A few days ago I wrote a post called “The Failure Cushion” where I reacted to a piece on MSNBC discussing people who are new to getting in shape. Now, I’m very much fine with people trying to improve their lives through exercise and healthy choices… and I damn well better be since that’s about 90% of this blog.
There was a quote from that MSNBC piece that I focus on where a woman being interviewed, Taryn Wright, discusses that she feels she should be able to get in shape because “All these muscle heads are doing this high on steroids. I can do this!” That line really didn’t sit well with me for these reasons I go into in the post.
Well today a funny thing happened… that same Taryn Wright from the MSNBC article found my post and commented on it (you can see her comments on the link I include above to the post). And you know what? She was actually very nice about it and mostly agreed with what I had to say.
The reason I mention any of this is pretty simple: that even when you think you are writing about some seemingly far-away person mentioned in an Internet article, they’re a person too with real thoughts, real experiences and real feelings. I’m not saying I regret what I wrote in my piece – I really don’t and I think I wasn’t some kind of complete jackass about what she said. I just strongly disagreed with it.
But it was interesting to get the note from Taryn and then to go over to her blog, Inner Fat Girl, to get a sense of what she is all about. And yup – she’s just a regular person fighting the same fight all of us have to push ourselves in the direction we want our lives to take. I’m really pleased Taryn took the time to respond to what I wrote because it’s a really important reminder to me that for all of the nonsense that occurs on the Interwebz, there is often a perfectly nice person on the other end.
So that’s something I try to always strive for in my posts: If I wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, I shouldn’t say it on here. It’s cowardice, plain and simple, to hide behind the “safety” of your computer keyboard while excoriating people from a distance. Friends, family, colleagues and such read this blog, so it matters to me that it’s well-written and reflective of who I am as a person… and that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.
Please do check out Taryn’s blog. She is a very good writer and pretty damn funny. Well, maybe not as funny as me, but good Lord, cut her some slack. No one has my incisive humor… or charm… or tremendous good looks. Seriously, it makes for a lonely existence, my friends. You should feel bad for me.