Mutual linking

Crossposted at Booman Tribune

The other day I wrote a post entitled "I can't believe it's not a meritocracy!". I guess it could be seen as an "angry" post, but I think it was pretty mild as such things go. It was inspired by Atrios, the founder of Blogroll Amnesty Day, writing a post entitled "Why your blog sucks" Nonetheless, I really don't want to focus on the negative here.

I suppose that post by Atrios after he was the one who initiated the blogroll dump movement ticked me off as much as it did because I've had plenty of real life experiences where that same theme is present. It's as if once you reach a certain level of success, the rules of decency no longer apply. I'm certainly not going to mention specifics, but let's just say I've had many opportunities to declare, "If I ever get in a position of power, that is not how I'm going to treat people!"

Well, I sat this morning with the "compose a post" window open for well over an hour, and still couldn't figure out how to say what I wanted to stay. So I decided to go back to something I posted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance on February 28, because it sums it up better than anything else I can think to say.

At the risk of being way too adorable, I've decided to go ahead and post this Shel Silverstein poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends

I will not play at tug o'war.
I'd rather play at hug o'war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins

I think I got it in my head after reading Maryscott O'Connor's essay Wherein I Respond to the Response to the Post Article, and I was balking at the notion that, if one is afforded the opportunity to speak to and be heard by a larger audience, one is somehow obligated to speak and behave within certain acceptable parameters. Well, a big part of the reason many of us speak out, is because we do not approve of the way the media-political "game" is played. It's not making things better for ordinary people. It's not making people better able to connect with and learn about each other.

In short, powers that be, your game and its rules suck. I do not choose to spend my time and energy in a vain attempt to becoming a better player of that bullsh*t game. If I do find space in my life for involvement in the political process, my energies will be directed toward changing the game and how it's played.

And I think another thing that brought this poem to mind was the discussion of different approaches to linking. With mutual linking, everyone wins. Even from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it's good for all of us.

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