Don't let me be misunderstood
It's a grey chilly day in New York City today, so Christine and I are heading down to southern New Jersey until this evening.
Can you imagine how uninteresting my blog would be if most of my entries were similar to the first sentence I wrote here today?
Over the past week or so I've blogged almost every day. In some ways I regret that, mostly because of the comments some of the postings generated. Here's what I mean...
It started a couple of weeks ago when I blogged about a proposal by the Malta government to entrench something that's already illegal by criminal law into constitutional law. Since the subject of the constitutional hack-job happened to be abortion, follow-up comments on my blog about this topic degenerated into a debate between those who are pro-life vs those who are pro-choice. Meanwhile, our grubby politicians continue to make a medieval spectacle of themselves. Thankfully, other bloggers picked up on the actual bone contention and understood that the main argument was (and should be) "don't mess with the constitution!" An excellent blog entry on this topic comes from cartoonist Mikiel Galea, who is also a worthy writer of social commentary. Another eloquent entry comes from Antoine Cassar, even if it's only related to all this in a tangential way. If you can't read Maltese, or don't give much credence to blogs anyway, there's an article in The Malta Independent by Raphael Vassallo that's also most poignant.
Then, last week, Julian Manduca died. Tributes to him came from all spheres. So you can imagine my surprise when public comments following my blog entry about Choppy's passing turned into a debate about healthy lifestyles. It almost reads like an episode of the Twilight Zone. I wonder what Julian would make of it.
The cherry on top of this messy cake, however, came after my second open letter to Chiara following her performance at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. I don't have anything bad to say to or about Chiara. My words were sincere, even if slightly sarcastic or marginally jaded. Chiara was never meant to be the victim of my annoyance. The mostly-anonymous commentators on that entry believed otherwise. Poor misguided fools! (How's that for patronizing?) They clearly either misunderstood my intentions and/or have no idea where I'm coming from. At least it's not as bad as the inane comments posted after my first open letter to Chiara last February.
So, tell me. What should I do? Retreat to a shady corner and lick my shallow wounds? Maybe not. Few things are worse than feeling sorry for yourself. Should I say nothing about the lastest item in the news that strikes just the right (or should that be wrong) chord with me?
Here's what I've decided to do instead: my friend Joe Vassallo sent me a beautiful photo he took at work one early May morning about three weeks ago, and I'm sharing it with you here today. This picture is entitled NUDE...so please spare me the sort of irascible comments that triggered today's blog entry.
posted by Toni Sant at 3:54 PM
~"Don't mess with the constitution!"
Are you implying that it should be etched in stone and not revised when the times warrant it? If that is what you hold to be the truth, than you are sorely mistaken as "our grubby politicans who continue to make a medieval spectacle of themselves." By that standard, the United States Consitution would have been repealed and recomposed such as the one in France on multiple of times; instead, the United States Constitution is a living document that has lasted for over 200+ years. Maybe you fall into the same school of thought as those "grubby medieval politicans."
"how can you post such vulgarity? That photograph deserves to be burned and you along with it!!!! Trees do not have VAGINAS!!!"
;)
Cajta Ton.
Honestly, I can't understand why you're getting so worked up about comments on your blog. You obviously have a wide spectrum of readers, and as we all know only too well subjects like abortion and the jurovixxin are bound to split the nation down the middle. Tikkonfondi xejn Ton.
Thanks for the reality check, erezija. I really appreciate it! I'm a very sensitive person, if you can believe that. But seriously, many thanks for your comments.
Mr Camillieri, in "don't mess with the constitution" there's no cry to have it etched in stone either. If someone loves their hair and likes it a certain way, they're prone to say "don't mess with my hair" and not meaning that it should be turned into stone. The hair-lover will restyle his/her hair in a way that is consistent with their taste and self-image over time. Are you aware of how much resistance there is in the U.S. over President Bush's move to ban gay marriage by constitutional amendment? He want's to mess with America's hair and the hair lovers don't like that! Perhaps I'm simply wasting my time discussing this with you because I don't know you. Please forgive me if I seem arrogant or if I ignore you in the future.
