the ethics of blogging

This is the comment i recieved after writing the commentary on the defying gravity lip synching video:

Hi there, this is the he.(she)? in the video Defying Gravity!! Wow...first of
all thanks for writing a blog about me!! that's really cool! Yes some might
say to do it in the privacy of my own home and then burn the tape!! but
life's to short to burn tapes!!! this video goes out to anyone who did the
same thing and was to embarassed...!! Just DO IT! Thanks again for the blog!
and PS...I'm a guy!

um. okay.

Not gonna lie, this took me by surprise. First of all, who knew people could track you down if you take their clip on youtube. i mean, it makes sense, i just never thought of it.

Secondly-- i openly mocked that video calling it "embarassing", "tingly", "a monstrosity", "priceless", "lame", "crazy", and "great fodder for my blog", not to mention my running joke about the ambiguity of his sex: and he doesn't seem to care!

Me, being the kind, good natured boy who believes in the innate goodness of people, felt badly and I took some time to reflect on the ethical questions of having a blog. After those five minutes of deep thought, I came to a few conclusions:

1. my blog is reaching into the deep corners of the cyber-world--well beyond my intended 2 readers (holla at ya Courtney and Beneatha!!!)

2. who am I to openly mock a fellow human being and post it for all the world to see?

3. I shouldn't post any more videos of people singing/dancing/lip synching/doing other things that are funny and embarassing to themselves.

after coming to those conclusions, I then pondered some more:

4. wait a minute--THEY'RE the ones that are putting it up there to share

5. (after re-reading his comment) he's PROUD of his video

re-examining my initial conclusions:

6. yes, my blog still is reaching out to the depths of cyber-space---that conclusion is happily un-changed.

7. who am i to openly mock a fellow human being? Well i was a fat kid who battled the torment of elementary and middle school--so i do have somewhat of a right. but more importantly--i'm NOT mocking. People videotape and post these videos willingingly and are proud of them--so who am I to deny the world of their work?

8. It is the duty of this blog to post more videos of people singing/dancing/lip synching/doing other things that are funny and embarassing to themselves. No more will their hours of preperation, filming and editing go unnoticed.

In conclusion--Josh: I thank you tremendously for finding this blog, and writing your comment! And you keep doin' what you're doin' man! I think we should all heed Josh's advice and "just DO it"--meaning make our own videos and post them on youtube. Seriously--make your own video and i'll put it on this blog and then write about you. who wouldn't want that?

PS. Josh--i apologize for not knowing if you were a boy or girl. i know that pain: one time when i was fat and in need of a haircut, my mom and i went to a chinese restaurant and the waitress asked my mom "is this your daughter?" i tried to awkwardly laugh it off...but i'm pretty sure i cried. in hindsight though, isn't me mistaking you for a girl a compliment? it means that you you were totally transformed in what you were doing. no? i'm an ass? ok.