We live in a free country and one of the freedoms we embrace is the freedom of speech. I have recently been chided for my posts by an anonymous commenter. Actually I think there are two. They apparently disagree with me and they have the right to do so. I am not naive enough to think that everyone shares my opinion. The world would be a boring place if this were true.
I feel free to express my opinions to others in day to day conversations and on this forum we call blogging. But I do this openly and use my name. I feel that hiding behind a moniker of anonymous is cowardly. Once again I am expressing my opinion. Under my title. Using my name. If I don't like what you have to say I have no problem telling you. I am open to listening to other points of view and love a good debate.
I have given the comments under "anonymous" a good deal of thought and would love nothing more than to express my point of view to this entity or entities, as the case may be. I feel restrained to do so, however since a couple of the comments feel like a veiled threat to me, personally. The commenter went so far as to suggest that my husband and children would be better off without me.
I did consider closing my blog altogether.....but I am loathe to give up an outlet that I enjoy. I have the right to express myself, and those who do not agree with that; well, they certainly have the right to not read my blog.
20 comments:
I do agree that you have the freedom to say and feel as you want. But I do not agree that we should be bullied into telling you our name..because the only fact that matters is that we are one of your "riff-raff hooligans" that pay your bills. It isn't kind to treat someone like you do. But do one a favor, look up professionalism. It is not your opinion that defines the exact opposite of it, it is your manor in which you carry your opinions.
If you are so miserable and plan to make other people miserable, then why do you own a business?
The day that you openly put your website on the list of rules you hand out to your campers, I will consider telling you which lot I am in.
Hey, I'm with you on loving a good debate. When I read your blog, it seems to me you are just presenting the facts of the funny things that happen and your reaction to it. I see no need for the hostility of the comment above. Anonymous, do you never vent when people do something that bothers you? We do live in a free county. We are allowed to state our opinions, disagree with each other, vent on our own blogs, stay at a different camp ground....wow, I'm baffled by such a strong reaction. I love your blog and believe your business is your own to run the way you want and customers are free to leave if they don't like it. It happens every where. And when people do strange things, others are going to talk about it. Makes life interesting!
thanks for leaving a comment on my blog (a corgi in southern california) I'm so sorry you are being hassled like this; I do agree that people should be willing to say who they are when they leave a comment. you do have an option of not allowing anonymous comments on your blog and people would have to have a profile before they could post; you wouldn't be able to exactly identify who they were, but if someone was hassling you like this, perhaps Blogger might be able to track them done through email addresses since that has to be verified. it always saddens me when people attack others like this :(
if you do take a break, I will look forward to reading you when you come back
you also have the choice to do a private blog and choose who reads it
you can also do comment moderation where you can approve each comment before it gets posted to your blog
(I'm sure you know all this, was just trying to help if I could)
betty
well this just sounds fun...i usually pay little mind to anonymous comments. usually they are vile whispers of cowards...
dear anonymous, perhaps you should examine your behavior instead of lashing out. if you truly feel you are being insulted out of hand there are better more productive ways of dealing with it than veiled comments.
kathy, i have been following your blog for a while. i rarely comment on any of the blogs i follow and even more rarely bother to add myself to the 'followers' list. i enjoy your stories very much and hope you will continue to show us your little piece of this big big world.
Bravo, Kathy. I agree that you should be able to post your frustrations here. I frequently post stresses and vents on my blog - some of them directed at the love of my life. He knows they're there and he knows that the writing outlet helps keep my sanity and to stay calm in the storm around me. Your readers should realize that your blog probably helps do the same.
If anonymous doesn't like your comments on your blog, then maybe that person should find another campground. It's freedom of speech, and he/she has the same freedom - and the freedom to move on if he/she doesn't like the current situation in which he/she is living.
I'm not trying to be mean to anyone, but if you're truly that unhappy in whatever place you're in (campsite #???), then why stay there? I would pack up my stuff and mosey on down the road to a new location.
Kathy, this is your blog. That fact that a camper has your blog to respond to is rather strange. But if I don't like a comment, especially from Anonymous - I just delete it. You have the power.
Hmm. I missed all this and had to go back to look. I find it odd that a camper is aware of your blog and took the time to be nasty. If they have issues with you they should come talk to you directly rather than take the coward's way out and attempt to make you feel bad in what is actually a semi-private space. I wouldn't stop blogging or telling the truth. Obviously someone doesn't like it, but that's tough cookies. They don't LIVE in your park, they rent space and will eventually be gone. My guess is it's somebody who's embarrassed by their own behavior and saw themselves in a story here whether it was actually about them or not. Delete them if they bother you. *poof* Gone.
