Some Bloggers Pay a Price
I am sure I post thoughts that readers find useless or perhaps flat out incorrect. But that doesn’t stop me from blogging.
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PrintDid you happen to read about Cuban blogger Yoani S?nchez who was beaten for expressing her views? The blogger movement is growing there, but unlike what goes on in our country when someone disagrees with what appears in a blog there you have to watch your back. I cannot imagine having that kind of worry looming over me. I am sure I post thoughts that readers find useless or perhaps flat out incorrect. But that doesn’t stop me from blogging.
Of course the Cuban government retained a very black eye based on the reports of Yoani’s beating. From what I read about her detention and the way it was carried out (much like a kidnapping actually) it’s a miracle that she survived. But apparently, the strength she brings to her blog (both what she writes and the fact that she is documenting life in Cuba) might come from the same place that enabled her to survive her attack.
The way the world rallied around her and other Cuban bloggers is another miracle and, to me, one of the great benefits of the Internet. And it is shameful that Yoani and the others must be afraid. And she’s not just afraid for herself. She now fears what could happen to her son. Can you imagine being on your way to a peaceful demonstration only to be stopped, tossed into a car and punched and beaten because of something you’ve written?
I guess I bring all this up here as a reminder (and, truly, my intention is not to preach) that we are responsible for the words we type and those that fly out of our mouths. But it is the written word, sometimes, that carries more risk. Of course if there’s a microphone nearby then you want to be careful. And just because we enjoy so many, many freedoms in the United States doesn’t mean for a second that we ought to forget that there are people just like us, using the Internet to express our feelings and thoughts, in places where after they hit the publish button something truly horrible can happen—something to be thankful for as we turn the corner toward Thanksgiving
