Offically, I'm bowing out gracefully. Unofficially, it's time to ramp up the swearing

While I have greatly enjoyed participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I've decided to no longer officially participate. This morning I saw that one of the participants has been singled out by the A to Z organizer, who has taken issue with the amount of swearing on her blog and changed her blog designation from humour to adult content. Basically, he called her blog obscene, offensive and implied her site is a waste if time unless you're the type of person who only reads blogs for shock value or entertainment.

Let me just make it clear, this was how *I* perceived his comments to her...that may not be exactly what he was trying to say, but that's certainly how his comments came across, in my opinion. Perception seems to be at the heart of the matter...how does one perceive a quality blog vs an offensive blog? That's up to the individual. What makes a blog a quality blog for me all boils down to the writing...does the writer write with passion about his/her subject? Does the post come alive on the page? Does the post resonate and make me feel something (whether that feeling is happy, hopeful, outraged, awestruck, or best of all to me, makes me laugh myself into an asthma attack)? Likewise, a blog that is a bunch of poorly written dreck not fit to wipe your ass with, with zero passion and so fucking boring I want to gouge my eyes out? Is highly fucking offensive to me. And when I find a post like that, I click off the link and never go back. It's just that simple.

Part of the problem is I don't think the rules were all that clear about what constitutes adult content and I was wondering about my own blog when I signed up. To me, saying "fuck" and "shit" and "douchcanoe" does not qualify as adult content because 1) the blogging world is made up of mostly adults who may not always appreciate a well-placed "motherfucker" but will not be scarred for life by one either and 2) if your kid is reading my blog and you don't think they should be (why a kid would want to read my blog in the first place is sort of a moot point, since the last time I checked, pics of lips that look like a giant eyeball and complaints about how dentists are all closet sadists were not real popular with the 12-year-old set), then you may want to either invest in a parental control program for your computer or monitor their internet usage more closely, and 3) if you have a clearly written disclaimer that your blog contains swearing and may be offensive to people with delicate sensibilites, that should be good enough. It's not hardcore midget clown porn, it's an f-bomb...get over it.

All that stuff kind of bugs me, but whatever...it's a blogging challenge and there are rules. But the same rules should apply to everyone and not just be enforced arbitrarily, which seems to be what's happening.

What really bothered me was my perception (see, there's that word again) of Mr Bird's lowered opinion of the type of blogs that myself, and so many others that I enjoy reading  here, write. This is part of my comment I left on Don't Call Me Marge 's post, which is a post about the the ongoing shit she's been receiving during this challenge:

What I'm really taking offense to is his suggestion that blogs like yours (and mine, for that matter) are a waste of time. Excuse me??? My blog may not be inspiring world peace or making people cry because it's so beautifully insightful but last time I checked, there was no hierarchy of blogging that states any blog that does not conform to one guy's opinion of what good writing is automatically gets consigned to the blogging sewer.

I write inane posts about stupid shit. My goal is to make someone laugh so hard they spit their beverage all over their laptop. It's not a cure for cancer, but life without laughter is a life not worth living, IMHO. Who gives a flying fuck about what you write, as long as it's well-written? Is that not the goal of writing, to write something that comes to life on the page?

So I've concluded that perhaps this challenge is not for me and my type of writing. I've had a great time but I'm not interested in officially participating in a challenge that doesn't seem to celebrate all types and styles of writing, and that has rules that are enforced arbitrarily and unequally. I'll still post my remaining posts that I prewrote (no sense in letting them go to waste) and I'll still be reading my favourite A to Z bloggers because your posts rock...enjoy the rest of the challenge, thank you for all the wonderful comments on my A to Z posts and I'm sorry for the epic length of this post...kudos to you if you read the whole fucking thing!

PS, One cool thing that did come out of all of this is a new challenge for the month of May...

The rules are lax, you don't have to post every day unless you feel like it, and swearing is required...fucking rights I'm in! Click on the image for more info and to sign up!