..is when so-called experts about disability (are there any? I've never met one) analyze the blogs of those with disabilities- right online in their blogs. It usually happens after I've participated in a group blogging event and someone feels the need to sum up their experience about reading our diverse and varied posts from an expert point of view.
It feels objectifying.
Can't stop folks from doing it. Just sayin'.
It's very different than when people link to a post and talk about it. It's when they (appear to) take an expert POV about ALL the participants, lumping everyone together. In my not so humble opinion, not only is their analysis wrong, but it's usually incomplete- and misses the point of much of what our blogs are about.
Why? Well take one post off of anyone's blog out of hundreds and how much do you know about that blogger? And then to compound that error by making conclusions about diverse groups of bloggers - well, I guess either people will agree or not with what I'm saying.
But there is also the fact that blogging is not a static activity. I blog, I read comments, I blog again- I read other peoples' blogs. Think of it like a water cooler. Opinions change because we are in the process of being (I hope!) It's a dynamic process. I just hate to see it reduced down to generalizations from the reading of one, two, three posts of a few bloggers.
Of course, the reality in this world is there are more pundits than the people they talk about. So maybe in a way, it's flattery.
Ack, I could do without it.
But as Sartre said: Everything has been figured out, except how to live.
5 comments:
I'm not giving my name but I stopped blogging because of stuff like this.
Somebody interpreted what I said and from that one post I got so much grief that it wasn't worth the aggravation. It wasn't people who had the same disability who did it. They didn't understand the point I was making.
Thanks for your comment. (I do put up anonymous comments btw). Feel free to comment any time here . Sorry that happened to you.
There will always be smart alecks out there who think they know more than everyone else.
I have had non-disabled people who told me that my understanding on disability-related issues are flawed based on their experience in interacting with their disabled relatives.
I may not be correct all the time but to counter my supposedly flawed points with even more flawed arguments does not make make that person more right and I more wrong.
I have learnt that it is best to ignore these people and continue to speak our mind on issues affecting us without fear or favour.
Ruth, I so appreciate what you say. I have been fortunate to have mostly positive and encouraging comments. The blog process for me has been a huge boost in growth professionally and as a human being. I have been able to let go of my harshness on myself and allow myself to "be" with the disability I have. My blog and the AT Carnival, my blog talk radio, etc. all are ways for me to find my place and try to inform others. I had a fellow blogger IM me in tears because she had been blasted.
I told her to think of all those who appreciated her and to allow the other to cool down. I get random spam-like comments to approve that I delete because they are mean and spiteful - by people who are crude numb-skulls. They can destroy the world while you attempt to make it beautiful. Thanks for not giving up.
Lon
Thanks for your comments.
One thing I'd like to point out here is that this was about comments on a group event as opposed to one of my posts as an individual.
Sometimes the dialog toward inclusion means naming things and having a dialog about reactions of people . Growth pains can feel uncomfortable. And even though we may not all agree on what approach is best, the important thing to me is that no one who communicates respectfully is silenced. Disagreeing is one thing: attempting to silence people is another.
This particularly applies to those who struggle to find their voice.
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