Voices of Dissent...

...are as unwelcome in the blog world as in the real world. Free speech, to that extent, is a myth...You don't agree ? Well, try browsing through the comments section in any blog...You will mostly find readers (again most blogs have a very captive audience...at least as far as posting comments go) either lauding the writing style or sympathising with the writer. There is never a dissenting voice. And, the odd dissenting voice is ferociously silenced by the blogger as well as the supporters with statements ranging from "You don't understand what is being talked about" to "This is for my friends, (read, supporters) if you don't agree with my views stay away" ...

Agreed, if your opinion is different from what is expressed in the blog, they usually don't resort to physical violence like some totally intolerant people in the real world do...but, that's all...the tolerance levels do not even extend to the level of 'agreeing to disagree'... I wonder what is the logic that prompts a person to put some content in an open forum and then suddenly recoil and hide under "you are invading my privacy" when a voice of dissent pops up... Isn't an online -access restricted - diary a better medium for these people? I wonder !!!

I think, ultimately, blogs are just a reflection of a certain cross section of our society. And as long as the tolerance levels in our society does not improve, it is just wishful thinking to assume that the blog world is any different !!!

P.S. Well, there are always exceptions, but as they say, the exceptions just prove the rule !!!

Comments

b v n said…
Agree with you on the low tolerance level, but then blog is a personal space....nobody puts a gun on yr face and ask you to read their blog. if you like a blog..put a comment... otherwise just smile or frown and pass. Mind you, its not one of those sites that ask for your Credit Card number :))
Sarah said…
"Free speech, to that extent, is a myth"....

Stanley Fish wrote that, there is no such thing as free speech.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say whatever you want, without being silenced( borrowing your words)

State or the individual does have the right to make it more costlier/difficult for someone to make comments claiming that they have the right to speak.

In US, even with first amendment rights, you will still be charged for hate speech, so does Most of the European countries!

Freedom of speech was provided,in pursuit of truth, to encourage and disseminate knowledge, not as a tool used to dictate what another person should do/speak/act etc

Just as you have the right to speak, so does the blog owner have the right to answer directly to your comment.
It is a two way street.
Regards to if someone should just a write a Diary or a blog?
Don't you think the writer has a choice and can chose what they want to?
Sarah
Anonymous said…
I dissent...for the heck of it... :):):)
Tinkerbells said…
@bvn: didn't quite get the link between free speech and credit cards :P On a more serious note, I was just trying to analyse how personal is an open forum like a blog?
@sarah: Truth is...Every coin has two sides :)
@Anon: You brought back memories of some amazing friends with whom I have had long hours of intellectual discussions
b v n said…
the sites that take your credit card number owe you something and you have your rights there. But when comments are free its the perogative of the blog owner who has spend time setting it up to react in what ever way he wants. I agree with you on the invasion of privacy side - there is no privacy.then again, blog is not a newspaper article which ppl pay to read,as they say 'blog is a man's castle'. Blog is a medium where comments need to be allowed which is its basic funda, but then comment at yr own risk.
Sasi Kumar said…
i agree to what u've said but i do think some sort of moderation is necessary to prevent spammers from misusing this nice feature of blogger.

yeah but opinions expressed should be published even though they differ from yours.
Tinkerbells said…
@bvn:if blog is a man's castle, then I wonder, does the king (queen) believe in dictatorship or democracy:P?
@sasi kumar: welcome here...I am not talking about publishing opinions...most blogs do...I am talking about an openness to 'agree to disagree' rather than hush the dissenting voice.

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