A new record: Aside from the Mighty Stupid Quinn, I have successfully resisted not one but three pompous asses begging for a major smackdown this week.
T'wasn't easy. I read, I fumed, I shut down and went and unpacked something, funneling that negative energy into productive physical labor. Then I jotted down positive stuff about other writers and their books and told my stray kitty story. Not as exciting, maybe, but almost as satisfying as pouring out my disdain for the Enormous Blogging Buttocks out there.
I must again chant my mantra: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even when:
--it's snotty, inaccurate, manipulative and should please God come back and bite them where it genuinely hurts someday when I can watch.
--they're trying to cram their big corny graceless hoofed untalented Ugly Stepmonster reviewer's foot into the writer's glass slipper.
--their perennially displayed and stroked ego has swelled to the size of Texas, to make up for other things that I guess? never will.
Before anyone assumes things, I'm not talking about any of you guys. Sometimes I'm lured away from the places I love to frequent while link-hunting and end up being choked by the pure pettiness of people that I wouldn't let near me in real life.
How are you handling blog-rage these days?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
{{huggg}}
ReplyDeleteI just read my friends and things I'm pretty sure will be funny. I don't need the negative stuff right now.
I have this closet . . .
ReplyDeletePia here..Just poppin' around to say that I was impressed by your blog. Post more ait?? Holla back.
ReplyDeleteRant - it's a sure-fire cure for all your ills. Unless you become a rantaholic. That's not good for you.
ReplyDeleteI find the morons tend to make good fodder for characters that must be killed in interesting ways. ^-* (Most of the stories aren't publishable, but I feel better afterward!)
ReplyDeleteHow do I handle blog rage? I don't. I can't even handle my own. When the Brit writer Terry Hatchett jealously attacked Rowling and Harry Potter, I posted a nasty note but then asked the blog I sent it to to erase it. Enough rage out there already. There was a time when I read twenty-plus blogs a day. Now I read yours and about four others. Yours gets better and better. I've had enough of swagger and brag and bilious. --Ed Gorman
ReplyDeleteBlog rage? There's actual blog rage? Those aren't blog reviews I hope...I mean there aren't places for those...places the review blogs, like a newspaper reviews books??
ReplyDeleteI'm really scared now...I better go and find my other skin.
I stay really, really close to home, blog-wise. Because I know even if I find a rant, it'll be reasoned & funny and not an every day, make-my-head-hurt thing. It's a fine line, because I want to stay informed, but so much of it gets me worked up that I can't. If it's really bad, I'll rant to one of my CPs by email until I feel better.*g*
ReplyDeleteI vote for Alison's closet, but only if she has chocolate.
ReplyDeleteM
Steph said: It's a fine line, because I want to stay informed, but so much of it gets me worked up that I can't...
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. It is a fine line between wanting to stay abreast of newsy bits--even the crap ones--and getting so bothered by what you read that it affects your ability to settle into work.
I removed a few blogs from my regular reads because they were a bit like cheesecake and my hips...I knew they were "bad for me" but I just couldn't resist a daily dose. :) As for the rest of it, I just read and shake my head.
Blow off the minor pettiness and stupidity, but come at the truly frightening ignorance with both barrels blazing!
ReplyDeleteI don't think real ignorance should be allowed to run unopposed, it might be seen as truth. When the fools get too loud and start spouting dangerous things it behooves all of us to stand up and say: "Oh, hell no!"
Pick the battles, but don't walk when it's important.
Just my $0.02 . . .
I've made a career out of internalizing my rage--personally and professionally. Probably not healthy, but at least I'm not showering the universe with more negative vibes. If I'm REALLY bugged, I contact a trusted friend, via phone or email, and vent one-on-one. That usually helps. I also steer clear of those who stoke my temper.
ReplyDeleteBlogging is a double-edged sword in that its best quality is the same as its worst: you can say anything you want. There is no requirement to be fair, kind, or accurate. And the problem is, the written word has tremendous power, regardless of where it's published. It's why journalists are legally and morally required to have multiple sources for a story, to give both sides ink space, and to make a reasonable attempt at balance. There is no such regulation on a blog.
