What kinds of guidelines should there be for progressive blogs? The reason why I have been thinking about this topic is because while I generally think people should say whatever it is that they want, I'm also tired of feeling like I'm wading through muck. For example, one of the entries that turned me off to blogging at ProgressiveU had the author describing herself as not a racist because the only people she has ever hated had been 2 white people.
Anyways, some guidelines off the top of my head:
1. Be respectful of how people identify. This includes gender pronouns, abilities, ethnicity, and just about anything else you can think of. Another reason why I got turned off by ProU was that in response to an entry about sexuality, a commenter tried to tell the author that his description of his sexual identity wasn't valid. Part of the reality of exchanging ideas on THE INTERNET is that you are bound to meet someone whose worldview is completely different from yours, and this will include how they describe themselves. Even if using "xe" as a pronoun trips you up, deal with it. Don't majorly insult someone just because you don't understand exactly where they're coming from. Along those lines...
2. Educate your own damn self! If you want to be taken seriously, make an effort to read up on whatever it is you don't understand. Another reality of THE INTERNET is that there's a wealth of information available to the average person, if you're privileged enough to have access to it. For example, on Wikipedia you can find information on the Combahee River Collective or the genderqueer identity, as well as many other progressive issues. This is especially relevant if you identify with a dominant group such as white, male, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle class, etc. Educating yourself is a sign that you care enough to make an effort and that you are willing to shake up long-held assumptions and ideas. It is a sign that you think you should help yourself rather than shifting the burden onto someone else.
3. "I can't be a racist because I have black friends." No. Not now, not ever.
More later, on the phone. Sorry!
I have a feeling you're referring to me. My point in mentioning those things in that blog, as has previously explained and as you obviously missed, was to illustrate simply that I do not hate lightly and that to make broad assumptions that one is racist because of skin color without first getting to know that one or how they personally view race is not only ridiculous, but is inherently racist itself. So, I would suggest that another guideline be added to your rather incomplete list here.
Don't assume when you've completely missed the point.
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Like writing? So do we!
~Fallon~
"If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams."- Pace
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I would wager a guess that you can find a lot more 'muck' on the site than someone talking about racism. At least that has a progressive tune to it, unlike a number of the entries here.
While I'm not sure which post you are directly referring to, allow me to say that one of the things we love about Progressive U is that you can find a debate on just about anything. I think debate should be encouraged, and if someone believes that a sexual identity isn't valid, he or she should be able to express that opinion and invite more opinions on it.
Furthermore, it's rather difficult to tell exactly how some people identify. I've been called a gay man on this site before, and I'm most certainly not a gay man, or a man at all, for that matter.
I do agree with this, but much of this site is aimed at educating people. I had a comment in a recent blog of mine that completely misunderstood Judaism, assuming it was much like Christianity. While the person might have gone and looked up some more about Judaism, this particular aspect probably wouldn't be something that would come up in a cursory look into the religion. So, I corrected them. We learn by interacting in this way, and we can't all expect everyone to be experts on everything. While you should have a good grasp of whatever you write about in your own blog, you shouldn't be expected to know all there is to know about subjects in other people's blogs. That's their point, in part.
~C
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