I guess with all of the craft projects I have going on, and all of the little decorating sprees I’ve been doing… you would think I would have more to blog about. The problem is… well… I want to blog about controversial things – and at the same time I don’t.
I guess that is the problem with believing that every one is entitled to their own opinions, and sensitive at the same time. I don’t have a problem saying “I think xyz is right…” or with other’s saying “I think ABC is right!” It’s when there is some sort of conflict in between. When people can’t respect others’ opinions – I just can’t handle it.
I have strong feelings about a lot of things. Breastfeeding, being a stay at home mom, not supporting companies that openly discriminate against people, etc. But the thing is… those strong feelings really only apply to my life. I feel strongly that breastfeeding is the best thing for me and my baby. I feel that being a stay at home mom is the best thing I can do for my family. I haven’t eaten those yummy waffle fries in since before I was pregnant (over two years), because I do not support their business practices. This really has nothing to do with what other people do. In fact, when my Mom hopped in my car the other day with a nice cold lemonade it made me salivate and I almost stopped to get some for myself… until I realized I needed to zip home and let the dogs out. For the record I also don’t shop at a certain super center/grocery store with a smiley face logo because of their business practices.
I think my problem is that my facebook feed has become this long list of people talking about chicken sandwiches and it makes me hungry, which then puts me in a foul mood, partially because I’m hungry and partially because some people are just down right obnoxious. You’re gay? That’s nice. You’re not? Ok – that’s nice too. You bought chicken sandwiches just to support this business? Glad you’re standing up for what you believe in! You think I’m ridiculous for not supporting them? Well… hm. ok.
This turned into those darn chicken sandwiches.
Not where I meant to go.
I guess my point is – I’m scared to write about what I think on my own blog because I’m scared that other people will say mean things to me.
I guess I’m a bit of a wimp.
I’m also impressed by Grace over at her blog Opinionation. I find that I don’t always agree with what she writes, but am jealous that she can so openly voice her opinions. Part of my problem is that I personally know a lot of the people that read my blog, and I worry what they would think of me. Meh. In the mean time I will stick to baby pictures and home decor.
Ginny, playing inside of my childhood toy box that is now in her room.
Have you blogged about chicken sandwiches or anything else controversial? Did you get meany comments? How do you deal with it?
Friday, August 10th, 2012, 6:14 pm | 
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August 11, 2012 at 11:08 am
Hey, thanks for the kind words. That’s actually one of the reasons I blog anonymously (well, theoretically; obviously real anonymity is not possible on the Internet), because I thought otherwise I’d worry too much about offending people. Mean comments don’t bother me because the people making them are obviously too stupid/ignorant to have a valid opinion: those with good points to make (even if they think I’m totally wrong) aren’t personally insulting.
You should do whatever you’re comfortable with of course; but if you can, I think it would be great to be more open. That’s because generally in life conversations on topics like chicken sandwiches are dominated by the shrillest and intellectually laziest (since thoughtful people are thoughtful enough to anticipate possible criticism). Then we end up with a situation of extremists just shouting past each other, where nuance and complexity are completely lost. Getting reasonable people without a strong pre-existing agenda involved is the only way to improve the situation, I think.
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Jessica Reply:
August 14th, 2012 at 12:50 am
So elequantly put. I couldn’t agree more!
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August 13, 2012 at 11:28 pm
i have considered updating my social networking status with my opinions, the problem is my opinion is only slightly to one side, and i (like you) am afraid of offending people, whom i love, but dont agree with. I (not like you) still think those waffle cut fries are worth the trip, but i dont like how the line is so long lately… also i abstained from a certain store with red concentric circles for years because of their business practices, and then one day i went in on a whim, and found it to be amazing!!!
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Jessica Reply:
August 14th, 2012 at 12:49 am
Though I will admit I accepted a free banana pudding milkshake while preggo – those things rock socks! I called you recently, we need to hang out soon!
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August 20, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I think you shoudl think about the goal of your blog and perhaps that will guide what you write about a little more?
I pick and choose what I write about. I am a person of extreme black and whiteness that works in a feild that is both extremely sad and rewarding. So I use my blog as a place to escape. Everyday offline/work life is filled with tragedy and conversations like LBGTQ issues, workers rights, poverty, abuse (in every way possible), and other very hard topics. So don’t like to talk about them in my blog. I also don’t talk about them because I blog publically and though I don’t care about offending people, I don’t want it to mess with my employment.
I would blog about my views on parenting and marriage. Because they are unwork related and don’t involve any of the extreme hardships in life that I face in my work day.
But I encourage you to stand up for what you think and to post it without apology. If you think breastfeeding is the best thing that EVERY woman can do if they can do it..then own it. Because guess what, nurtionally and perhaps attachment wise- it is! (this coming from a formula only mom) Just back it up and prepare for arguments either way.
I would enjoy reading some of these posts from you.
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