“Never” is a pretty powerful word. I hesitate to say that there is anything I will never write about.
There is a person I will not write about in anything other than vague terms. It is a person I once loved and respected above all others, and I have allowed this person to hurt me too many times. But what happened was between us, and I do not have the right to involve anyone else in our dispute.
While I have written about my struggles to “take the high road” and walk away from a bad situation, I have also vowed that I will never, under any circumstances, reveal this person’s identity or say anything that will hurt them in any way.
I also try really hard not to write about national tragedies, other than to say how they have had an impact on my life. When I first started blogging, I swore that I would never write about events like September 11 or Oklahoma City.
I don’t want to troll for “likes” and followers by milking a tragedy. I didn’t lose anyone at Sandy Hook or in Boston or Aurora, and I feel like I would be disrespecting those who did suffer. Who am I to climb up on a soapbox and ramble about what happened in any of those places, while I sit here safely in my living room with all of my loved ones around me?
I can’t possibly understand how those people feel, and I have no right to intrude upon their grief for the sake of my blog.
But – and this is why I hate to use the word “never” – those events did have an impact on my life, and writing is my way of dealing with my chaotic thoughts and feelings. So I will touch on those events from time to time, but only from the point of view of someone who was not there. I’ve written about Sandy Hook, the Boston Marathon bombing, and even the bomb scare at a school that’s just a little bit too close to home, but I hope I managed to treat each of those situations with respect.
It’s not that I’m afraid of offending people. Hell, I wish I could offend someone once in a while! Maybe then I’d start getting some more comments on my blog, and maybe I’d even have my work chosen to be Freshly Pressed. I wish I could be as outspoken and fearless as some of my favorite bloggers.
But I won’t do it at the expense of people who are already suffering. Nope. That’s my big “Never.”
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/daily-prompt-never/
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A Goode One 
If it’s your wish to offend someone, I can give you a couple of pointers. Lol. Never say never!
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I’m open to suggestions!
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here is a blogger that i enjoy reading: http://erikanapoletano.com/blog/
she could potentially offend people. i think she is pointed. and funny.
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Wow, I love her! Thanks!
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Hi AJ, succinctly put, there are a few people who would do well to listen to your words of wisdom… Great post as ever and actually, I have a little award for you if you’d care to accept?? Please see: http://jackiebuxton.blogspot.com 🙂
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your blogs are interesting. Keep writing….
My blogs are at – http://www.anoptimistic.wordpress.com
Please visit and provide feedback (btw, I too am a lover of love stories)
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AJ, I think when we touch upon national tragedy as it affects us we are not trolling but rather expressing our fear or our fury, or whatever other emotion we are feeling in the face of tragedy. I often write about these things, especially about gun violence issues, domestic violence issues and issues of violence against women; I do so because all of these things have touched my life in the past. While I might not be intimately familiar with the current event it nonetheless touches me, it affects me triggering my history.
The more of us who respond to these tragedies, talk about them even from a sense of outsider looking in; the more we can perhaps begin to have real conversations that change peoples minds.
As for not exposing others, I do that also. I agree with you. Though I am unafraid to offend and if people from my past recognize themselves so be it. I will not expose them, not by name.
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You make a really good point. I agree that sometimes, it’s a good thing to write about the big tragedies. I probably just spend too much time on a fanfiction site, where the little darlings write stories that put Justin Bieber at Columbine or some other such nonsense. It just seems so disrespectful to the REAL victims.
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