It appears there’s something brewing in the Pinoy blogosphere. Abe Olandres reported over at Yugatech that a new issue has seemingly arisen from the recently-concluded Philippine Blog Awards: whether blogging is a right or a privilege. My take on that post and the accompanying comments: before saying anything, people should try to look up the true meanings of these two words first, then see what sets them apart.
I agree that blogging, while free and available to anyone, becomes a luxury of sorts. Hence it is considered by some as a privilege rather than a right. But since blogging does form a part of the freedom-of-speech concept, then might it not be correctly viewed as a right? Meaning to say, anybody who takes it upon himself to blog can and will be unencumbered to do so. No legal, social, religious, whatever impediments at all. This is the character of a right, isn’t it? (I think perhaps this is what they meant when whoever said this first said it.)
So what if blogging takes time and requires a bit of resources (not to mention, skill)? My friend Andrew seems to think that, because we are a poor country then it’s a preposterous idea that all Filipinos could be blogging, and so somehow it follows that blogging is a privilege. In my opinion, this is false logic. It is not a preposterous idea: merely an unlikely one. Further, I know of a number of people who consider themselves monetarily marginalized but are nevertheless bloggers. (And by the way, Drew, apologizing for sounding elitist doesn’t excuse nor discount elitism. 
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My thinking on this, however, is this: there’s no need to argue whether blogging is one way or the other. What’s important is that it is a free medium of expression. And because it is free, it involves a whole lot of responsibility. That’s what’s key here — responsible freedom of expression — not whether that I possess a right or that I am privileged as a blogger. Frankly, that argument is moot.
It becomes a right for anyone who chooses to claim it for himself, right? But getting there requires a certain degree of monetary commitment (no matter how small) so it *might be* a privilege.
hi benj. IMO, if it’s a right, it’s a right, no matter if it takes some resources to do it. because, if you say something is a privilege, that presupposes that that something is barred from other people (hence the term “less privileged”).
just my $0.02′s worth.
Yeah, I think the argument is moot. It begs the question “and then what?” hehe
Like you said, it’s moot, so it’s useless to argue my point already.
BTW, it’s Andrew, not Adrew.
woops, sorry about your misspelled name, Drew. ayan, corrected na.