Oh I had a few comments like that; a fairly spineless way to comment. Just turn off the anonymous comments feature. This is your blog and you have no need to publish the tripe that anonymous people leave. If you do not give them the oxygen of publicity they find another victim. I love your blog and there is nothing worse than dealing with the public but you document it in a truly witty way. I am intrigued by how the anonymous commenter says that she/he should not be bullied into telling you a name - by commenting and leaving nasty messages - I assume this is the same person? Then they are in fact bullying you. Always the same - bully claims victim’s rights when they get outed or challenged. Ignore the pondlife that doesn't have the courage to comment openly except behind anonymity and the safety of a screen. They'd run a mile if you confronted them.
Kathy, I wondered where you'd been. I love your blog, please don't stop. Don't let someone (or two) bully you into stopping. If they don't like what you write, they can just not read it. I think people who post mean and hateful things or complaints as 'anonymous' are cowards. Plain and simple. If they don't like something they should, as you say, own up. Got a complaint? Make it to my face. As far as this person(s) being one of your campers, all the more reason to bring their issues to you personally. If they don't like the rules, they have the option to find another place to stay.
to anonymous I say...it's Kathy's business, she can run it any way she likes and if you don't like it, leave. Perhaps if you controlled your kids or yourself, cleaned up your space, looked after your dog (in other words acted like a responsible human being) you wouldn't be considered 'riff-raff hooligans', a term I might point out that you applied to yourself. If you can't own up to your words against someone perhaps you shouldn't say them.
GEEEEEZZZ! What a can of worms! All I can think of is more fodder for "THE BOOK" ... the one you are writing, correct?
I hear that more people get angry for being left out of a book that being put into it. Maybe anonymous will eventually give you their names (or maybe you will figure it out yourself)so they can become a "star" in Kathy's RV Park Chronicles!"
Hang in there girl, all of your fans applaud your common sense and good judgement!
Kathy....I love reading your blog. I know you, and know you are a warm, caring, loving person. I think anonymous should stop reading if they are uncomfortable with what you have to say. Besides people, have you read a lot of blogs lately? Blogs are for bitching once in a while. And apparently so is the comment section for anonymous people. Keep writing Kathy. It makes my day once in a while.
It would be one thing if you mentioned people by name in your blog, but you're always careful to keep them nameless. Perhaps Anonymous has a guilty conscience?
I would ignore anonymous...people usually do get offended when they know what you are saying about them is true. This is her/his problem not yours.
Hey "Anonymous", why are you still there?!? You have said that the rules and regulations of the campground are ridiculous...no one is making you stay. You have said the campground is "semi-fun" and "semi-kept up"... no one is making you stay. You have implied that you are miserable...no one is making you stay! I am guessing it can't be as bad as you'd like people to believe or why would you still be there? Do one a favor and find someone else to lash out at.
You need to find this "anonymous" person and kick them out. It's your property and your business. As the sign says in my store. "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" and I do just that. There are far more good people than bad. Delete the guy and get him OUT!
...it is your manor in which you carry your opinions."
The definition of manor is as follows:
A landed estate.
b. The main house on an estate; a mansion.
2. A tract of land in certain North American colonies with hereditary rights granted to the proprietor by royal charter.
3. a. The district over which a lord had domain and could exercise certain rights and privileges in medieval western Europe.
b. The lord's residence in such a district.
That pretty much says it all. I'm sure anonymous meant "manner"...
Kathy, it's your house, your rules. Anonymous, if you are unhappy there, you should go somewhere else where you would feel more comfortable. I'm sure Kathy doesn't want you to be uncomfortable. On the other hand, perhaps when you comment, you should leave your name.
Kathy, you can turn off the anonymous function on your blogger settings.
My goodness Anonymous...you poor suffering soul. I too live in a campground (in another state), and the owners sometimes annoy me.
But...just like you have the freedom to leave comments without telling your name (and I fully support that), I wonder why you've chosen to spend your time in a place that causes you so much angst. It's a little bit like complaining about your parents as a 30 year old while you're living at home. Most people would tell you to get a job and your own place and stop complaining.
So if you really hate the owners of your campgound so much, why not come to Minnesota instead? We'll tell you to your face if you're annoying us. In fact, you're annoying me right now. So why not leave?
Hmm.. very interesting. Anonymous, if you don't like the rules, why not:
a. find out the reason for the rule
b. have a dialogue with the owner (Kathy) as to why the rule does not make sense and work to change it if possible
c. MOVE
This is a free country (so far)... that's how democracy works. Kathy sounds like a fair, reasonable person. On the other hand, your rants DO NOT sound fair or reasonable...
Kathy, keep blogging. We love your posts.
First of all, don't you DARE stop blogging because of one STUPID, Cowardly person. You love to blog, we love to read you. You never mention names of your customers, you are not doing anything illegal. He/She knows they are in the wrong, that's why they are hiding behind the "anonymous". You stand firm. You've got the whole blogging world behind you!
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