Comments on: voice of the voiceless

By: Project TOTO · TOTO Challenge #1 – The Winner!

Project TOTO · TOTO Challenge #1 – The Winner! — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:21:56 +0000

[...] second runner up is Michael Quall for his voice of the voiceless post. By far the most passionate post from the shortlist, Michael’s writing is infused with a [...]

By: busy z Polski do Niemiec

busy z Polski do Niemiec — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:17:26 +0000

Gdzie mozna pobrac template ktory uzyles na swoium blogu ?

By: teeth bleaching

teeth bleaching — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:48:41 +0000

I want to tell you that you are a good writer. Awsome posts

By: margo

margo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:47:05 +0000

your comment is sooo great!!! i love what you said!! you go girlfriend!

By: julie mcallister

julie mcallister — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:33:57 +0000

I must disagree with the other comments in that your piece really spoke to me. It doesn’t need to be heavy on facts , it is about human ethics and how we exist and interact in this world as much as anything else. I didn’t find the tone angry at all, it felt very thoughtful to me, perhaps because what you were saying speaks to exactly how i feel so I do not feel accused by it. We are extremely privileged, not by any right or talent or anything even tangible – just by a stroke of fate. What we do with that privilege is how we should be judged. Even the comments about grammer and punctuation are about excluding others, not conciously or willingly but that is their effect. Those without a formal education or a working knowledge of spelling feel intimidated or scared to state their opinion. That is snobbery. Those of us who have had the benefit of education, healthcare, good nutrition, human rights etc etc should be helping those who haven’t to get their voice heard. Worse case scenario if Australia is badly affected by climate change, or war or famine I can emigrate, others are not so lucky – they’re best bet is to become a refugee (and we know how the world loves refugees).
So yes I do feel privileged ( even if I can’t spell it!)

By: Hannah Jackson

Hannah Jackson — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:10:01 +0000

I think this is a good blog. It’s clear that you really, truly and un-censoredly believe everything you are saying. It does come across a little like blame, but if it is the truth – although it’s as a group, not individually – that we are responsible for climate change, then it’s no bad thing to say so. You assemble lots of arguments in favour of acting about climate change, and really engage readers on an emotional level to respond with urgency to the problem of rising sea levels etc.
However, whilst I appreciate that you are trying to be geniune and are comfortable with finding a different project if TOTO isn’t a good fit, what I would say is that the main benefit of a clearer structure (referring to the comments about capital letters above) is ease of reading. The layout above did make me more inclined to skim and harder to read, therefore making it less likely that a more casual reader would reach the end and take on board what you were saying seriously. It is a shame that there is more ‘propaganda’ than clear evidence, but I think that depends on your audience. Nevertheless, clearly this audience do really require something a little more well researched and obviously well thought out.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:37:26 +0000

Everything you said in the last sentence of your response, Michael, is the antithesis of what a writer should be. Sentences should be grammatically correct, backed by solid evidence, and relatively objective. This isn’t supposed to be a drunken text to your friends, although it sure looks like one.

Shooting from the hip is fine in the pub with your mates, but not everyone wants to know what your own personal opinions are on this particular website… especially on such important issues.

The “i think, i type, i hit send” isn’t such a great approach, I’m afraid, if you want people to take action, or at least to take you seriously…

By: Michael 'nomadiqueMC' Quall

Michael 'nomadiqueMC' Quall — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:29:51 +0000

thanks for your comments shelley, and your honesty.

when i first received this challenge, i did sit down with the intent of using the month or so that i had at my disposal to write a well thought out, researched and analytical ‘mini-essay’ on the issue of climate change and its relationship to poverty. I’m a career bureaucrat, so that’s not a stretch for me.

but that’s not how i write, not anymore at least, and certainly not on my own ‘blog (at http://www.nomadiquemc.com). in my own words I’m “heavy on opinion, light on facts”. I’m not an academic, or a journalist.

i thought about something @stilgherrian said in his wrap up of his own adventure, about having unwittingly censored himself whilst both blogging and tweeting from his Project TOTO journey. i wouldn’t want to make that mistake.

so here, from me, what you see is what you get. complacency is the enemy, and provocation is my weapon of choice.

and if that’s not a good fit for ActionAid and Project TOTO, then that will come out in the wash. I’d rather be ousted for being me, than selected for being full of shit. what ActionAid is trying to achieve is far too important to be entrusted to poseurs.

MikQ

(PS – i type better than i write, but i write like i speak. if i go back to edit something I’ve written, I’m just as likely to delete the whole thing as i am to muck about with the shift key. i think, i type, i hit send. my mouth is the same…)

By: Shelley George

Shelley George — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:01:37 +0000

Michael, you are clearly passionate but your blog makes me feel like I’m being blamed for the problem of climate change. I believe that I, like most people in ‘privileged’ nations, are guilty of ignorance and perhaps denial, but not of purposeful cruelty. The tone of anger comes across a little too strongly in your blog for my liking and does not make me inclined to throw my support behind ActionAid and combatting climate change. I feel a more informative and encouraging approach would have worked much better than your argumentative attempt. I am sorry to say that I am also a fan of capital letters at the beginning of sentences. I have learnt much more about the impact of climate change on people from other posts.