Lets Talk About Respect

There are things happening in the world of British Mummy Blogging, there are posts about Bulling, people giving up blogging, wondering why they bother and people questioning the validity of blogs with advertising, reviews and sponsored posts.

I wasn’t going to get involved, I was going to keep my mouth shut, but I read something last night that made me realise that my silence wasn’t helping anyone, in fact I felt pretty guilty by omission. Some other wonderful woman have got there before me and had some very wise words about it all indeed.

If you are anything like me, you read these posts and even if they are not directed at you, you can not help feeling if it is someone pointing the finger at you. Yes I know I am not that important and it is a sign of self obsession to feel that people are talking about you behind your back, but it does happen!

So what spurred me on to write well it was this comment by Maggy at RedTedArt, A woman I respect hugely

There is so much I want to say and comment on this, but I dare not, in fear of getting “lynched” “poo pooed” or “excluded” by some of those in the established blogging network.

Which means that the competition is fierce and makes newbies feel very unwelcome and unsupported (not by everyone I hasten to add).

So here is my two penneth worth and I would love to hear yours, if you are concerned about reprisals then please comment anonymously or e-mail me and I will comment for you.

The beauty of blogging is that there are so many out there, that if you don’t like what someone is doing, then that’s easy, stop subscribing and find one you like.

It takes all sorts really, that’s why best seller lists are made up of much more than just chic lit and parenting manuals.

The bigger the arena gets then it will start to splinter and people will form more close knit groups, this is inevitable. The thing is cyberspace is big enough for everyone and there is no reason why we can not be more tolerant of other people.

Just because I don’t agree with everything, doesn’t mean I stop respecting people. We should really live and let live, shouldn’t we? I am bring up my children not to follow the herd and to be individuals, who are true to themselves. Nicky talks about the battle beginning and people bashing her square pegs into round holes here and it really struck a chord with me.

Bullying is never acceptable and neither is it acceptable to stand by and watch it happen. I hope that I am never in a position where I do either. We would not allow our children to be bullied, so lets not let our friends be bullied either.

I do sponsored post, review posts and take advertising. Does that mean that when I blogged about my issues with my health and parenting that it wasn’t worth reading – I hope not. People should stop judging books by their cover and start to live and let live.

I am all for healthy debate, right to reply etc, but I can not stand by whilst people like Maggy are scared to say what they think for fear of reprisals and being excluded. I think we should be concentrating on allowing people to have a voice and feel secure in the knowledge that their opinion is as valid as the next persons.

Lets cut the crap and start respecting each other a little bit more.

Lets Talk About Respect 1

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