When I first started this blog, I was blogging pretty regularly -- at least once a week, if not twice. About half of my posts were on veganism or diet and the other half were a combination of news or parenting experiences. Then my kids let me know that they did NOT want to be visible on my blog, so I lost about 25% of my material.
I know this is a common experience among Mommy bloggers, particularly for those whose kids are old enough to know what a blog is and to have a nascent awareness of public and private. I have to respect that. My kids don't want strangers commenting to me about their lives on the Internet, no matter how entertaining (or mundane) the stories may be. (There are exceptions; the recent blog about my daughter's Battle of the Books competition was approved by her. In fact, she wanted me to write that one.)
I've also found myself kinda bored with veganism, so I feel I've "lost" another source of topics. I'm currently thinking most about news of various sorts and have lately been paralyzed by world news (Japan, Syria, Libya, Egypt...and Wisconsin and the generally sad state of the US economy).
I really do mean paralyzed -- I don't know where to start a post about any of it. Japan's situation breaks my heart and worries the hell out of me (nuclear power, IMHO, needs to go). The human rights abuses the world over sicken me. The level of hatred people have for each other stuns (but, sadly, does not surprise) me. Dictators need to go, yes, but I also worry about the uncertainty of who will replace them. The continuing downward spiral of our own economy and the suffering that goes with it....
Of late, I've probably been the most consumed with various stories of abuse toward women: Lara Logan, Lynsey Addario, Eman al-Obeidy, women in our military, and the 11-year-old Texas girl. I've been enraged at thoughts of their personal suffering and also keenly aware of the sociological pattern they're a part of.
I actually have been writing; I just haven't published any of it here. I'm working on a very long, detailed sociological analysis of the Lara Logan case, relating it to other well-known cases often covered in sociological textbooks. Some of you might find it interesting, but it is definitely more academic than "bloggish," and has a ton of footnotes and cites.
I'm not sure it's appropriate for a blog. Let me know if you think I should reconsider that and "entertain" you with a lengthy sociological discussion of bystanders, mobs, and reference groups, of how particular cases are sadly anything but unique. I warn you though -- it's a long piece (20 pages and not at all done).
For those of you who follow this blog because you are particularly interested in veganism, I worry I've let you down. You should know I'm still at it and that I will still write about it from time to time, but I don't currently feel that I have something to add beyond what I've already said, and certainly not beyond what other (arguably more committed) vegans have said and continue to say. In a nutshell, I believe a vegan diet is a healthy one, that avoiding animal products in other areas of life (e.g., clothing, sports equipment, makeup, furniture) is an ethical choice, and that avoiding animal use in general, if done by enough people, has HUGE environmental (and animal) benefits.
So, veganism is a good thing to do, even if you sometimes fall off the proverbial wagon and have to haul yourself back on.
I'm in that category, in case the title of the blog never clued you into that. My biggest downfall continues to be...cheese. How unusual.
If I've disappointed some of you by not writing about veganism as much as I had originally intended, I apologize. Hope you'll still stick around.
About Me
- Elaine
- My interests include veganism and vegetarianism, health, ethics, politics and culture, media, and the environment. I have three kids; I teach college part-time, study piano and attempt to garden. I knit. I blog on just about anything, but many posts are related to my somewhat pathetic quest to eat better, be more mindful of the environment, and be a more responsible news consumer. Sometimes I write about parenting, but, like so many Mommy bloggers, my kids have recently told me not to. :) Thanks for reading.
Blog it. Even if it's too bookish or whatever, you should put it up there. You won't get better at this unless you do, and a lot of blogs take a year or more to get your feet under you and decide what you ARE :) It's a growth experiment.
ReplyDeleteI'm still reading.
Hi Elaine. I still very much enjoy your blog whatever the topic. I too after a while felt like I had said everything I wanted to say about veganism for the most part (and since I wasn't doing veganism strictly: same here, cheese), I just started another blog. But you make it clear in your subtitle that you blog on diverse topics.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts and how thoughtful your comments have been on other sites (GGA comes to mind). I hope you continue to keep at it. We need all the strong female voices we can get!
Writing any type of regular column is very difficult to sustain. I've often wondered how people like Bob Welch or George Schroeder can keep it up year after year. I always enjoy what you have to say, and I'll keep checking back now and again to see if you posted. Whatever you do, don't give up Facebook! :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I want to read ANYTHING you write... and I am a terrible Vegan, though I aspire to be better at it... someday. I too have been dismayed by the state of our universe... I can't even say "world" ... as the word just seems like it doesn't represent how BIG the problems seem to me and how "small" I feel in trying to make some difference. I am eating all VEGAN chocolate, now there, I am making a difference and it is fairly traded, as well.
ReplyDelete