Blogs are for conversation
As Joan Rivers so famously said, “Can we talk?”
Neither Joan nor I earn money from this blog. We each have other blogs, primarily directed toward our separate businesses and neither of us earns money – at least directly – from those blogs either. You might ask, so why do we bother?
Well, as we set out to write and publish the book, Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working, Girlfriend!, we thought a blog would give us feedback on our ideas. Although we don’t get many comments, and usually they’re affirming, we thought that at least it’s a way to let people know about the book.
But we could do that with a newsletter and, at the least, in our websites. A blog is intended to get reader interaction.
YOU CAN COMMENT. And we welcome your thoughts, even more so when people don’t agree with us or each other. (As long as you don’t get nasty of course).
Early this week, I posted a column on my other blog, WorkingWithChronicIllness, about the current presidential campaign Sarah Palin’s stand on chronic illness. The post is, Sarah Palin’s stand on chronic illness. Only two sentences directly mention Palin — and I did cite an article written by Gloria Steinem about her which is negative about Palin. Two thirdsof the post is more generally about the fact that chronic illness is simply never mentioned any campaign speech or literature. And why this election should matter to people with chronic illness. The last two paragraphs urges people to vote for the democratic ticket.
The post hasn’t gotten a single comment. But, there was reaction. Four people unsubscribing with this reason: offensive, strongly disagree or disapprove. And one of those persons unsubscribed from this blog as well for the same reason. No one has ever unsubscribed for that reason.
Now, I don’t blame anyone for responding negatively to what I say. Quite the contrary. I don’t think I’m “right” – I’m just trying to stir things up so people talk about chronic illness more — and don’t sweep it under some rug.
I’m glad to see that people read what I write. And think about what I say. But hey, voice your thoughts and opinions — so we can have conversation — and stimulate more.
I can’t help but wonder, Do people worry that if they post, someone at work might find out that they have a chronic illness and “out them”?
If so, what a shame. What a bad world we live in that we have to work so hard to hide an important part of who we are. But, hey, I do know that’s a fact of life. So why not use another name – a pseudonym?
So please, let’s talk about it.
Rosalind aka cicoach.com
This is embarrassing, but I honestly never realized there was a space for comments on this blog because, at least on my screen, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to get to the comment area. If you hadn’t specifically mentioned not receiving comments and asked for them, I wouldn’t have thought to keep looking around for the place to make them.
I’m really disappointed to hear the backlash associated with your post about Sarah Palin and chronic illness. I think your point is an important one – just because a candidate is a woman doesn’t mean she has women’s best interests in mind. A little reading about her background seems to say just the opposite. I consider Barack Obama and Joe Biden feminists and support them for this and other reasons. Sarah Palin is clearly not a feminist, and this is concerning to me. As someone who demands Congress enact equal pay for equal work legislation, as an example, I want to support candidates who are fighting for this very cause. John McCain does not support this, and I can’t imagine she views it differently based on what we know about her background and other views.
No need to be embarrassed about not noticing you can comment. The fault is in the design and I can’t seem to change that. I should mention it more often.
Yes, elections are always important but critical this year! I hope people really do vote in their self interest this year and then they’ve got to vote smart.
Good morning … my name is Wick Davis and I’m with the Lupus Foundation of America. I came across your blog and wanted to say hi. I’m in the process of reaching out to other lupus / chronic illness bloggers. I was wondering if you’d be interested in exchanging links to one another’s blog. You can read the LFA blog here http://lfa-inc.blogspot.com. I have already added a link to your blog on the LFA blog, in the section called “Lupus Blogs We Read.” Should you need to, you can reach me at davis@lupus.org. I hope to hear from you. best, Wick
Hi! My name is Em and I’m from the blog
http://chronicillnesssurvival.blogspot.com/
I was very interested on your comments on the election. I’m still undecided, but I think what you’re writing is important. We need to have the conversation about who will be advocate and policy maker for people with chronic illness in the White House? I know that republicans are usually considered to be more moral, but I disagree with that assumption. I think democrats seem to be more aware of the ‘little guy’ (for example, someone with chronic illness). I consider that more moral! EM
Funny, in my part of the country, (New York/MA), Democrats have always been conisdered to be more moral. . . at least if that refers to having a set of values that cares about the less wealthy and more needy and that the government needs to step in to ensure everyone is taken care of. I think that’s what the Dem party party stands for . I’m not talkling about personal morals (one one lives one’s own life) but how they push poolicy and vote. And living with chronic illness makes us all “the little guy” who is going to need services that we can afford — and policies that ensure our rights to a reasonable life.
Hi Rosalind – I’ve found on my blog too that the more I remind people I want them to comment, the more they tend to, and also that people seem reluctant to be the first! There will always be many more people reading than commenting, of course, but it certainly is gratifying to be in a dialog and know what readers are thinking. So let me chime in now as a reader who hasn’t commented before. And as a fellow coach, invite you to come over to my blog and take a look as well!
I’m with Diana in thinking that though Sarah Palin is a woman she’s very far from having women’s interests or rights at heart. Call me an old-school feminist – no problem, I am one. The place women’s rights start is in our right not to have our lives utterly controlled by our sexuality and ability to procreate. Although none of the candidates are addressing chronic illness directly, Obama and Biden are the only ones to address health care credibly. A comprehensive health care policy would have to deal with chronic illness. I’m in danger of writing a whole blog post here myself but I have to say I’m very excited and encouraged by this election. I think we have a real chance of not only electing Obama but of electing a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate and make some real health-care reform possible.
- Megan Oltman
Megan – Thanks for reminding me to remind others to comment. And as for your take the election, I hope you’re right! Rosalind