I blog. I live. It is me. #ResponsibleBlogging

To talk about being responsible and put things in context, let me redirect you to one of my recent post on bomb blasts in Pakistan. It was horrible, but there was a particular behavior the caught my eye. Earlier this year and late last year, there were two other blasts that shook the world – in France and Belgium. It is a sad example, I know but one that teaches how selective we are. My Facebook timeline was flooded (Disclaimer: I did not do it on both occasions) with people updating their profile picture over-laced with the French and the Belgian flag.

But the same thing did not happen for the blasts that happened in Pakistan. Does that have to do with the frequency of blasts in Pakistan or the hatred that we carry for them? I also posted the article link on Facebook, earned absolute Zero likes and comment – may be the text I wrote there was probably in-your-face!

Fact is, that people are absolutely selective and subjective. You cannot draw a definitive line and call it a boundary. So when the topic of #ResponsibleBlogging came up on IndiSpire at IndiBlogger, I wanted to write about it immediately.

Being Responsible

It can be construed as irresponsible of me of what I wrote – did I ruffle any feathers there? I may have, and I think that is the best thing to happen. It gives people something to think about, about themselves. It is me being responsible about what I think, and provoke thinking at the other end.

But the governance of being responsible stays with me and only me

Blogging is about what you feel to share – and it is truly personal. If I am responsible in my private life, I will be responsible on my public life as well. But the governance of being responsible stays with me and only me. There are no blog-codes to follow though you can always call up a general rule of thumb.

And that includes considerate writing when talking about Politics, Religion, Ideology (again religious mostly), Gay and Lesbian affairs, Ego boosting or about anything that is not a norm to be in our society. It is harmful. It is contagious. Or at least that is what people believe.

Contradicting a Hypocrite with Hypocrisy

The general rule of thumb states that you will not write anything that will hurt the feelings of someone. Celebrities often fall prey to this, since many follow their actions blindly and those who get offended share their disbelief. To follow someone is a choice that one makes. To make people do things purposely for one’s benefit should fall in the ‘nasty’ category obviously. So how do one differentiate? I don’t know. There is no governance that yet exists – other than the what-will-the-aunties-in-our-society-think? reaction.

To understand this quote better, let me bring religion in perspective. Now being pseudo-responsible, I will start the line with what defines my-save-the-arse-thought-process: “Not everyone”. Yeah, see that – I am being responsible. So let me expand that a bit further in the next paragraph.

Not everyone, but there are many who cheat in the name of the religion. A pandit or a priest will guide you through the teachings of the god / lord, and correlate with a pooja/prayer (where you will spend money) to get you out of the bad things happening with you. In the process, his advice is making you spend money where s/he will benefit directly or indirectly. How is that responsible? And these are the people who define the morals and generate the “rule of thumb” list of things that you should not do.

No, don’t bother responding to that. It is okay and the silence is understood and excused. But I hope that you get the point. I am happy to debate in the comments below if you have a voice, and to talk about it. All that matters is, we need to understand what #ResponsibleBlogging means in our individual scope of things.