Weirdo British Zen Masters
It seems that Brad Warner has a small problem. He is trying to figure out how to continue putting out his good words for the nice people who truly appreciate them, without having to deal with the undesirables that might not. (He has just posted a new item on his Hardcore Zen Blog). Brad likes having his posts read. What Brad apparently doesn't like is having people comment on the content of his writing. He has mentioned more than once what a big hassle that was. He believes his responders were mistaken in their belief that they were giving him feedback. He thinks they were merely using his blog of deep thoughts as a gathering place to chat! Commenting on his words was nothing but silly idle talk. He has said he doesn't want to have to chaperone that kind of scene anymore. It was difficult for him to keep things properly respectful when he was in a serious teaching mood. He has also mentioned more than once that if someone wants to set up a blog which is about his "Hardcore Zen" site, they would have his blessing. Hint, hint.. He said he might even link to it. That way his writing could be read and discussed without him having to suffer the indignity of interacting with oddballs. We would be on our own to figure it all out. So don’t expect him to even read what others are saying about his writing. “I won't read it or monitor it or delete spam and comments from weirdo British Zen Masters with axes to grind. Sorry.” Nothing ruins a good blog more than rampant weirdo British Zen Masters. Brad’s teacher Gudo Nishijima has resumed posting to his own blog. He has kept his comments section open. He has figured out the perfect method of dealing with weird comments. He ignores them and trusts others to do the same.
posted by oxeye @ Tuesday, May 16, 2006
9 comments
9 Comments:
Interesting post. I was just thinking something almost exactly opposite of what you wrote, and then, having read your piece, reconsidered.
It made sense to me that Brad felt in some way responsible for the content of the comments section because it is a part of his site and therefore reflects upon him. So maybe he felt it a hassle to devote any additional time to looking at it and making sure it wasn't getting wacky...
On the flip side, I didn't think the comment section ever really devolved into anything that horrible...and a lot of the responses people had were actually rather insightful...of course, the tenor of the comments wasn't always positive...
Its his choice ultimately, and his reasoning may seem silly but he has his right to it. If, at the end of the day, he's just an egotist who doesn't like to be challenged on his opinions, that's his problem.
I still enjoy reading what he writes and it still seems about 10 cuts above what others are blogging regarding "zen stuff."
-Aaron
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C'mon, Brad, you know you love it.
It's your nature. Look within. Not only a punk rock fan, but a punk rock musician, who produced five albums, I believe. Listening to punk rock back then was an avenue for exhibitionist rebellion, if I remember correctly.
And PERFORMING punk rock was an avenue for attracting the adulation of the few, and the scorn and criticism of mainstream society.
And the book (a marvelous piece of literature, in my opinion). You intended to challenge and provoke and insult. And again attract adulation from some and scorn from others. And that is what you are getting.
Someone called you a "hollywood assclown" on the Ultraman forum, and you cherish this, reposting the comment on your own blog (it is pretty damn funny).
So face it. You love it. Own it. Admit it.
By the way, this IS the blog that was created when you eliminated the ability to post on your site.
So post that link already!
Yes... haven't we already been through all of this?
Being a rather busy person myself, I can completely understand why Brad feels the way he does. It was fun for a while, but it got out of hand.
I wouldn't enjoy being attacked all the time either. Some people's comments were just plain mean. Why would anyone subject themselves to that kind of thing? (He doesn't owe us readers anything.)
Also, just because he is/was a punk rock musician, that doesn't mean he is open to attacks of all kinds.
If you don't like what he writes, then don't read it.
I, for one, atill enjoy his posts. I actually preferred the old days when he used to post essays on the old Sit Down And Shut Up site. But I imagine that he is using his current essays in his new book.
Brad says that he likes dogs, then someone else says, "By why do you hate cats?" Oxeye's post just proves this point--we see what we want to see. In my eyes, I just take Brad for his word, which is that he doesn't have the time to read through and moderate the comments section. But if you choose to get yourself worked up over what you think is Brad's real motivation, you don't need a comments section to bitch about it. If it's that important to you to tell Brad how upset you are over your interpretation of what he said, just send him an email.
All I want to say here is that if this blog resolves itself into being primarily about commenting on what Brad Warner says, I don't think I'll be spending much time here.
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Also I would assume that "Weirdo British Zen Masters with axes to grind" refers to Mike Cross.
justin, you could be correct. or you might be mistaken. brad said a lot of good things on that post. the weirdo zen master comment just wasn't one of them.
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