16 MAY 09: Is This Funny or What?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

For more than six years, our primary goal for this blog has been humor. But because most of our humor is tied to current events, it opens the door for potential problems. Let's face it - about the only people around here who might sue over elephant jokes are the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Even though we try to be humorous, any blog focused on the news is bound to receive hot tips. Sometimes the information is legitimate and newsworthy. Sometimes it's not. But at least one e-mailer a few years ago was honest enough to put "gossip" at the title of her message to us.

We've also become aware that some of the tips we receive come from people with issues to push, or axes to grind. They believe the mainstream media is ignoring them, so they come to us. You know what they say in the Internet age - any old web portal in a storm.

We try to be light, but the issue-pushers want to be heavy. They want us to really "push the envelope" with some of the things we post here. Trouble is, people who push the envelope too far risk having it go over the edge of the table....

The top of this blog says our observations are "often humorous." Yet sometimes we wonder about the sense of humor some issue-pushers have. They seem to consider it funny to tear down the reputations of other people - including people who may not be locally famous at all. I'm left wondering if they stand outside jails, trying Don Rickles insults on incoming inmates.

Perhaps I've brought this on myself, with some of the topics we've pursued here over the years. We felt they were stories worth telling, which should not have been overlooked. Other people admittedly considered them tabloid-level - but you know, the old "Christian Science Monitor" was tabloid-sized.

We don't want to stifle readers from sending us interesting story tips for this blog - but is it too much to ask that you have a little more compassion toward other people? A good standard is Philippians 4:8 of the Bible. It suggests thinking on things which are "true.... honest.... just.... pure.... lovely...." The last one admittedly can get me thinking about good-looking cheerleaders.

Asking this blog to probe serious accusations against other people admittedly is uncomfortable for me - especially if the people are trying to live private lives. So from now on, we may ask tipsters why others need to know about their tips. Weird Internet games of "tag, you're it" really don't count.

We had this topic in mind long before we saw Friday's "CBS Evening News." It had a story about a young woman who died in a terrible car crash, yet has had pictures of her body spread across the Internet. People who spread such things should stop and ask: would they want THEIR private pictures passed around this way? Oh wait - some already do that on Facebook.

The number of unique visitors to our blog is up more than 14 percent so far this year! To advertise to them, offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 463 (- 41, 8.1%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

© 2003-09 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.