The Belgian Minister of Defense meets the blogosphere, doesn’t like it
Written on November 28th, 2008 by Graham
I want to take this opportunity and use this non-event to signal a dangerous phenomenon in our society. We live in a time where everybody is free to publish whatever he or she wants on blogs at will without taking any responsibility. This exceeds mud-slinging. Together with you, other Parliament members and the government I find that it’s nearly impossible to defend yourself against this. Everyone of you is a potential victim. I would like to ask you to take a moment and think about this.
The above quote was made by Belgian Minister of Defense Pieter De Crem. So why isn’t he happy with bloggers? Well, apparently a female bartender named Nathalie Baker had the displeasure of serving him Monday night at a bar in New York, and blogged about the experience (in Dutch). She blogged about how disgustingly drunk he was, about how he admitted he was there on taxpayer money and in the States to attend a meeting that he knew had been canceled. Good juicy stuff like that.
So, fast forward a few days, and the word spreads around the blogosphere. De Crem, embarassed and outraged of the tarnish thrown on his good name, has his office make a phone call in to the bar where Nathalie, our courageous blogger works. Next thing Nathalie knew, she was fired. You can also get the longer version of the story here.
Blogging is Dangerous
First of all, let’s get back to this quote above. De Crem wants to signal a “dangerous” phenomenon in our society. Ok, fair enough, but dangerous for whom? To me, this type of thing seems mostly dangerous to the careers of politicians who use taxpayer money to go on benders in the Big Apple. But then again, it’s also dangerous for the blogger, in this case Nathalie, who lost her job over the blog post. De Crem goes on to say that we live in a time where anyone can publish anything they want, without taking responsibility. The irony here, of course, is that he is actually the one who should be taking responsibility for his actions. The statement is made even more rediculous by the fact that Nathalie took the worst kind of responsibility for the whole event by losing her job, and she did nothing wrong. Or did she?
What do you think?
Are we, as bloggers, dangerous? Have we gone so mad with power and the ability to publish free, instantly, and worldwide that we need to be checked? Was it wrong of Nathalie to publish a post exposing the Defense Minister for coming to the city on taxpayer money and getting obscenely drunk? Is it truly impossible to defend against this kind of phenomenon?
November 28th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Sounds like he would fit right in with american politics.In bar drunk on taxpayer money looking for a hooker.Sign him up
November 28th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
The situation is interesting though, none the less. this kind of check has never before existed on our political leaders, and I am therefor not surprised that they are crying foul. However, I feel that this free publishing and exchange of information will become absolutely critical in the political process going into the future.
This also reminds me of another famous politician who “hated the bloggers”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wset9i4b0b4
November 28th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
This is a tough one to call. First, is/was she telling the truth? And most businesses frown upon the release of information to the public by employees about their customers. Blogging about work and your job in general has proven to be risky to many bloggers. But if what she blogged is true it’s a shame to see any politician acting like this and abusing the taxpayers.
November 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
In everything there is the good and the bad…there are abuses done through blog BUT there are also little miracles and a show of compassion through the blog-o-sphere- amber reports, funding campaigns, memorial pages for victims, as aid for detective work, transmission of information and news…
people should just be clear on why blogs were created…for the good. if one chooses to do the bad thing in blogging then its the person who writes the blog that’s the problem and not the art of blogging.
November 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I also wonder what happens when enough politicians start to hate the bloggers…
November 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
It is fascinating…most people reading this post, including- it seems- you the author, just automatically ASSUME she is telling the truth…and that is the exact danger of the blogosphere..anyone can say anything and people believe them.
On the other hand, people are free to say things that need to be said and that is a very valuable asset. The difficult part is weeding the truth from the lies, the opinions from the propaganda.
It really is a two edged sword.
November 28th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
That is a shrewd observation Thyme. But it begs the question of how do we, as a blogosphere, move towards a higher standard of credibility. At what point will we start assuming liability for the things we publish, thereby giving more weight to our words, and more credibility to our entire industry?
November 28th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I thought one of the points of blogging was to be honest. If he were actually drunk and horrible, then I would say she is entitled to her opinion. If she were lying, like Thyme2dream raised, then she is obviously in the wrong.
