Message versus Presentation

I was having brunch in the presence of these sunflowers and lots of international friends reunited. During the passing of the salad and the eating of the croissants I mentioned the blog post of mine the other day about the world bank and the response it received. In case you don’t remember, one of the many WB people who read this blog (yes im serious) left a comment encouraging me to join the discussion at the official organization’s blog.

So I went over to the blog like a good internaut, and I left a paragraph about the state of the world and the questions I ask about the Bank’s objectives and methods. I guess within that paragraph i may have used a word like suck or shit, probably because it was the word that best fit the point I was making. I actually don’t remember if I used either, all I know is that I received a response from the webmaster saying that my comments could not be published because the language “does not meet publishing regulations“. To which I should have responded = Your Publishing Rules Suck Ass.

Someone at the table challenged my lunacy and said — “wouldn’t it be more practical to just take the curse word out and send your comments again so they can be heard?” To which I responded with my best childhood stubbornness…. NO. But he went to pose a great question for idealists and excessively proud people like myself — “If you show up to a meeting somewhere, to make a point about something you believe, but because you dress in shitty clothes, no one takes you seriously; wouldn’t it be better to dress nice, and then be able to have your point heard?” To which I quietly responded — NO.

I get that feeling this attitude could be a problem.