But you know, for something that seems so huge, the blogging world really is a small community. And I worry about speaking out about things as well. Sometimes speaking out about something means exposing people you care about and don’t want to see hurt. That ‘collateral damage’ effect.

@Amy-I agree with your comments. I do think that spreading the word quietly though is just as damaging as blogging about it. Because we all basically know the same people and we all eventually hear the whispered warnings.

If it is something about me I would rather it be out in the open so that I can defend myself. However, I have a hard time calling out the situations I see myself so I can’t hold people to a standard I am not always willing to commit to myself.

Another great post, L. Nice to see you back

Because of money. He’s not the source of mine.

I think that in this business or blogosphere or community – whatever you want to call it – there are those who feel comfortable in the success that they have found or in their complete lack of desire to find what many define as success. Then there are the many, many, (many!) more who are waiting for their ship to come in and until it does are completely afraid to rock the boat.

There are also those of us who know enough people to have heard a good many things…but know very little of these things from first hand experience. Have I heard stories of horrific, criminal things happening to bloggers? Of course. But was I there? Nope.

So in this case, I personally choose to turn down work from people who are known to be underhanded, dastardly, or even criminal, but I am fortunate in that I have enough other sources of work. I hope that I know myself enough to know that I would dissociate myself from these scummy folks just because of personal standards, but I certainly don’t know until I’ve been in that situation.

Here’s my question: For those of us who hear these stories about others, what should we do? Do we blog about it? Do we approach the person in question? Do we spread the word quietly that these people should be avoided? Do we sit back knowingly and wait for the imminent demise? If it hasn’t happened to us first hand, is that fair? I wonder if many of us are sitting here as basically good people in the know because we just don’t know what to do next.

And p.s. – Thank God I’ve got your blog feed showing up in my inbox again. It was sorely missed.

Erin: You are much braver than you give yourself credit for. You just don’t know how much the rest of us are staying silent because you can’t imagine being so afraid.

Micah: I’ve always loved that parable – but sometimes it’s hard to know when to step up. I’m glad I have folks like you and Erin as examples.

There is a famous parable about not saying anything as the Nazis took members of a town, until there was no one but the story teller. I can’t live in a world where that is true. So I open my mouth. A lot.

We live in a world that is not only interconnected, but also has people who attempt to take advantage of that interconnectedness. And that, often makes me sad.

Interesting post…even though I truly have no idea who or what you are talking about, lol! I could definitely see where you are coming from. I do know Erin (Queen of Spain) a little from Twitter and FB so I definitely agree with you about her being courageous. I always enjoy seeing both of your postings here and there! You ladies make me think and I enjoy that.

I think I would put myself in the same category as you when it comes to things like this. From past experience and a humongous backlash of just CRAP being thrown on me because I chose to speak out about some things, I have just become one of those people that will just REFUSE to acknowledge the offending person’s/company’s existence. I don’t speak ill, I don’t speak well, I just don’t speak of them at all. Although, if I DO see someone I consider a good friend wandering into that territory, I WILL give them a heads up….but publicly, nope. The energy and effort I have to put forth DEFENDING myself for trying to look out for other people in such situations just isn’t worth it.

I really wish I could be a little braver when it comes to these things…but then, my son and daughter come out of their rooms screaming at each other and I switch into “OH, yeah. I am mom!” mode and the attention and urgency of the perceived dilemma is diverted to something more important, heh;)

Anyway, great blog! I hope you have a better than fantastic weekend!