Discoveries: a world full of angry people is finding its voice

I have been out of Barbados for over a week, and Internet access is not always available, which has hampered my writing, but I will try to make it up. However, it has given me time to reflect and try my hand at other writing. I have had a chance to surf and find other blogs. A few of them are about the Caribbean, and they make very interesting reading. One I found, rings a chord with me ("Moving to Jamaica") is now linked to this site. The author echos many things I have observed about the Caribbean (3rd world but by far not the worst place) and what it's like to be back there, once you have lived in Europe or North America (1st world, though with some problems that can plague life, like high crime.)

That matter of crime is a great scourge. In that vein, one of my daughters spoke to me about the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech, where a gunman created the worst shooting rampage in US history, killing 32. None of the students we know there are among the dead so far identified. I hope it stays that way. My daughter also tells me that Facebook is already full of lists of those who died and those who survived.

I have been looking more at the blogs that are developing in Barbados, and there is a fierce battle going on for readers' attention in Barbados Free Press. Most of the posts are provocative and good reading. The comments flow freely, some might say too freely, and sometime end up as ranting. To me, the debates quickly lose their focus because of that. Moderating blog comments is difficult and time consuming; keeping the spirit of free speech means giving commentators their way. So, I guess, it's the commentators who need to figure out how to put across their points without them quickly descending into personal attacks. It does appear, however, that the blogs are quickly taking the lead from the standard media as sources of penetrating news observations.

I have found other blogs that are so varied it's pointless to try to describe them. There are many popular blogs in all of the categories. Some are clearly the work of dedicated teams of aggressive writers; some use language without censorship and they often aim to shock and offend, others are more moderate in their tone and seek to impress with different kinds of writing talents. Some individuals are simply trying to share their views and putting out words and images to help those who are far from the writer to share vividly in an experience.

What I have discovered in the past few weeks is that the Internet has given a platform to anyone who chooses to use it. Those who can also master the video options have already revolutionized news by sending out images almost as fast as events occur. It's a potential scary development because no one is safe from observation and criticism, and truths and lies can be be quickly spread. I hope we know how to handle this new power with care.