place for everyone to say the same thing in the same words. It's dumb to demand it, and does nothing whatever to advance a movement or raise consciousness. The one where folks were asked to write a post on the topic of racism within a week or so, that was possibly helpful, and definitely interesting, and I was happy to participate.

But if you want me to show my support for something, don't ask me to repeat somebody else's exact words, unless we're marching down a main street ten abreast with signs and all, and give me a good, rhythmic slogan: then I'll help you rattle the windows.

Comments

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I agree completely about the mob posting. Aside from the annoyance of seeing entry after entry that's the same posting on my fl, I don't use my lj for that, so I wouldn't post such things unless they pertained to writing, anyway, so as you say, it looks like I'm against whatever unless I explain why I didn't post it. And it doesn't reveal anything about what the poster actually thinks, just of what the person who wrote the thing does and who knows where it started.

Plus, folks who read someone's lj likely already agree with them on most things. At least, I usually/often do and that's why I'm reading their ljs. Like minds attract or some such.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I like memes, and I'll do the funny kind, or the interesting kind - how do you write a book, what's your pirate name - I'm game.

I don't do the 'tag you're it' variants. I don't post them to my journal unless they're funny or say something about me that I think is fitting. And I dislike the 'if you're not doing as I say you're a nasty human being' kind as above.

Rysmiel said he's against 'gay rights' because he doesn't see why they should need a different set of rights to start with; and there's a lot of wisdom in that.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Rysmiel said he's against 'gay rights' because he doesn't see why they
should need a different set of rights to start with; and there's a lot of
wisdom in that.

Well, on the surface, anyway. But in real politics, involving real people, minorities need special protections. Just logistically -- if you don't set aside some effort to safeguard their rights, and give those rights a special name and some attention, they'll get steamrollered. Especially if you're going to try to have an effective democracy, where you have majority rules for a lot of procedures. You know that old thing about how the good Lord in his wisdom (or is its mercy? or justice?) allows the rich man and the poor man alike to sleep under a bridge (or is it in the field?) -- people have differential power, because they belong to certsain minorities, or because they belong to certain classes, or live in other definable conditions. In order for them to operate equally they need differential treatment.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I accept that, and it's something all women should be aware of - I am firmly wobbling along a line of wondering how much protection is necessary, and when it becomes patronising...