Jonesieblog

As a blogger I seem to be incapable of avoiding speaking my mind. Several times this has meant posts that have offended people, most recently here, and revealed that the contents of my mind are not quite as righteous and infallible as I would like to think. I regret the offence caused, and do not mean anything in this post to suggest that it was a good thing to have said what I said.

However, what is good is that I have been forced to deal with the consequences of my words. I have offended people. That’s not always a bad thing, but in this case it was, and the public, permanent nature of communication via blogs has meant that those I offended felt able to tell me, and expect some kind of explanation. My response was a heartfelt apology, but just as importantly it’s made me feel “hmm – better watch out not to offend people unnecessarily in future” in a way that wouldn’t have happened if I had been involved in a face-to-face argument. I’m not sure if I’ve explained this very well, but it was definitely one of those “ooh – do I really do that?” moments – a wee flash of the gift Burns wished for. Interesting….

In the unlikely event that any readers might be concerned for my self-esteem at this juncture, let me assure you that it is unaffected by this incident I have neither donned sackcloth nor purchased a whip. Life is a rough and tumble old journey, and stepping on each other’s toes is inevitable once in a while.

Stumble it!