Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Nashville is...Speechless

...well, not really. I don't think it's possible. But the local blogging community is shaken up, for sure, over Brittney Gilbert's resignation as author/host of Nashville is Talking.

As she demonstrated in her resignation announcement, she has had to put up with an appalling amount of cruelty, judgment and vile hatred over the last two years. I am completely stunned at the ignorance and the venom people feel so free to spew online. Can't blame her for wanting that to be over. And as others have pointed out, this may be a great move for her personally in that writing and moderating NiT has stifled the creativity of a talented writer. Still, I'm disappointed to see her go. Ever since I was somehow "discovered" by NiT a year and a half ago and added to the blogroll, I've thoroughly enjoyed this unique forum where people from all over the ideological/political/theological/cultural map come together.

Brittney and I couldn't be more different in many important ways. But though I may not agree with her opinions about a lot of things (and she made no pretense of objectivity; that wasn't her job), I thoroughly respect her. Two stints of guest blogging showed me that although "paid to blog full time" sounds like a sweet gig, it's a lot tougher than it looks. She highlighted incredibly diverse posts, whether she personally liked them or not. She demonstrated class and she pushed me to think and she often made me laugh. And she is the best ironic/witty headline writer I've seen, no exceptions.

I'm grateful for the Nashville blogging community. It has challenged me to grapple with ideas very different from my own and introduced me to a lot of very fascinating/wise/compassionate/funny/thoughtful people. And Brittney was instrumental in creating the kind of community that NiT has become.

Wondering what happens to Nashville is Talking now...wishing Brittney all the best.

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