-
Website
http://andybeard.eu/ -
Original page
http://andybeard.eu/670/one-day-one-day-blog-silence-in-honor-of-the-victims-of-virginia-tech.html -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
I understand that public mourning (silence) is meant to promote introspection, empathy as well as respect towards the victim's families but I think collective thought and energy directed towards preventing future incidents is more beneficial.
That's just me I guess :)
Not blogging doesn't mean stop talking, there are also other mediums.
I also think it is important to show respect to my readers. this is an initiative that Steli is devoting a lot of time to, and it is an unselfish act. Such deeds deserve a mention.
I have seen comments elsewhere saying we should talk more. What they are missing is that this day of silence is two weeks away, and the blog echo chamber will have talked itself out, depending on how many political candidates decide to switch their preferences on gun laws over this and public opinion polls about whether they should switch to gain ground on a competitor.
That is a little cynical - I am a Brit and most "bobbies" have truncheons, and the crooks have crowbars. There was a huge scandal here in Poland a while back when a kid who didn't see a cop waving him down continued driving, and was shot dead.
I understand that public mourning (silence) is meant to promote introspection, empathy as well as respect towards the victim's families but I think collective thought and energy directed towards preventing future incidents is more beneficial.
That's just me I guess :)
Not blogging doesn't mean stop talking, there are also other mediums.
I also think it is important to show respect to my readers. this is an initiative that Steli is devoting a lot of time to, and it is an unselfish act. Such deeds deserve a mention.
I have seen comments elsewhere saying we should talk more. What they are missing is that this day of silence is two weeks away, and the blog echo chamber will have talked itself out, depending on how many political candidates decide to switch their preferences on gun laws over this and public opinion polls about whether they should switch to gain ground on a competitor.
That is a little cynical - I am a Brit and most "bobbies" have truncheons, and the crooks have crowbars. There was a huge scandal here in Poland a while back when a kid who didn't see a cop waving him down continued driving, and was shot dead.
I don't understand why people are being so difficult. If you don't like the idea I can understand that, you don't have to participate. What is the point of attacking people who do?
Right now the detractors are spending more time attacking the idea than discussing the issues surrounding this tragic event. If they truly believe discourse is the better avenue then why aren't they actually engaging in it?
I don't understand why people are being so difficult. If you don't like the idea I can understand that, you don't have to participate. What is the point of attacking people who do?
Right now the detractors are spending more time attacking the idea than discussing the issues surrounding this tragic event. If they truly believe discourse is the better avenue then why aren't they actually engaging in it?
Thank you for supporting the initiative, Andy.
Thank you for supporting the initiative, Andy.
"What is the point of attacking people who do?"
Daniel, I was attacing no one. Please read my comment again, I was just expressing my opinion and either way (blogging or being silence) I will remeber Virginia TECH.
"What is the point of attacking people who do?"
Daniel, I was attacing no one. Please read my comment again, I was just expressing my opinion and either way (blogging or being silence) I will remeber Virginia TECH.
You're comments were nothing but respectful, which is a refreshing change from some of the messages I've been dealing with today.
You're comments were nothing but respectful, which is a refreshing change from some of the messages I've been dealing with today.
Vlad a compromise like you speak of would work just as well. If people want to blog against violence on that day I think they should. What would be nice to see however is a small acknowledgement of those who are observing a silence. People grieve in different ways, at the very least we can be repectful to one another.
Collective actions by a large number of participants can effect social change. The U.S. civil rights movement in the 1950s is a good example of what happens when groups of people share similar objectives and speak out at the same time. There's power in collective social behavior.
What would happen if everyone blogged about their personal experiences or thoughts on violence in that one day? I'm sure this would have a large impact on numerous blog readers or internet users out there. A permanent post on a blog can lasts for years and the act of sharing or the statement against violence extends indefinitely across the social conscience, at least on the internet.
I totally respect the One day of Silence movement but given an option I would rather have a one day of protest. But like I've said, it's just my pro-active personality and this has always been my way of dealing with stuff like that.
Vlad a compromise like you speak of would work just as well. If people want to blog against violence on that day I think they should. What would be nice to see however is a small acknowledgement of those who are observing a silence. People grieve in different ways, at the very least we can be repectful to one another.
Collective actions by a large number of participants can effect social change. The U.S. civil rights movement in the 1950s is a good example of what happens when groups of people share similar objectives and speak out at the same time. There's power in collective social behavior.
What would happen if everyone blogged about their personal experiences or thoughts on violence in that one day? I'm sure this would have a large impact on numerous blog readers or internet users out there. A permanent post on a blog can lasts for years and the act of sharing or the statement against violence extends indefinitely across the social conscience, at least on the internet.
