My New Conservative, Biker, Blogger Friend

This is Robbie. We met over a mistake I made in my zeal as a new blogger to have my material read by as many people as possible. To blog successfully, I think you have to be somewhat of a shameless self-promoter, and a narcissistic streak doesn't hurt either. Anyway, it's something I have to watch.

So I had signed up for the Austin Bloggers Metablog. In my typical shoot-first, ask-later style, I didn't really read the fine print. I just assumed, hey, I live in Austin, I'm a blogger, whatever I write is fair game. Wrong. All posts are supposed to be related to life in Austin.

So Robbie followed the link to my Tikritstock post, and got a little irked that it wasn't about Austin, and left me a comment that referred to my "inane ramblings." As soon as I read the comment, my heart started pounding and I followed the link to his site, UrbanGrounds. I found out that he's a conservative, pro-military, pro-death penalty, anti-liberal blogger who doesn't believe in global warming. Using what I smugly considered great self-restraint, I sent him a fairly cordial reply:

"Thanks for setting me straight, and giving me the chance to see your own inane ramblings."

That wasn't quite satisfying enough, so I went to the comment box under my controversial post and proceeded to write a very snarky reply. Fortunately, as some of you may have noticed, the last step before posting a comment is the verification box, where you have to type in some letters that prove you're human. And in that brief moment, I had the proverbial "moment of clarity" in which I asked myself, "Am I human? Do I have a choice in how I react to situations? If I publish this comment on my site, am I being peaceful?"

I deleted the comment, and thought about choosing a different response. I went back and looked at Robbie's site again. Compared with a lot of the right-leaning blogs out there, his writing was pretty balanced and level-headed, certainly no more inflammatory than anything I've written from my different perspective on Peace Meme. And he had several links to "leftie" blogs on his blog. That was something I didn't have on my blog. My links were all to like-minded sites. I quickly got back onto my email and sent Robbie a second message:

Oops, Sorry

I apologize for my earlier rude reply, fired off in a huff after reading your comment on my post. You're right, I overlooked the fact that all those posts are supposed to be about Austin. Will remember that in the future.

I look forward to reading more of your stuff. As I mentioned in a comment on your blog, I disagree with most of your opinions, but I respect the clarity and reasoning displayed in your writing. Perhaps a fruitful dialogue will emerge.

See you round Austin,

JC

Here's what I got back from Robbie:

Actually, your initial reply was appropriate --- I started off the rudeness, and you were simply replying in kind. I owe you an apology, too. My initial comment was rude, and had nothing to do with your post or its contents (which I found entertaining). I was simply having a bad day, and remembered the moderators at Austin Bloggers Metablog recently booting one of my posts for not being "about Austin", and struck out at your post for no reason other than that.

Again, my apologies.

You're right that our opinions will seldom converge --- I'm a US Army veteran (Operation Desert Storm and the Bosnian War) who understands and believes that true peace has never been achieved except by war. It's not that I don't understand Peace activisms --- theoretically, I understand most everything that Peace Activists believe and hope for (such as your Paradigm of Peace in your left sidebar). It's just that in my real-world experience, those beliefs don't hold up to reality. It'd be nice if everyone in the world was committed to peaceful co-existence. But that will never be the case, and there will always be people bent to harm, kill, steal, torture, and abuse the rights, life, and property of others. And there hopefully will always be brave men willing and ready to stand between them and those unwilling/unable to defend themselves from those who would harm them.

And I don't always display that much clarity or reasoning in my writings...sometimes I'm simply angry and ranting. But it's my "peaceful" attempt to vent my feelings.

Consider this a willingness for open-minded dialog. I'll keep up with your writings and comment from time-to-time (in a more civil manner than my first attempt).

Kindest regards,

Robbie

Well, I was shocked. That response didn't hold up to my preconceived notions about conservative bloggers. And then a little voice inside of me spoke up, "Hey, dumbass! This is one of the reasons you started this blog, to engage in peaceful dialogue with people who don't share your opinions! This chance meeting with Robbie isn't an accident." Oh, yeah, . . . I knew that.

I put up a new section in my sidebar, "Different Perspectives." Robbie's blog is the first conservative blog I've linked to, and I hope to add more. He reciprocated with a link to my site. He also read my epic post, A New Paradigm of Peace, and was one of two people (thanks Beth, for being the other!) to leave a comment on it. And in that comment, he expressed a desire to understand why we folks of progressive stripe think the way we do. I have the same desire about people on the right. Because my intuition tells me that all of our pre-conceived notions have more to do than our environment and experiences growing up than whether one side is RIGHT and the other is WRONG.

