3 posts tagged “bloggers”

Over the course of 48 hours, I have learned that those who write blogs are not only OFTEN self-absorbed egomaniacs obsessed with their differences from the mainstream media (when really they are now a crucial part OF the mainstream media), but many of them also seem to be ignorant and some of them are even evil.

So this will be my last post on my blog, composed just six days after my first-ever blog post was made.

You see, I really know very little about the blogosphere compared to many of you.

This shitstorm happened simply because somehow instapundit found me.  I posted the blog because I was mad that a political forum in an extraordinarily diverse country was the exact opposite of diverse.  I was mad after the political forum ended because the five bloggers did NOT address my concerns in any way besides telling me "to get my own blog" because it's free and to find a blogging community (like the "fashion" blogs) where my views are represented.

Jerome Armstrong even agreed with me at the forum that the political blogosphere is NOT diverse, but then encouraged me to find another segment of the blogosphere where my views resonated.  But, um, I'm not interested in the "fashion" blogosphere, as he mentioned, I was interested in the POLITICAL blogosphere.  And I wasn't just talking about ME, I was talking about the minorities and the economically disadvantaged who are NOT represented in the mainstream political blogosphere, and was simply told by Scott Johnson that starting a blog is free so anyone can do it (I won't go into leisure time inequalities, educational inequalities, etc. etc. here).

I still think that solving the homogeneousness of the blogosphere is NOT as simple as telling a girl at a forum to "get a blog."  I don't NEED a blog.  What I'm looking for is diversity in the mainstream blogosphere.  It seems that most of the popular political blogs in the country are uniformly written by richwhiteeducatedmen and richwhiteeducatedwomen.  What I'm looking for is for bloggers to stop being so self-absorbed and instead realize and admit the truth:  Yes, we are a part of the mainstream media, so let's get some diverse viewpoints in here where they can be heard loud and clear.

I'm pretty astounded that so many people joined Vox simply so that they could attack me and my viewpoint (I've deleted the majority of the comments as they are ignorant personal attacks on me that have NOTHING to do with what I wrote).  At first it was empowering to think that so many people were reading my words.  But then I realized that instapundit readers...well, instapundit readers seem to be, by and large, ignorant, CRAZY CONSERVATIVE jackasses.  So that's not very empowering.

So bye bye blogosphere.  I'm quite certain you will mourn my loss for centuries. (Oh, that sentence was sarcastic, btw.)

Sincere thanks to Natalia in Pittsburgh for alerting me to this.  Obviously, I'm not the only one who has noticed that only richwhitemen are producing the mainstream political blogs, whether that is on a national or local level.

Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
The official lesbian correspondents of Pittsburgh.
Mainstream Media vs the Burgosphere: Which White Man Should You Listen To?
By Sue on Random Thoughts

By now, you've certainly caught this week's edition of the City Paper and noted the feature story on local blogs aka the Burgosphere -- yes, dear readers, we have yinzerized the blogosphere. The Burgosphere is young, hip, sassy and an "alternative" to the mainstream media (MSM). Or so says all the white guys writing the blogs. And if they don't know alternative, then I ask who among us does?

Not that I have anything against white guys per se and I certainly 'fess up to reading their blogs on a regular basis - Carbolic Smoke Ball; 2 Political Junkies; Pittsburgh Rocket; Angry Drunk Bureacrat; and, of course, MacYapper. They make me laugh, cry, smirk, snicker, gnash my teeth, and frequently think about Pittsburgh in a new and interesting way.

But all this fuss about bloggers rocking the mainstream media is just a bunch of hooey. The absence of a diverse range of voices in the Burgosphere should at least warrant a mention in a story. The outgoing CP news editor (and all around groovy white guy) Marty Levine quotes two female bloggers - Maria of 2 Political Junkies and Pittgirl who chooses to remain anonymous. They include a grammatically challenged excerpt from this blog and that's pretty much it for diverse voices. I'm not suggesting the City Paper ignored minority or alternative voices -- I'm pointing out that they don't appear to exist in Pittsburgh. Two chicks and an irreverent lesbian do not an alternative media make.

Where are Pittsburgh's African-American blogs? What about the disability community? We have a significant number of immigrants. Or what about our vibrant young art community -- especially those who are politically aware and active? They are all over MySpace so its certainly not about a lack of intimacy with technology. And the responsibility lies among those of us who are counted among minority voices -- we can't simply cede control of yet another medium to the powers that be and decry their lack of attention to us.

My opinion? The blogosphere and the Burgosphere are rife with the same issues that keep alternative voices suppressed in the mainstream -- access, leisure time, affordability, collegiality, literacy, etc. To the detriment of us all.

We can keep talking about which white guy done the other white guy wrong. We can keep the bathrobe/coffee cup iconography sacred. We can keep posting comments on each other's blogs. But until we find a way to make this whole 'sphere accessible to our sisters and brothers who are disenfranchised, disempowered and dissatisfied with the status quo ... then let's not kid ourselves about being out of the mainstream.

Move along. Nothing to see here.