Will Vehrs Off

For those of you who might not have followed this story, Mr. Vehrs is one of the best reputed and most fair minded of conservative bloggers.  He is also a public official working on development in the depressed economy of the Martinsville area.  When he made some satirical remarks about Martinsville's poor economic situation for one of Commonwealth Conservative's recurring caption contest feature, Martinsville  cried foul.  Delegate Wade Armstrong called for Mr. Vehrs to be fired, and he was ultimately suspended without pay.  As part of the condition of his continued employment, Mr. Vehrs will no longer be allowed to blog.

In his farewell post, Mr. Vehrs had this to say:

[...] I+óGé¼Gäóve reached the end of the line.

All I ever wanted to do was to write about culture, the media, and politics in the hopes of stimulating discussion. I+óGé¼Gäóve learned so much more from the responses to my posts than I have ever learned from writing them.

I thought my blogging and my real job had a certain synergy. I was wrong.

I thought I could try to be funny and satiric in special blog venues without hurting anyone. Again, I was wrong.

This is an extremely troubling development in the ongoing evolution of blogging ethics which raises critical questions for all of us:
What are the ramifications when we say things online?  If even jesting comments can put our livelihoods in jeopardy, what of the comments we make in earnest?

For those of us interested in making a contribution to civic life offline, how damaging can our blog posts and comments be should we hope to serve in public office or civil service?

Is there really any benefit to blogging under our real names?  Greater blasphemies have been spread by anonymous bloggers than ever were stated by Mr. Vehrs. 

On and on the questions mount and I find the sad case of Will Vehrs profoundly troubling in the detail and in the abstract.  Will Vehrs has been one of my inspirations in blogging.  He showed me the value of a public voice and how principle builds community.  Will's contribution will be missed more among conservatives than others, but the lesson of his experience must be considered equally.

George Bush famously said that elections have consequences.  Apparently, blog comments have consequences.  Where will this lead us?  It's my hope that this example will not create a more fearful blogsphere, but rather a more responsible blogsphere. 

After a long fruitful run as a blogging great Will Vehrs left his community with only this advice:

I have no sage wisdom to impart to the legion of bloggers whose company I+óGé¼Gäóve gratefully kept, except perhaps to suggest that they always think twice before hitting +óGé¼+ôPublish.+óGé¼-¥

If we let "think[ing] twice" mean being mindful of the consequences of our words online, rather than being fearful, Mr. Vehrs excommunication from the blogsphere may yet prove as valueable as the distinguished and fraternal contribution he made while he was allowed to dwell among us.

Good bye Will Vehrs, and Good Luck.

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