{"id":3762,"date":"2014-10-09T17:19:54","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T21:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/?p=3762"},"modified":"2014-12-28T22:11:03","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T03:11:03","slug":"its-my-blog-and-ill-panic-if-i-want-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2014\/10\/its-my-blog-and-ill-panic-if-i-want-to.html","title":{"rendered":"It’s My Blog and I’ll Panic if I Want To"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

If I had a penny for every time someone asked me to stop blogging about something, I would be able to build a life-sized replica of the Statue of Liberty out of them.<\/p>\n

That may be a slight exaggeration, but it\u2019s really only a slight one. The amount that people either ask or order bloggers to\u00a0 stop blogging about something really boggles the mind.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just me, either. Every single blogging friend I have has been asked at least multiple times to stop blogging about something for some reason or other. And every time I hear that, I am mystified.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if this is some big secret or what, but there is this remarkable feature on the internet:<\/p>\n

\"large-cursor-size-mac\"<\/a>
If you have a PC, it\u2019s the same symbol (X) but on the right hand side. Universal power to stop reading my stupid words is now yours.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As it happens, blogs are all just people blabbing about whatever they want to blab about. Some people do this professionally; some people do it for funsies; some people do it to destabilize the foundations of society. But all these people have one thing in common \u2014 they are speaking into a void, until someone starts listening. Whatever power a blogger has to shape the narrative of a tiny slice of the internet is the power you\u2019ve handed to him or her by clickety-clicking through their words every day. If you hate a blogger, or wish she would, say, stop talking about Ebola, the most effective strategy is to click that red X of GTFO.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, blog readers. You have had the power all along to ignore the ever-loving crap out of me. You can click me out of your virtual existence without even hurting my feelings, and we\u2019ll both be better off for it!<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t both be better off if you get into my combox and start admonishing me to blog about something else. That\u2019s the least effective strategy, because even though 99.9% of the time I ignore it, it irritates the sh*t out of me 100% of the time.<\/p>\n

Because here\u2019s the deal: my blog is my turf, yo. It\u2019s public turf, like a blacktop instead of a fortress, so I can handle attacks and disagreements and vicious Freejinger forums. But it\u2019s still my<\/em> turf, and I\u2019m neurotic, anxiety-ridden, and overly fond of both swear words and my gay friends. I don\u2019t play well with people who come onto my turf and tell me to stop being me, unless you\u2019re my editor, my mother, or my husband. And even then, you\u2019ve only got a 50\/50 chance that I\u2019ll listen. (Sorry Mom. I promise not to swear for the next 10 posts*.)<\/p>\n

Blogs aren\u2019t usually for broadcasting facts. They\u2019re for broadcasting opinions and GIFs. You might think I have the wrong opinion. Tell me that. Tell me why! Call me a stupidhead! But don\u2019t tell me not to broadcast my opinion while simultaneously broadcasting yours.<\/p>\n

Let me put it this way: imagine I\u2019m a kangaroo, and I have claimed ownership of a certain street. You can come onto my street and yell, snark, or civilly disagree all you want. But if you come onto my street and say, \u201cyou can\u2019t have this street, because this is a human street and you\u2019re a kangaroo and you\u2019re ruining everything with your stupid jumpy feet,\u201d I might just have to throw down and remind you that you too are a kangaroo.<\/p>\n