I feel weird quoting just one part of media girl's
salvo into the latest kosWars since she covers so many topics. And I'm in agreement with those who say that Kos is a misogynist, and I haven't commented on that topic because I really don't have anything new to add. But media girl monitored the comments of
this dKos discussion and caught Kos saying something in a comment that made me want to scream:
A few things -- I AM a guy with a blog. One that has built a platform that allows lots and lots and lots of people to have their say and organize and advocate for their causes. People want to equate that with "leadership" and assign me "responsibilities".
Well, what happens when i say "fuck that"? Because I'm not being falsely modest when I say I don't want that responsibility nor power and I won't take it. I'm simply not interested.
What is it with a-list bloggers not wanting to take responsibility for, well, anything? These people build up their blogs until they have the biggest soapboxes on the internet to shout from, but then when they are asked to speak up for other causes, they step back and say, "Oh, well, I don't have any responsibilities and I'm not beholden to you!"
Well, I'm calling bullshit. Bloggers like Kos need to pay attention to the causes that they're readers try to bring to their attention because, without us, they wouldn't have the readership to command such high prices for their Blogads, thus making it impossible for their blogging to subsidize their income. In turn, that makes it impossible for them to be fulltime bloggers, and their strong, loud voices would be diminished to itty-bitty little squeaks. We essentially pay for their blog, just like we pay for the newspaper, radio, and television news. Bloggers of every stripe would be the first people to say that the media is responsible to keep the public informed of issues which they think are important, and nobody cries foul when an activist fires off a letter to the editor informing them of such. So why do a-list bloggers think it's wrong for such responsibility to be asked of them from the very people who enable them to reap a paycheck from blogging?
This isn't just nervewrecking and damaging to progressive causes, it's selfish and flat-out hypocritical. If an a-list blogger doesn't wish to take responsibility for anything, then maybe they should rethink why they became an a-list blogger in the first place.