And if assuming liability meant self-censorship, bloggers would just be a second version of the media. -wry- The comments on that site linked are pretty interesting, though.
And when enough politicians hate the bloggers? The internet is a free space; no one can police the whole breadth and width of it. Bloggers will simply find another way to get their opinions known, and if it’s a big issue, there’ll be even more of these. XD
November 29th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Yesterday I published an attack on the British banking system that has been scamming its customers for years by imposing unfair charges when an account goes into the red or over an overdraft limit.
The principle is being tested in the courts, but the judicial system appears to be dragging its feet at a time that the UK banks are already in big trouble.
I feel absolutely justified in saying what I have and I DO take full responsibility for it.
The blogosphere has to take the risk that some of its denizens may misuse it in order to maintain the most valuable treasure of free speech for which writers have suffered and died over centuries of repressive political regimes.
If the young lady was telling the truth about the politician concerned then congratulations to her, and I am sad she lost her job through telling the truth.
If I had a similar story to tell about a British politician and I could prove what I was writing, I would have no reticence whatever about making it known how our supposed responsible leaders were misusing our money.
We are all freelance journalists. Provided a journo tells the truth in a story they write, AND it is in the public interest, British law at least protects us. Politicians have tried for years to take this right away in the name of ‘personal privacy’ and every time, have been forced to retreat in the face of justice and fair play and the traditions of a free press.
November 29th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Yea you’re right thyme, its a two edged sword. I cant tell the Minister is tottally wrong because I have noticed many bloggers who misuse this freedom. But you cant all together hate it. I’m sure Mr Obama will surely love all the love he got from the entire blogosphere and the free publicity. But still this is surely a confusing topic where you must not think much over the negatives.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Freedom of speech (and writing) is one thing, Misusing this freedom is another. The same would apply to politicians misusing public funds. However I agree with some of the sentiment expressed here in that in my opinion some bloggers (and politicians) go to far.
I choose not to read the blog she wrote ( I don’t read Dutch anyway) since I believe this just condones the activity. As does publishing the link!
I live in a country with a degree of Internet censorship, which doesn’t effect me, since I apply a degree of common sense to what I write.
Perhaps the blogger in question should have done the same, at least then she would still have a job.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Actually if politicians start blogging, there will he hell lot of controversies!
And one important fact because of which politicians hate blogs is: They cant monitor the Vast blogospere and see what others are talking about that!
November 29th, 2008 at 7:08 am
If telling the truth, then I think the only thing the blogger has done was broken company rules and blogged about a customer of the bar she was working in and this is probably why she lost her job.
Could you imagine a ‘Lady of the night’ naming and shaming her customers?
Would you expect to spend time in a bar to relax and have a drink to find the bar staff blogging about you the next day because you had one to many or said something you shouldn’t have?
November 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
blogging – the revolution is online…
blogging the new revolution!
November 29th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Well, I guess, everyone may speak their words, but it must be followed by ethics too. That will make difference.
November 29th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Quite frankly, the problem (as I see it) was that the blogger, an employee of a watering hole, had no business blogging about her customers, no matter who they were.
The Belgian Minister may have exercised poor judgment, but that is a matter for his superiors and his own government, not the server.
Consider this, would she have run to the newspaper with the story?
As for her losing her job, perhaps her employer had rules in place that require restraint and privacy of the clientele.
Overall, it also shows there are people who would be better off finding other things to do, than be on the internet blogging. But then, considering the quality of some journalism now days, the lines are getting quite blurry between opinion and fact.
November 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
It is potential danger in the sense that they are now subject to unprecedented public check and balance.
However, we the bloggers are also not careful enough to support another outcrying blogger; without further investigation, at least hate crime like thing should be taken seriously.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
sorry, he was an idiot for telling her (the truth) information that he would not want published. All of us have the same issue, but a person admitting fraud gets what he deserves.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Stupid people shouldn’t complain about valid criticism. If they didn’t do things that they would regret later then they wouldn’t have to worry about a “tarnished reputation.” To me I think blogging is a good way of leveling the playing field.
