A friend once wrote that she saw no benefit in blogging and decided to throw in the towel. Another friend said that what is unnerve about blogging is the bad politicking. I have changed my blog address once because of unwanted publicity but that did not deter me from blogging.

I don't really keep track of how long I have blogged, maybe a year or so but I noticed along the way, I did step on people's toes with my eyes closed. Why my eyes closed? Because I did not even notice that those toes were there in the first instance. And how did I know that I stepped on toes? I heard someone said "OUCH!"

This blogging business is very funny, in other words, I don't know how to describe it. I came in sometime last year with just the mere intention of writing....just an avenue for me to practise my writing and published it online. In that period of slightly over a year, I have read blogs after blogs of people no longer wishing to blog because as one blogger said "make more enemies than friends". One blogger in Singapore almost got sued and another got the Nation all wired up. This blogging business is definitely getting serious.

But what amazes me is that how easy for people, bloggers in general ,to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about others just by reading their blogs. People's opinion do change. What is written does not necessary reflect the true nature of that person. To love somebody is to know somebody. The blog is NEVER a good, decent pen-picture of that person who writes it.

Ironically, some people are actually advocating freedom of speech. How can one have freedom of speech when every single word that one blogs create an enemy? Then again, many will argue with me about the definition of freedom.

The hard lesson to swallow is that majority of people only accept ideas and opinions that are similar to theirs. If one writes something different, one MUST be queer. A negative comment about something in general, will have your YIM buzzing, handphone beeping or silence in your haloscan. Suddenly, the writer becomes insensitive, brash and rude. No one wants to be associated with you OR they will take sides - And the weirdest thing is all the hoo-haas may just start out of a remark made in passing, not pin-pointing to anyone in particular. But I guess, the Malay saying will always holds true "Siapa tergigit lada, dialah yang rasa pedasnya." So tell me who is at fault? The writer, who could be blissfully ignorant about it OR the shallow, sensitive, jump-the-gun reader?

I have noticed and to a certain extent my gut feel says that this is true - Even in a virtual blogging world , bad politics is here to stay. True, blogging create friendships but it also divides people. It makes bloggers vulnerable to judgements of others. There are many blogger out there who prefer NOT to make friends or stay anonymous in the background so they can really say what they want to say without having a leash on them. They can also create nasty nicknames for those who get on their nerves.

Anyway, this is how I think ; Bloggers who feel hurt when they read what other bloggers wrote, are actually hurting themselves. Writing is an art and is subject to many, many interpretations; because we humans think differently. The way we come up with conclusions are based on individual assumptions, which may NEVER be the same as the writers. So Don't make another blogger's meat, your poison. Always give the writer the benefit of the doubt UNLESS your name is mentioned - then THAT is a different story altogether.