When is your say less important than what others say?

On my usual Tuesday night wind-down when there is no WoW to be had, I usually catch up on my reading, look at some drafts on my blog that need polishing off before publishing, and work on my latest video(s) project - and then lament that I can't get online because I want to film a particular scene... but I digress!  I was taking a break from staring and editing videos and I noticed some new things to read so I went off to read them.

I pause here for a moment because I'm not sure I should mention where I read it or whose blog I read because that person may not want to draw more attention to what happened.  I think I'll just continue writing about it in the "I know this person who...." sense, but if you continue reading and you also read that person you may know exactly who and what I am talking about.

This person took down a post because it offended some readers.   In fact, at the time of writing the post, the author had felt so happy and chuffed about the milestone they had hit that they couldn't help but share.  Well, that's the impression that I got.  I have actually read that post 4 times and the reason I had gone back to that post so many times since it had been published was:

1. I had written a comment and wanted to see if I got any replies
2. I had some great feelings when I read that post, and wanted to relive them.  Those feelings were 3 versions of awe:
   Awe - (OMG really that is AMAZING how could you hit 2 million people reading your stuff!)
   Awww...? (as in OMG wow what if that was me, I wish I was that popular!)
   Awww cuuuuute - that dancing pic is so sweet, I felt like the love for his spouse was personified by that picture
3. I wanted to see how many congratulations he got

I was even so proud to be following and reading this person that I was telling a few of my guildies how amazing it was to hit that many pageviews - since that is like AMAZING, I want to be like that. Cynwise recently hit 1 million and I was like agog about that, but 2 million?? WOW!!! One guildie reassured me that what I write about is totally fine and I don't need to be like that person, what I write is funny and amusing in it's own right.  But I can still be awed right?  Come on, it's me, who gets impressed by crazy cool things, loves discovering new people reading my blog, and being visited by famous bloggers (yes yes I know I need to stop the crazy fanboy shit!!)

So I wonder, what was in that post that could have been taken the wrong way?  For inspiration, I decided to listen to Fleetwood Mac's "Go your own Way" while I write.  Thanks Matty for the Fleetwood Mac revive a few weeks ago.

One of the commenters on that person's blog said that it was still in reader, so I went to my reader and it was still there.  I reread the post and tried to imagine, if I took that post the wrong way, how I would interpret that post.   I suppose that someone who was envious of their success would feel a little bit miffed, and think, what's so good about you?  Perhaps it was the comment about how the author's goal was to amuse someone during a lunch break.  Maybe the offended person didn't get lunch breaks and felt bitter about that.  But I suspect the offending culprit was this:

I like to think I achieve that goal at least a few times a week, and if that’s so, then world peace and a united earth government can’t be far behind. Right?

Clearly, a terrorist bent on destruction took offense to this.  The author, is American after all, and they want to take over the world right?  And have everyone live under a star spangled banner?  A united earth government?  Oh wait, I know who was offended.  It was someone in North Korea.  Because clearly there is no other people in the world for those poor brainwashed and isolated souls about whom I think about every second day since I read that book about life in North Korea and thank my lucky stars I live in a country where there's freedom of speech, freedom to choose, and freedom to write about whatever the hell I want.

Have I offended you?  Oh, I'm sorry.  You can stop reading now if you're offended.  Because this is my blog and I can write whatever I like if I feel like it.  Navi likes to rant when she has the creative urge to.

I'm actually too busy giggling now at the thought of Kim Jong-un posting comments on the author's blog that I've lost track of what I was going to write next.

Focus.  Ahem.

Him deleting that post reminded me of another time when another blog buddy took down a post, that I thought was written hastily when they were upset, over a misunderstanding.  There were some things in the post that they wanted to say still, but I remember giving advice to them ways on rewording it so that they didn't come across wrong.  The rewrite of the post was much better and less ranty, and I think conveyed the feeling that the person wanted to get across much better, but more focus on the writing and feeling and less focus on the rant.  It was a good result and I went back to read it just now to see if it still evoked the same feelings I had when I first read it.  And... yep.  It did.

I wish the author would put that post back up.  Maybe with some rewording, because I don't think that it was anything to be ashamed about.  Maybe take out the bit that was offensive to some people and remove the comments of those who were offended.  But it may be hard to do that now with the follow up post that was written after it was taken down.  I suppose one thing they could do was wait a while and put it back up, but really, that would only satisfy me, and not really the author, so I shouldn't wish for things just because I want them.  I think I am just sad because the feelings of aww I got from reading that post will no longer be had because that post is no longer there.  And everyone who knows me, knows how I get a kick out of emotions from stuff people post.

Offense is in the eye of the beholder, they say.  But, so is Beauty.

So in the memory of the lost post, I will quote these lyrics from Metallica's Eye of the Beholder.

Rant over.  Thanks for reading to the end.

PS:  OK I thought I'd try posting what I wrote just now into I write like and see if it still comes up the same.  Yep.  I still write like Cory Doctorow.  But you know what else is really REALLY cool?  I put the whole deleted post into the analyzer too see what that came up like and guess what?  Also comes up like Cory Doctorow (normally that person writes like William Gibson, or even.. GOSH.. Stephanie Meyer - oh I bet he won't be happy to hear that!!).  So that explains why I liked that post so much.  Oh my, I'm all chuffed again!  Stop it, Navi, the fanboy is getting too much...  :D /minisqueeee!

PPS: Oh my, I think I just discovered why the post was removed!  Amazing what one finds on one's blogroll ><