Some Might Call this Flattery. I Don't.

Friday, 22 November 2002

Clearly, hero-columnist Janet Albrechtsen of the Oz has nothing left to teach blogger Jozef Imrich of Media Dragon. In this posting Jozef offers his opinion on Gary Sauer-Thomson's suggestion that blogging is a form of public intellectualism, using language that shows a remarkable resemblance to my posting A Saturday Allegory. True, Jozef does include my name and E-mail at the bottom of the post but I hardly consider that attribution under the circumstances.

While it's flattering that Jozef liked my fable well enough to quote it in full, I think it's a little mischievous that he chose to do so in a way that suggested that it was a comment on the "bloggers as public intellectuals" discussion. It wasn't. It was motivated by an entirely different set of concerns which I wasn't fully aware of until after it was written but the problem with fables, of course, is that you can persuade them to mean whatever you like.

All the same, Jozef, the next time you have an opinion to offer on any topic, I'd be grateful if you use your own words, rather than using mine to express opinions that I may not actually hold. Or you might at least have the basic courtesy to ask me first, before you appropriate any more of my writing for your blog.

Update: Jozef and I have exchanged E-Mails on this subject and a dignified funeral has been arranged for the hatchet. The funeral will be attended by a few close friends and relatives. No flowers please, by request of the hatchet's widow, the chain saw.