Sunday, March 11, 2007

During an alcoholic fancy dress party at my friend Annabell's house, Marcin (dressed as Borat) confessed to me (dressed as Bindi Irwin) that he knows of the existence of this blog. Until now he hasn't dared to read it because he isn't sure of the ethical ramifications of doing so. Is it like reading somebody's paper diary which they have accidentally left open on the table? (In this case you deserve, apparently, what you get.) Or is it more complicated, since I have an audience anyway and what difference does one more make? But on the other hand, since I didn't inform him of the presence of said blog, does it mean that in some sense I am refusing him access? He also commented that since he is present, presumably, in its pages, he feels like he has taken unwitting part in a game of Big Brother which he doesn't especially like.

So: who owns the rights to the world we share? This is my blog, but can I say anything I like about anybody in its pages? The fact is that I don't, and that I probably expected him to read it sooner or later and have been fairly careful not to include (many) details of an intimate nature. It seems that all the usual constraints on honesty, usually generated by desire to be liked and not offend anybody, apply here as much as anywhere.

2 comments:

Harmodio said...

congratulations! Now you will realize how hard is a blogger's self censorship!

Mother Effingby said...

I try to write only things I know that are verifiable and not hurtful...unless you mean to stick it to someone who has no feelings at all and wouldn't care one way or another.
That would be a dream come true for most of us blogging. To have a villain to write about that doesn't care what you say. Of course, those people seldom exist when you need them the most, so I always reread my posts and if I hurt people unintentionally, I always apologize, even if I think that I am right.