On Censorship and Acronyms

Censorship. An important blog writing dilemma.

                 I’ve always been comfortable divulging intimate information about myself. I'm one of those open-book-heart-on-sleeve types. One of the points of this blog is to examine personal experiences that relate to/change/question my philosophies. Those who know me outside of the interwebs know I’m always open and ready to share stories, from my childhood to sexuality, my experience as an offbeat mama to wedding planning. However, how much is “okay” to divulge and share about the active participants in my life? I’m still fumbling for a great answer and may have to use trial and error, but there are a few decisions I have made: privacy and pictures. Rather than their names, my partner and my son will be referred to as "Funk" and "droidlet," respectively. I feel the anonymity helps keep their lives private – they aren’t the ones starting a blog – yet I can still share the  experiences I have with them. This is why you may not see many pictures of the droidlet (and yes, I know he is on my right side bar on my facebook badge). Is it my place to have his face on my blog before he is even old enough to speak for himself outside of vowel sounds, a few consonants, and a cry (and yes, my facebook is plastered with the droidlet, but viewable only to friends)? I’m all for mamas who do use their blogs as a place to post pictures as they discuss the day-to-day with their little bots, if that is the purpose of their blog.

However, for this blog, I hope the censorship will keep my writing in check; keep it from becoming a place I complain/lament or voice frustrations over people in my life and retaining, what I hope to be, insightful observations with some fun, meaningful examples, laughs, and provoked thoughts along the way.

                Along the same lines, this blog won’t use acronyms. Funk is not my “SO” – there are many “others” in my life who are very “significant” and signifying him as Funk at least retains an aspect of his identity and allots him the respect of a name. I will not refer to the droidlet as “DS” or my “LO." The list of acronyms (especially in parenting communities) goes on. And on. And on. I do not want this blog looking like this:

I EP 4 my DS so he gets BM as we AP and CS IRL FTW OMG WTF.

                I’m not poking fun at or turning my nose up at those who use acronyms. My “facepage,” as my nana calls it, has “lol’s” and “ftw’s.” I get that in some online communities the need for quick alternatives to words is needed.  For example, online gaming needs this shorthand, when mics aren’t available, because of the simultaneous slaying, questing, and talking the hands are doing. In some cases, though, the use of acronyms seems to exclude rather than include (and isn’t that why blogs are written, to include?). Entering certain boards is like entering a space where the “club” already has its own language that needs to be deciphered. Granted, learning a new language can be fun; but not when it’s a language that depletes for what doesn’t seem to be a *great* reason – especially in parenting communities where women should be trying to educate and share with one another, not alienate. (There is a great discussion about this alienation here, on OffbeatMama).

                There’s also the issue (definitely biased by my academic background) of language. I want to uphold the integrity of language. Right now, the internet puts so much in front of us; worlds within worlds are available, literally at our fingertips. In the awesomeness and ease of the internet, I don’t want to lose the integrity of the word, of the complexities of language. This same argument stands for emoticon usage. I’m all for visual rhetoric and pictoral representation but because this blog is a writing endeavor, I don’t want to resort to icons to show meaning, sarcasm or emotion; the writing should do that for me.

                So here I go, fumbling, fumbling, as this blog begins its birth…