The Blog continues to evolve. Stuff happens There's reaction and response.
Even before Blog, it was assumed my reason for being was to undermine the Mayor. It's not so but neither is it hard to understand.
If I 'd been allowed to participate from the beginning , a working relationship would have formed long ago. I am not talking about friendships, or alliances. They're nice but not required in a civil and productive exchange .
A working relationship needs to be valued, protected and nurtured.
Hostility permeates and trust is destroyed. Nothing is gained or lost. There is no move forward.
There's no grand body of experience to show how Blog might best be used. Trial and error are the options.
Early on, I drew the line on abusive comments against myself. My attackers switched to Citizen Blog. Notice of Intent was filed and they vanished from there as well.
Critical comments about the Mayor and her loyal band of followers have increased in number and ferocity. I have posted them.
But I have misgivings. How can I, in principle, shield myself while allowing others to be exposed.
Some of the comments could be assumed to be coming from inside the Town Hall.
The atmosphere there is terrible for staff. Posting those comments places everyone under suspicion. It's not right for me to be responsible for making things worse than they are.
Robert the Bruce makes salient points about Morris Bashing and the chances it will soon, if not already,cause people to tune out.
A couple of letters in the Auroran are offered as evidence.
One says he falls asleep while reading the letters. The other says Shut up, Shut up, Shut up.
At any time, people can be found who do not wish to be disturbed by things they don't believe they can do anything about. It's valid.
Others react strongly against the feeling they are being told what to think.
Still others take fiendish but understandable satisfaction in contributing or watching the miserable undoing of someone who has done them wrong.
The cauldron constantly simmers, and sometimes boils over a flame.
Blog is a volatile tool. The freedom for immediate expression is a powerful drive.
As it evolves, it seems there needs to be design.The genie is out of the bottle.It's not going back in.
I've been producing and sharing an electronic journal. I think it's been useful.We have enjoyed the new communication tool. But Robert the Bruce is right. A way must be found to keep the discussion relevant, moving forward and fresh.
Ideas for a format would be appreciated.
Evelyn,I just want to say thank you for acknowledging my position and recent comments.
ReplyDelete"Robert the Bruce is right." I must put that up on the fridge door to remind everyone else at home that I can be right once in a while.
Fuimus
RE; An Interesting Journey (blog entry WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009 at http://evelynmbuck.blogspot.com/)
ReplyDeleteI dont disagree with the blog entry, so i offer these thoughts for consideration, not to refute the blogs comments.
"The atmosphere there is terrible for staff."
It is an unfortunate reality but It seems unavoidable that when council gets messy, its effects may spill over onto town staff. Shouldnt all involved be expected to justify themselves? Other than that, im not sure how best to protect staff while at the same time standing up for what is right but Cowardice, Expediency and Vanity are always ready to ask their questions.
"...Morris Bashing and the chances it will soon, if not already, cause people to tune out."
There is entertainment to be found in the Blog but i assume that entertainment is not the reason this blog exists. If its purpose is to inform people and the details of that information are sleep inducing, then that is the cost of doing ones civic duties. The Auroran, Toronto Star, CBC etc. require ad revenue, and balanced reporting, a blog does not and so offers a unique opportunity to allow freer expression.
"People... Who do not wish to be disturbed... feel they are being told what to think... take satisfaction in undoing of someone"
These may be the same people (as well as many others) who, given enough clear and well supported information, would gladly volunteer to help fix problems, or at least cast an informed vote at the next election. It takes effort to try to be informed, and even then, there is a failure to make real information available at all levels of government. Usually people are flooded with too many contradicting opinions and carefully selected "facts". We are each responsible for our governments, Aurora, Ontario and Canadian, we cannot criticize if we havent at least tried.
In municipal government there are no political parties and no high pay spin doctoring of information. Now in Aurora we have the appearance of partisan politics. Perhaps Blogs can offset this. Can you imagine a federal member of parliament giving raw individual opinion and disagreeing with his party in a Blog?
"A way must be found to keep the discussion relevant, moving forward and fresh... Ideas for a format would be appreciated."
Blog Format Suggestions;
-Debate/conversations on a topic between a blog owner or moderator and a "guest". Perhaps a topic or question as the blog entry and a running dialog in the comments? The idea would be to invite participation on a subject by a limited number, instead of responding to attacks. Currently it seems one sided. The "other side" of any story needs to voice their opinion, if they arent allowed, they will claim that all reports are unbalanced. Of course abuse may need to be moderated but protection of freedom of expression, ESPECIALLY for those you disagree with is a hallmark of democracy.
-Council Member/Candidate pages (blog/wiki/social networking profile(facebook?)) with election issues and question & answers. Must be simple, easy for councillors to make entries into and low cost to eliminate a spending war on websites. Simple and free, just as the blogs are now! Town could maintain a list on their website of links to these. Auroracitizen.ca 's "2010 Candidates" section is an excellent example of this, although i imagine the politicians would also want to have their own self moderated forums.
Educational Material Suggestions, made freely available (town paid) to the public such as;
-Investigative journalism. (town funded, but not council controlled, may use citizen journalism?)
-Very simple description/overview of;
How council works.
How the town corporation works.
Rights that citizens have.
Rules of Order.
PS; Any of these suggestions may have unintended consequences.