Politicians have no trouble expressing their opinions and ideas, so why are they going to complain when the common person expresses their opinions and ideas?
November 29th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
[...] – http://entrecard.com/blog/?p=735 [...]
November 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
There was an education blog that I used to follow that had to shut down because the district found out about it and forced him to shut it down even though nobody knew where the school is, the students etc.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
You’d be upset if your psychologist talked about your problems in a blog. It’s been said that bartenders are like psychologists in that people tell things to them that they normally wouldn’t tell anyone else. They are confidantes. Now I’m not a drinker and I have never told my life story to a bartender, but it seems to me that she violated an unwritten rule of confidentiality. The bar owner may have felt that he could lose business due to people being afraid of his bartender telling their stories online. The owner was justified in firing her.
It in no way justifies what he did, but just because he was wrong doesn’t make her right. Just because she was wrong doesn’t make him right either. Going after a mouse in your house with a shotgun is a dumb idea. That politician should lose his career for multiple levels of bad judgment.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Paul said the truth.
Losing a job for a mere problem like this is pretty absurd. If he didn’t want to be criticized, then don’t do anything stupid. It’s pretty clear that that minister made the first mistake, so why did he complain?
November 30th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I appreciated Paul’s comment (#22) I never would have thought of the situation in this way. However, I still think that the minister was the one most wrong. I don’t think that it makes any sense to trust a bar maid with important information in the first place.
He may have been under the influence of alcohol, but it was still bad judgment on his own part to tell her about his business. She, on the other hand, felt that other people should know about minister’s true personality.
Muck raking has always been controversial. Some people feel that it is always justified because others should have the right to know when people in positions of power are abusing their position, etc. But on the other hand, some people feel that muck raking is always exaggerated and is therefore nothing but libel.
Personally, I’d view anyone who kept a secret about a crime as a participant in that crime. In this case, it was the woman’s duty to tell others that the minister was drinking on tax payer money. If she didn’t then she would be an accomplice in that misuse of tax payer money.
Nathan –
November 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
[...] – http://entrecard.com/blog/?p=735 [...]
December 1st, 2008 at 7:33 am
[...] blogger who’s only crime is pointing out your own stupidity) then more people end up blogging about it. De Crem is beside himself, after all what kind of world is it where public servants [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:05 am
Nice work reading between the lines here G. I will say that I would not have had a reason to blog about client confidentiality no matter how juicy. For her to be fired over what should be considered freedom of speech if she blogged from NY and the PM to go unscathed for an unethical business trip, that’s rich.
This is a case of a ‘Blogger-azzi’ instead of a camera they used a blog. Big deal.
He should be thankful there were no pictures and he is probably the one who made his actions more widely known by condemning the blogsphere. Dangerous words from a dangerous man. What a noob.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:33 am
Not openly sharing my name on this one, political messages are poison BUT… here’s my take.
He’s threatened by blogs because they take away what most politicians desire – full control.
IS HE REALLY WANTING TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS UNDER THE RADAR in 2008 ? sounds like it. Blogs help people learn about what they want to at lightning speed… which is too fast for speeding politicians. Blogs stay, politicians go.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 am
Is it a bloggers fault that the politicians get caught cheating and getting drunk? I think not. Are bloggers with pictures of drunk politicians dangerous? Only to the fool politician getting drunk in public.
Politicians are dangerous, Mr Belgian minister of defense.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:08 am
Hi!
I do not agree that blogging is dangerous. People have the right for their own opinions as long as they write the truth. It is a good ground to improve ones writing skill and interact with other bloggers worldwide. It makes you feel so near to each other with their regular posts even though one maybe living in New York and the other blogger living in Japan. Also there are so many professional blogs which are educational.
Even President Elect Obama has a blog! and I like it!
December 17th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
He is scared because he got caught and is afraid that he may actually have to take responsibility for his actions. God forbid….anyway I don’t think she did anything wrong. However she has to know what may happen if she speaks her mind and who may or may not react kindly to her words.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Entrecard is the greatest.
Helen Yelverton