Recently I read a couple of things online that, should these things get into the wrong hands, could really hurt the writer. I continue to be astounded at what freelance musicians will put online. If you bash a group or individual player, or if you bash a conductor, you are taking a chance I wouldn’t recommend taking. You might think only your friends read your words, but things happen. Friends can get angry and do something cruel. Someone might cut and paste your words elsewhere, giving you credit for the words. There are so many ways words can come back to haunt a person. (And you anonymous bloggers? I’ve figured out the ones I read rather quickly. It just takes one angry reader who figures you out too; it could all cause things to come tumbling down for you.)
Believe me, I have had times when I’ve wanted to bash someone. If I feel I’ve been mistreated, or if I have had to deal with someone completely incompetent, it can be so tempting to post something here, or on Facebook or twitter, just to vent.
But it’s just not smart to go there. Maybe it’s all about self-preservation. Dunno. I hope it’s also about kindness and not needing to take revenge, taking the higher road … that sort of noble stuff. But yeah, most likely it’s all about me and self-preservation and all that jazz.
Anyway … c’mon bloggers and “facebookers” and you tweeters out there; use your noggins! 🙂
Heh … and I heard back from one musician. He said, “well, that conductor is never going to hire me anyway, so I don’t care!” My response is, “Yes, but if others read what you write they may not want to hire you as well. And I’m not sure how comfortable I would be recommending you when I know you might publicly write very negatively about something.”
Maybe I’m just too darn harsh. Typical me.
my yardstick has always been along the lines of “if you wouldn’t put it up on a billboard and sign your name to it, don’t put it out online.” even if you change your mind and pull it down later, google’s cache lives forever.
old story re the evils of gossip: guy says some awful things about someone else, causes harm, feels terrible, goes to his rabbi for advice on how to make it better. rabbi says, “go to the top of the mountain, rip open this feather pillow, and let the wind carry all the feathers away, then come back here.” guy thinks rabbi’s crazy, but does what he’s told. when he comes back to the rabbi’s office, rabbi says “now go get all the feathers back.”
I love the story, Patti! I think even some of those who really don’t “get it” might start to comprehend if that story were told to them!