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Throat Punch Thursday ~ When Bloggers Attack Edition

by Deborah Cruz

Throat Punch Thursday~when bloggers attack edition, Dooce, heather armstrong, India, Social media,moms, blogging. bloggersThroat Punch Thursday ~ When Bloggers Attack Edition

Yesterday, I caught a tweet between bloggers referring to the Guardian’s article about Heather Armstrong’s ( @Dooce) trip to Bangladesh with Every Mother Counts. Of course, I read the article and to my dismay it was a condescending piece of crap. I have been following Heather’s recount of her trip to Bangladesh on her blog. I have been touched by the photos, moved by her words and called to action by what she saw.

But the Guardian article basically threw bloggers, and Heather Armstrong in particular, under the theoretical bus as being pompous westerners who have no business and no understanding of the situation. We are humans. We have empathy and compassion.  No worries that we need to be warned  “bloggers are firmly discouraged from poking paupers with sticks and asking people to wave their stumps for the cameras”. We may not be rich enough to save the world with our money, nor do we pretend to be but we have a reach. We have followers who listen to what we say and if we can bring a situation that needs attention to the light, what is wrong with that? We are trying to make a difference. We are proactive. Heather Armstrong is being the change she wants to see in the world. She got up off her ass and made the trip to Bangladesh to experience the situation firsthand so that she could give an honest , firsthand experience to the world. Obviously, this all disgusted me. It seemed to hurt and outrage Heather, as was evident on Twitter. I don’t blame her. What joy do journalists get from spewing condescending comments geared towards bloggers like venom? Does it make them feel better about themselves? Do they think it’s funny? So, to the Guardian..oh yeah, and especially you Rowan Davies, you get a Throat Punch for being a completely condescending, not checking your facts asshole.

Throat Punch Thursday ~ When Bloggers Attack Edition

 


As I was reading Liz at Mom 101 perfectly written and poised post about WHY bloggers share the stories, I was touched by the support and the community we bloggers have with one another, for one another. She touched on how we can make a change in the world and how the world changes us, from a personal perspective. I thought to myself “Thank God, a voice of reason. Retribution and understanding!”

But then the day got even more bizarre. I came in on the middle of a Twitter conversation between Heather Armstrong and Anna Viele ( ABDPBT). I have read both ladies and think they are both good bloggers, in their own right. I’m not going to comment on the conversation because I don’t know all the facts, all I know is that it got really ugly really fast. There was hurtful things said and not really by the two involved, it was more by the people watching it go down and throwing in their two cents. I thought two grown women should be able to handle their own disagreement. I’ve been the one attacked for having the unpopular opinion, so I know how that feels. No BUENO!

I guess my qualm is with the fact that we lost sight of the original issue. We, as bloggers, should have been supportive of one of our own going forth into the world and trying to make the world a better place rather than attacking one another and taking sides about semantics. And if there is a disagreement to be had, have it in the privacy of email or DM. Why do it so publicly? It only stands to humiliate and anger. I understand completely, Heather and Jon taking a stance on the situation, as it was directly pertaining to their lives.  They have every right to defend themselves against insults. But what was all the name calling by people who I am not sure were aware of what the original issue was ( people who were not directly involved int he conversation)…the condescending and nonfactual article by the Guardian! So, again, I am giving ANOTHER Throat Punch to the Guardian for inciting a riot within our blogging community. Can’t we all just get along and spread bloggers peace to the world?

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12 comments

Mrs. Jen B 2011/06/30 - 2:06 pm

That argument last night got ugly, fast. Fact is I think there was more than a little bit of old animosity involved that that article and the comments which resulted were just adding fuel to the fire. I don’t think that there will ever be peace and harmony in any group of people where there are clear “stars”, like Dooce, who are so widely-known, and anyone “less” than that. I think it stopped being about the article very quickly.

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Truthful Mommy 2011/06/30 - 2:15 pm

Jen,
Exactly, I don’t know their history nor is it my business but I ws so outraged about how the article was written that the rest confused the hell outta me. I really do wish we could all stand united rather than turn on one another. Who does that benefit? No one, right?

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Missy | The Literal Mom 2011/06/30 - 5:38 pm

I came into Twitter in the middle of the “fight.” I was amazed by their open argument. It was my first “twitter fight.” Kind of like watching two people going at it on the street or something, wanting to jump in and say, “everyone stop!” But not knowing quite how to do that. Needless to say, it was an interesting night last night.

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Truthful Mommy 2011/07/01 - 4:09 pm

I think Heather had every right to be angry and defend herself from the flippant comments.I think its really sad that you do something good with a pure heart and people jump in to twist it and make it dirty or insincere.

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Christine @ Quasi Agitato 2011/07/01 - 1:53 pm

A to the men. I have been enjoying Dooce’s series on her trip. I find it hard to imagine how anyone could have a legitimate beef with it. Or her. Stupidness.

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Truthful Mommy 2011/07/01 - 3:29 pm

Yeah, thats the problem. I don’t think that it was a legitimate beef at all. The article was condescending and the Twitter attack seemed petty and personal ( but I missed the beginning of the conversation so I can’t really speak to that) but to me, it feel personal.

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Dana K 2011/07/01 - 9:10 pm

I don’t follow either blogger on Twitter (had never even heard of the one chick), but I did read Mom101’s article defending Heather & the trip. I won’t speak to the Twitter debacle because nobody came up smelling like roses (this is from a complete outsider).

However, the original article was completely dismissive of bloggers, in general. As if we can’t go on a humanitarian trip and behave ourselves and be respectful to the culture. I did see where the author of the article more or less agreed that she should have confirmed with Heather before insinuating that the trip was paid for, but that doesn’t change the tone of the entire article. It was pretty offensive.

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Renee 2011/07/02 - 9:15 am

This is a small note, but Bangladesh is not India. Sorry, its a pet peeve as I live in Bangladesh. It is part of the Indian Sub Continent, but has not been part of India since 1947.

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Truthful Mommy 2011/07/02 - 10:21 am

Thank you for pointing that out and teaching me something that I was not aware of:) I will correct it as such! Thanks again for stopping by and commenting.

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Leighann 2011/07/02 - 1:37 pm

I didn’t see the argument, however, I completely agree that arguments and disagreements need to be kept OFF of twitter

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Coolwhipmom 2011/07/02 - 3:20 pm

You know it’s funny that you bring this up. Because I think that there seems to be a perceived difference in the media between bloggers and journalists. As if somehow the stories that journalists tell are more “true” because they have the backing of a newspaper or magazine behind them. But the truth is, it’s kind of neat to be involved in the blogging movement. Because it’s grassroots. We all start out writing just for ourselves. Sure, some bloggers eventually get sponsored, but all blogs start out as just a person who wants to talk openly about what they believe. As blogging grows, the lines between blogs and journalism are becoming blurred. Some bloggers are more powerful than journalists. Maybe that is at the core of why there is some animosity of journalists toward bloggers. Silly, but true. The world of social media is becoming more and more powerful by the minute. And no amount of trashing bloggers is going to stop this.

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