At the risk of getting pelted by you one more time, I should say that I believe you're one of my blog readers who often misunderstand what I say. I see that I need to be more clear in what I write in my blog if I want to avoid the sort of comments I continue to let you post on my blog. I appreciate your contributions because they keep my blog alive, but I care very little for what you have to say. Forgive my bluntness, but life is far too short and there's little time for flogging dead horses.
You clearly have no idea who I am and/or where I come from to lump me in the same category as Maltese politicians. Why don't you just start your own blog? I promise I'll subscribe to your RSS feed. I also promise that I won't post any comments on it.
Just to be clear: I don't mind people who disagree with me; keep it coming. I do mind people who split hairs, twist my words, and use my blog to promote their own agenda; get your own blog for that.
Maybe the time is ripe for you to give the US Constitution a glance over as the last time I checked it contained exactly 32 Amendments. If I am not mistaken, the last one cleared Congress back in 92. All I can think of in Malta's case are two substantial amendments dealing with neutrality and political representation. Those were cleared by Parliament way back in the late 70s. I am pretty sure there are other minor ones, but they are probably merely technical formalities e.g. dual and multiple citizenship. The aforementioned sketch proves the rigidity of Malta's Constitution. If one tries amending it, even with a clear majority of the populace in agreement, those in discordance scream "leave the Constitution as it is." It is clearly evident that a significant majority of Malta's and Gozo's hair-lovers are eager to restyle their hair contemporaneously, yet we still have dissidents crying foul. Such actions serve to further illustrate those who are truly archaic. I am willing to bet my savings (not much, but Ton you'll be able to procure a drink on 2nd + 2nd before you jet off to Scarborough) had Bonnici succeded joining Malta with Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah, the hell that has broken loose over constitutional amendments wouldn't be of the same magnitude. But then again, it is a battle between MLP + PM diehards. If it was MLP pressing the constitutional amendment, everyone here would be onboard. Bakkru min fuq sormkom, hadmuh, mbaghad ghajtu.
p.s. Oh no, far from it. You as anyone else are entitled to their beliefs. Unfortunately, there seems to be a spirit of disagreement between the two of us. Rather than categorising it as unhealthy, one has to remember that if it was not for argumentation everything would remain static. Argumentation is pertinent to healthy democracies.
p.s.2. You are not some mysterious creature that has failed to leave its mark on Maltese circles. Besides the obvious which is commendable (aboutmalta, maltamedia, june29th, radio1), you have had a greater impact than just on my town of Nadur. You have have left your mark at NYU and the tristate area through the various drama companies in which you have participated and your current residence of Scarborough. All of which is commendable; however, you have to chill back a little, take feedback as it is (nothing personal) and work on compromises at various times of disagreements. These are not the times of Mintoff nor Bonnici.
John, I am now convinced more than ever: you need your own blog!
I will get one started time permitting.
I agree. You, Toni Sant, need to "chill back a little" and take any "comment or feedback as it is (nothing personal)".
Everyone is entitled to an opinion and make comments in this open forum in the blogoshpere.
Remember you do have the 'option' not to have the comments section of your blog.
If you find other folk's comments touch a nerve - just disable the comments feature and write what the hell you like without the fear of having your ego dented!
Dented ego. What a lovely image! What's the etymological relationship between dented and dental? Anyway, I'm chillin'...and I'm fine with people comments. Really! You should have been with me when I used to get phone calls from irate radio listeners, TV viewers, or newspaper readers, at all times of the day, back in Malta.
I'm not as hot under the collar as some readers may have perceived. Why else would I have enabled the option for Anonymous comments on Blogger settings? And, as Joe said, if it gets to be a little too much I can always turn that option off; I don't know that I'd ever want to turn off the comments option completely.
So, any non-bloggers who care to comment on my blog, enjoy the priviledge of my toothless ego.
Dent as in ....
1. A depression in a surface made by pressure or a blow: a dent in the side of a car.
2. A significant, usually diminishing effect or impression: 3. The loss put a dent in the team's confidence.
4. Meaningful progress; headway: at least made a dent in the work.
Toni Sant,
We all love your blog, but like all things we admire and cherish, the road just isn't very smooth sometimes. It's part of the pattern of life!
Ok then:
"If you find other folk's comments touch a nerve - just disable the comments feature and write what the hell you like without the fear of having your ego" rattled!
Just take it on the chin!
:)
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