I COULD not really believe my eyes. It was an entire web page dedicated to me! One might think I would be pleased with my new-found fame, yet this page was, in no uncertain terms, bashing me, suggesting I was bashed by my husband, and to top it all off, had in the middle of it, a picture of my son (then a toddler)! I read this 'blog' in horror.

Nothing this woman wrote suggested she had comprehended a word I had ever written, yet she had surfed the Internet and come up with pieces of my life, past and present, and of those close to me, added a little imagination and come up with a largely inaccurate picture, that she clearly did not like. I suspect, however, she would like the accurate picture even less.

I decided not to stoop to the level of this person, and simply asked that she remove the picture of my son from her blog, and suggested she refer to the ethical guidelines of blogging. Some months later when I was conducting some business overseas, the representative asked if I were a poet; he explained that he had done a google search and read something suggesting poetry. I shuddered; he had found the psycho's blog. I double-checked and prominently listed under my name was this hate blog referring to my 'poetry'. The thought that this clearly could interfere with my business was frightening. She had made one adjustment to her blog, a note that she had removed a picture of my husband, not my son, upon my request. A psycho liar with an audience is a dangerous thing!

Anonymous

I am not the only Jamaican who has fallen prey of this blogger; she seems to have a particular dislike for young women, but generally trashes everyone. It is a small consolation that I am in good company. While she clearly lives overseas and attacks so many of the young Jamaicans who are working here and contributing to this economy and society and taking responsibility for their actions, she remains anonymous, hiding behind an 'internet call name' never having to take any responsibility for her damage or hate.

Journalists are trained in ethics and are even bound by the law. Newspapers are accountable for the words that are printed in their pages. Editors constantly make judgement calls for the greater good, and are trained to deal with the huge responsibility they have. Newspapers have an address and their principals are known.

False names

As a result, we have trusted news sources. Yet, even in the newspaper industry there are examples of writers writing under false names, hiding their true identity and, therefore, eliminating another level of accountability and accuracy. Letters to the editor are often planted and just when you thought you got the opinion of Mark Fillander of Mocho, truthfully what you were reading was a plant from the political office in that area.

When an identity is not accurately disclosed, the reader cannot properly ascertain the possible motives or prejudices of the writer. The reverse is obvious, the reader may well have their own prejudices, and this will colour their interpretation of what is written. Yet, a single writer can cause greater damage than any reader, and the readers can only really hurt themselves with their prejudice.

Perhaps this 'blogger' has given blogs a bad name with her hate speech and lies, yet it is a reminder to those who do com-municate to the wider public to do so responsibly, honestly and ethically. We are inclined to believe anything we read, a dangerous habit in this age of media. Yet we must not blur the line between fiction and fact so that readers can really know what they are reading and who wrote it and why.