I respect his right to dissent, but I believe it is wasted energy on his part.
This blog is not intended to be a panoramic view of my life. It is largely a journal of someone trying to make sense of his past relationships and questioning whether a new course is needed for the future.
The larger question of man's inhumanity to man, beast, and environment is beyond the scope of this blog. With that understanding, his comments make about as much sense as someone berating a mystery novel for lacking a decent explanation of elliptic curve cryptography.
The blogosphere is a like a large bookstore (or a good independent bookseller, if you eschew the corporate chains). If you spend your time looking for treatises on how to achieve social justice in the Self-Help book section, you're going to be one very frustrated patron.
For the record, I am well aware of the suffering the pervades the world, and I devote time and energy to causes where I can make a meaningful contribution. I do these things quietly, and I don't feel the need to trumpet them from this space. I derive my validation from the difference it makes, not for the sake of gaining approval from my audience.
I took a look at mr. singer's blog, and I sense a pretty strong undercurrent of outrage at many things, by his own admission, he is at times consumed by hatred.
In closing my response, I'll pull out an excerpt from the works of Lennon and McCartney:
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
It's gonna be all right.
11 comments:
you couldn't have written a better response. right down to the lyrics you quoted. i only hope that "mr. singer" will take it in. even for him, there is a story. he is hurting. but the only way he knows how to deal with his hurt is to try and hurt others.
2amsomewhere, reading your blog makes me smile -- especially your music references.
Perfect response :)
Nice response. Every now and then someone like this will inevitably come across your blog. When they find me, I just don't pay attention. Your response was quite elegant.
Why do people that read blogs somehow think that all facets of the writer are represented in their blog?
*snerk*
I'm consumed with curiosity over whether it was "the real Peter Singer", the philosopher whose work sparked the animal rights movement and who currently is receiving death threats over his ideas concerning euthanasia for disabled infants. As a vegetarian/animal rights partisan, Peter Singer is an idol to me.
It seems it's not "the real Peter Singer", the philosopher. Ah, well.
As for his dismissal of your subjects, eh... I'm so used to hearing that same tired argument in the context of my animal volunteering. I shouldn't waste time and energy saving rats or feral kittens when there are homeless people, evidently (I have done volunteer work for the homeless before, incidentally). Show me someone whose time and energy are all universally spent on the highest good. I'd love to meet that perfect person.
babbling, dh
2am,
thank you for your response.
while i read your blog, i tend to disagree w/ you on a number of points. however, i would argue that my dissent is not at all "wasted energy".
after all, we are all in this fight together and i would trust that you appreciate those who contend w/ your posts as much as those who swallow it whole.
reading your post (in response to my comment) i would strongly disagree with the analogy that i was "berating a mystery novel for lacking a decent explanation of elliptic curve cryptography". in fact, the contentions i was raising were evident and devoid of the abstract. my language was straightforward and simple.
i could not agree more w/ your comparison of blogs as a newsstand. as a fact, individuals more educated than you or I have made similar assertions and I believe them to be correct. to say that i stumbled upon your blog of "self-realiazation" while hoping for more relevant content is simply erroneous. upon being referred to your site, i had preconceived notions of what i would find. unfortunately, you did little to break out of the box that is your stereotype.
while i respect and honor your contributions to the greater good, i contend that my comment was not directed at your personal life, but rather, the content that you and your patrons prefer to indulge yourselves in.
you're audience isn't looking for your global contribution; instead they are looking for someone to validate their own study of self. this is where we part ways, 2am.
i'm glad that while looking at my blog, you chose to highlight the post entitled, "the ocean is full because everyone is crying". as a point to fact, i would have never been able to share such intimate words w/ the world had it not been for the caring skill of a talented therapist. i hold fast that my blog entertains thought outside of the norm and perhaps that is why some find it so confrontational. i would hope that the words of this short and sweet post would find their way to the reader and encourage them to think beyond self. nonetheless, it's good to know that those who consider themselves "educated" point to it with malcontention.
the fact that you quoted lennon/mccartney makes my heart feel better and i would argue that it did more for me than you could know. thank you for that.
in closing, the worth of any blog/writing/post is in it's reaction. the fact that your readers were your cheerleaders was of no surprise---yet still such a great dissapointment. "m is for maiden" is a classic example: she possess the skill to sum up a person in a few words: "he is hurting. but the only way he knows how to deal with his hurt is to try and hurt others."
fucking brilliant.
is this the state of your field? the state of your 'science'? anyone can make a judgement about me w/o any reference besides words that i post on the internet.
shame on you.
the world finds itself in need of compassion and love.
hoping that you and I find a way to focus our energies on those goals.
peace and love....but especially peace,
onelonelysuccess.com
in closing, the worth of any blog/writing/post is in it's reaction.
the world finds itself in need of compassion and love
"fucking brilliant."
As Pete seeks to make his point by way of being an example...
From the original comment by Mr. Singer: the world is a large, encompassing gulf, full of suffering. yet, you and your patrons ignore it. in fact, you do so at the expense of recognizing true hurt and suffering.
And tied to anyone can make a judgement about me w/o any reference besides words that i post on the internet.
Truth is, you are right in the second quote to imply that it is unfair to judge someone as a whole simply by the words they put on the internet, which is precisely what you did to 2am. Figuring out what to do in a difficult marriage is something a lot of people go through and doesn't mean that they are devoid of feeling or action regarding the suffering around them.
Sadly, signing "peace and love" doesn't mean that anything written above it was said with either.
2am, maybe you should create a disclaimer for all future posts that says something like, "I am aware of the poverty, war, and suffering in the world. Examining how to make and find peace and happiness in my home and situation is just one of many ways that I am trying to benefit society at large. This blog merely shows one facet of my life. If you want to see others, send me cupcakes and maybe we'll talk."
Or whatever.
Or you can do what you always have done: respond with grace and dignity when comments are made that you don't agree with, and to commentors who don't agree with you. As you have shown now and in the past, disagreement doesn't mean one has to get nasty.
Peace and Love ;),
Therese
Oh, and "elliptic curve cryptography"? Geez, you are always giving me little things that I'm dying to work into normal conversation. ;)
Interesting that in peter's comment here today, he says "the world finds itself in need of compassion and love". Yet I hear no love or compassion in his criticism of you and your thoughts. Another fucking hypocrit. Just what the world needs.
As the title of his own blog states, my guess is that he's a lonely, lonely man. His rants and ramblings vaguely remind me of the Unibomber in tone and manner.
As I'm sure you're doing, just ignore the little shit with his big fancy words and bigger attitude of righteousness. The asshole.
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