I don't know what will emerge from this new friendship with Robbie, but I've realized it's exactly what I've been looking for. Someone from the "other" side who is willing to listen. I intend to do the same. I don't expect we'll change each other's worldviews, but I do appreciate this opportunity Robbie has given me to practice what I preach. Thanks, dude, and keep up the good work!

PS: I'm learning the blogging etiquette; I got Robbie's permission to publish our private email correspondence.

Comments

[Tommy Jefferson]

Robbie is NOT a "biker".

Go here to see what is a Biker...

http://www.bandidosmc.cc/

Robbie is a motorcyclist like me. Big difference.

You wouldn't call a transsexual person gay for the same reason. They are not.

[Robbie]

Tommy --- you don't have to be a 1 percenter or belong to a 3-patch club to be a real "biker".

From a more literal perspective, I put about 15K miles on my bike last year --- including 12 missions with my motorcycle group, the Patriot Guard Riders. I put a whopping 800 miles on my truck.

I do all of my own bike maintenance, modifications, and repairs. It's my life on those two wheels, and I don't trust my bike to anybody's hands but my own.

From a more figurative perspective, I understand what it means to be a biker and understand the biker lifestyle, and --- again --- you don't have to live the "outlaw" lifestyle of the 1 percenters such as the bandidos to be a biker. There's more than one "biker" lifestyle. I'm a lonewolf type of rider typically, and understand and appreciate the freedom, the independance, and lure of a two-wheeled lifestyle.

I've defined my own. You consider yourself a motorcyclist. And that's fine, too. But I most certainly am a biker.

Oh, and on topic...great post, jc.

[Robbie]

Oh...and here's a pic of me being a little more "bikerly":

http://www.urbangrounds.com/images/ROT_06/bike_wash_rob_2.JPG

[Tommy Jefferson]

Similarly, I am a "soldier" because I keep myself in fighting physical condition and shoot over 2K rounds of 5.56mm per year to keep my marksmanship tuned.

Also, Cindy Sheehan is an "American Patriot" because she works to get fewer US soldiers killed.

Moreover, Fred Phelps of godhatesfags.com is a Christian because he quotes the bible a lot.

Sorry Robbie, it's not just semantics. You are not a Biker because you have not agreed to accept the obligations and commitments required for that title.

Until you do, you are a rider or motorcyclist like me.

[Alice]

Great post! I am new to blogging as well and I have loved the interaction with other bloggers more than anything else. I will put both you and UrbanGrounds on my regular reading list.

[jcs]

This is exactly the kind of debate I was hoping for! :)

Who am I kidding; I'm just glad to see comments showing up for a change!

Thanks for the complement Alice; I've added your link to the Austin links section too. Thanks for keeping us posted on local goings-on.

[James]

I noticed Be Here Now on your sidebar. Cool book. You're one of about three people I've come across who knows about it.

Anyway, this is a really good post and a good reminder of the importance of open discussion and how blogs can foster that.

It's also a good reminder that I need to update my links and include Urban Grounds, which I've been reading off and on for quite some time. I'll add Peace Meme while I'm at it.

Keep up the good work.

Peace.

[rayleus]

Quite a lot to comment on here, but for now I'll just offer up the suggestion that anyone interested in Be Here Now should probably check out the writings of Schopenhauer and Kant. I explored the gamut of eastern spirituality for many years and subsequently came to certain conclusions that cause me to favor certain Christian tenets over eastern. The analytical approach to the certain fundamental issues of existence and experience that these philosophers take has helped me reconcile my unorthodox synthesized views. It's as if once I gave up expecting to find all the answers I needed in a single package, I was able to more honestly divide things up between what I know, what I thing I have reason to believe, and what I have faith in - whereas much of my prior life ideas were often crammed into these cataegories out of force of will rather than honest, objective reflection. After some years pursuing this on my own, I came across these two philosophers who've helped show me a framework within which to understand it and further my endeavors.

[sarala]

I'm a little confused about the biker thread in the comments but to go back to the original post: I am impressed as to how you and Robbie went from nearly uncivil to civil discourse and am glad you both post alternate frames of view. Free discourse is how we will someday (hopefully) make it to true peace.
Good post.