ReplyDeleteYou can't control what other people write, no matter how inane, petty, or manipulative it is. And once it's written, it's immortal. While there may be a grain of truth in even the most unpleasant postings, it's often hidden behind a large grain of salt.
Incidentally, I finf the grain of salty is best accompanied by a margarita.
I wrote a mini short story and posted it on my blog. It got my viewpoint across without sounding like a big mouth, although, sometimes I am a big mouth. =)
ReplyDeletePBW, did you see the excellent letter by Jenny Cruise posted at the Smart Bitches blog, in the comments section? Way good.
ReplyDeleteI blog.
ReplyDeleteOr vent on other people's blogs (right, Jordan?).
Or discuss it with other writer friends.
And there's always the shooting range, where you can draw faces on the paper targets and blow out certain vital organs.
I read friends' blogs and some for their educational value (with a few who offer both ;)). If I follow a trail or find someone who annoys me, first I skim, then I eliminate. I'm not in this to be enraged, I'm in it to keep in touch and learn things. Anything else is a distraction. (Though I do occasionally get sucked in, a few days of blogging taking more than an hour and I pull myself back out :).)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Margaret
Alison's closet works for me! Screw it. I'LL bring the chocolate AND Drambuie.
ReplyDeleteOh, Lord help me, this last month I've been trying to keep a load of snark in, so I've been falling back on that learned helpless response.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I've spent the last few weeks building a rock wall in the front yard, and finished laying the slabs for the sidewalk in the back yard.
In other words, rage and bitterness can fuel an enormous amount of constructive labor.
The Giza Pyramids? One guy who had to mind three children, all under 10 that day. Believe me, I know.
Hello,
ReplyDelete"Everyone is entitled to their opinion"
Eh, some opinions are worse than others. Especially if those opinions are based on inaccurate information and mistaking 'I wish it were so' for 'It is so!' Also, all too often poeple say 'this is my opinion' when they mean 'I'm too lazy to actually look it up.'
Getting into internet fights is usually not worth it; but some folks do deserve a smackdown for their opinions.
I come over to read your blog.
ReplyDeleteRe: handling blog rage.
ReplyDeleteI know some hackers, you see, and....
I buy these wonderful hardback, full-size journals from Border's. I write all the rants in there. Sometimes my friends or family and I share rants about stuff we read online. I admit, though, that it always amazes me that people don't seem to care if they look like total fools online. Maybe they think the anonymity of the internet means it doesn't matter. But no one is completely anonymous and people who know will spill the beans.
ReplyDelete(((hugs))) Almost makes me glad I rarely get comments on my blog.
ReplyDeleteAlison's closet works for me! Screw it. I'LL bring the chocolate AND Drambuie.
ReplyDeleteHey, all are welcome!!! Course, it's not so big, and we'd have to all really like each other a LOT!
And there's always the shooting range
ReplyDeleteOr you know you could go visit Yoda--PBW you seriously need to check out Raine's latest post. I laughed my ass off.
I'm with step, if I'm seriously disturbed I email friends otherwise I just blow it off as not important enough to warrant a rant. Steph's not the only one with a narrow circle of blogs I do it too.
We love ya, Alison!
ReplyDeleteI'll make cookies. We'll have a party!
If I see something I dislike, I just leave. If something interests me, I might read it, but not comment. I try to keep writing and my own opinions seperate; if I wanted to spread gospel or start an argument, I'd get into politics.
ReplyDeleteIf see something that causes a bit of blog rage, I take a bit to calm down about it before even thinking about posting about it in my own blog. No use fighting. Sometimes I even wait til the next day to air our my own opinions on whater topic is at hand.
ReplyDeleteI have this wonderful thing called BOB. He's my 'body opponent bag' and can take quite a punch. BOB's come in handy these last few months. (wg)
ReplyDeletePut on the gloves and shin guards and go for the body bag and pretend I'm a kickboxer.
ReplyDeleteTambo! Cookies!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBring 'em on!!!