I totally respect the One day of Silence movement but given an option I would rather have a one day of protest. But like I've said, it's just my pro-active personality and this has always been my way of dealing with stuff like that.
I wonder if this day of silence would have been called if the event hadn't happened on US soil, to US citizens. I am NOT saying I begrudge them for this initiative... not at all. I support it completely.
But we should have the courage and honesty to acknowledge that this kind of carnage is happening DAILY in Iraq (to Iraqis), in Africa, against political dissidents in China, and so forth... and I don't see days of silence initiated for these.
And what is happening in, say, Iraq is no less obscene, no less painful for human beings, no less taxing on our sense of humanity... it's just not so "immediate".
The Iraqi situation doesn't get the day of silence because we're all "over it", which is to me as much a tragedy.
If the tragedy at VA Tech stops us blogging, then well and good. It may well be a very appropriate thing for many to do. But what about next week when we've done that and then another completely innocent 60-or-so Iraqis doing their daily shopping in a marketplace get blown up by a deeply disturbed suicide bomber?
My point is only to ask for people to weigh human lives on the SAME scales every time... not the scale of their own personal emotional response, but something more objective than that, where an Iraqi life (for example) weighs the same as a US one, or an Aussie one, and is honoured accordingly.
Again... I have no problems with this expression of grief/respect, but where are the similar blog(ger) memorials for innocent Iraqis slaughtered on a daily basis (for example)?
The imbalance of it all screams out at me, and I can't not say so.
-Alister
If anyone is going to flame anyone it will be me, and I will do it in a post.
I can relate to both sides of the argument and often wonder why my father-in-law goes hunting just once or twice a year to retain his hunting license.
I know people who have been out in Iraq, both from the UK and from Poland, and I can relate to all kinds of other issues as well.
In many ways for this post I am a conveyor of information, and at the same time taking a day off from blogging just means I will end up doing something else important, such as spending more time with my wife.
One thing to note, as a marketer and a blogger you quite often tune into the wavelength of your readers and customers.
I know that if I was to write a post about a Polish children's charity, I would hardly see any traffic or donations, but the moment I heard of the "hardship" of some internet marketers in New Orleans, I dropped $100 donation to a collection without thinking about it.
I wonder if this day of silence would have been called if the event hadn't happened on US soil, to US citizens. I am NOT saying I begrudge them for this initiative... not at all. I support it completely.
But we should have the courage and honesty to acknowledge that this kind of carnage is happening DAILY in Iraq (to Iraqis), in Africa, against political dissidents in China, and so forth... and I don't see days of silence initiated for these.
And what is happening in, say, Iraq is no less obscene, no less painful for human beings, no less taxing on our sense of humanity... it's just not so "immediate".
The Iraqi situation doesn't get the day of silence because we're all "over it", which is to me as much a tragedy.
If the tragedy at VA Tech stops us blogging, then well and good. It may well be a very appropriate thing for many to do. But what about next week when we've done that and then another completely innocent 60-or-so Iraqis doing their daily shopping in a marketplace get blown up by a deeply disturbed suicide bomber?
My point is only to ask for people to weigh human lives on the SAME scales every time... not the scale of their own personal emotional response, but something more objective than that, where an Iraqi life (for example) weighs the same as a US one, or an Aussie one, and is honoured accordingly.
Again... I have no problems with this expression of grief/respect, but where are the similar blog(ger) memorials for innocent Iraqis slaughtered on a daily basis (for example)?
The imbalance of it all screams out at me, and I can't not say so.
-Alister
If anyone is going to flame anyone it will be me, and I will do it in a post.
I can relate to both sides of the argument and often wonder why my father-in-law goes hunting just once or twice a year to retain his hunting license.
I know people who have been out in Iraq, both from the UK and from Poland, and I can relate to all kinds of other issues as well.
In many ways for this post I am a conveyor of information, and at the same time taking a day off from blogging just means I will end up doing something else important, such as spending more time with my wife.
One thing to note, as a marketer and a blogger you quite often tune into the wavelength of your readers and customers.
I know that if I was to write a post about a Polish children's charity, I would hardly see any traffic or donations, but the moment I heard of the "hardship" of some internet marketers in New Orleans, I dropped $100 donation to a collection without thinking about it.
Sometimes I wonder how he gets his message out so quickly. I got his e-mail only hours after the event took place.
Sometimes I wonder how he gets his message out so quickly. I got his e-mail only hours after the event took place.