Freedom to write what I want!

I recently removed a couple of posts. A first for Inside Martyn's Thoughts. 

Almost 10 years of being a blogger and I have never taken down a post before. 

I usually stand by what I have written. It has never been anything more than a place to put my thoughts.

Blogging came about as a platform to write anything you wanted to "log". Kind of like an online diary. 

The word "blog" was the culmination of Web and Log. So you would log ANYTHING you wanted. Hence the name: Web Log = Blog

This blog was created originally for me to write about exploring religion and my search for faith. 

I then separated from the boys mum and wanted to document my activities with the boys. I decided that an online log of our journey would be a good idea.

7 years later and Inside Martyns Thoughts is a "Family and Lifestyle" blog where I log our family life; good or bad.

So you see, blogging as an outlet has evolved throughout the years just as much as I and this blog have.

So how does it work with the boys Mum and our co-parenting relationship? 

Well we spoke about it a few times. She is fine with it. She even wrote a post on here. We do have agreed topics that is a no go and not to write. Other than that she is happy for me.

However, even if she didn't I could still write about them and without her consent. 

Under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act I have the right to write.

Article 10 protects your rights to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference.

This includes the right to express your views aloud (through public protest and demonstrations) or through:

- Published articles, books or leaflets

- Television or radio broadcasting

- Works of art

- The Internet and Social media 

Are there any restrictions to this right?

Although you have freedom of expression, you also have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights.

Public authorities may restrict this right if they can show that their action is lawful, necessary and proportionate in order to:

1. Protect national security, territorial integrity (the borders of the state) or public safety

2. Prevent disorder or crime

3. Protect health or morals

4. Protect the rights and reputations of other people

5. Prevent the disclosure of information received in confidence

6. Maintain the authority and impartiality of judges

Potentially, if the boys Mum wanted me to not use the boys names and have an alias then that may cause a problem because I would need to “protect their rights". However, with foresight we had covered that and she was perfectly ok with it.

However, regular readers will see that I don't use the names of Hannah's children to protect their privacy so subsequently, they are referenced under their Secret Aliases of "Midge" and "A". 

So with that in mind and seeing the legal side of it is there is very little that would restrict me from writing. 

It is also difficult to actually pinpoint who wrote which post. I have made it clear from the beginning of this blog that I wasn't going to “sign off” who writes what. From the beginning my friend Paul has had access to this blog. His role is admin and technical expertise but he has posted on here before. 

Since Hannah and I became a couple she too has the admin rights to write, edit and publish.

I have also accepted guest posts from friends, family, other bloggers and even collaborators.

In writing and researching the details of this post an interesting question regarding Hannah was raised: Can I write about Hannah's children? 

The answer is Yes! There is a little fine line because of the Human Rights Act clause of "protect the rights and reputations of other people".

Hannah, as mentioned, does NOT use the real names of her children. She does so to protect their rights and their reputations. Equally, when there has been articles the photos of the children were not included. This is to stop facial recognition and to protect them further. Finally, on this point, everything that is written regarding Hannah's children is read, approved and then gives parental consent, as their main carer, to publish; exactly the same way a newspaper seeks consent.

So why did I remove some of my previous posts? 

Well, it was pointed out that the articles concerning domestic abuse, parental abuse and interactions with Social Services may put a child’s reputation at risk. Friends may see the posts when they are older and subsequently they could be affected from bullying. 

Now I could half see the point here. I was writing about one of the children and the current situation of domestic abuse via them. That is not a great topic for them to be associated with even if Hannah DID approve and consent everything that was written. 

I thought about it and decided that I would remove 2 of them. The ones where I felt that it may be something that shines a negative light on the child. 

That said, I did not appreciate being told what I could and couldn't write. I have the freedom to express myself. I have the freedom to talk about difficult topics and importantly, I have the right to put down my personal feelings about what is happening; something that even Social Services and our Social Worker was in agreement of!

I am a person who will always respect a position and a view point even when it isn't my own. 

An example: the name the children call me.

5 months into our relationship Midge came up to me and asked if she could call me Dad. I was taken back and obviously loved that she saw me as her dad. But I thought about it. How would I feel if my boys wanted to call someone else Dad at her age, after that amount of time, who wasn't their “dad”. I would be heart broken. 

So I went with "Maddy". Very much like the word Blog it is an culmination of Martyn and Daddy. Something that the kids welcome and I love. 

The action was out of respect. It didn't matter what my view points were about their father. It didn't matter if I liked him or not. It is about a mutual respect. I wouldn't like it so I shouldn't take part in it myself. Although Midge had asked again I have told her that she is free to make that choice when she turns 16. 

The thing is you have to remember everyone's view point when it comes down to the kids. Other parents, other family members and even complete strangers will have a view point on what is and isn't ok. Yet, this post, I hope, clearly shows that everything is carefully thought through for all involved and if I chose to remove something it was because it was MY choice. Not because I was told to. I have every legal right to write.

That was that random persons one and only opportunity. I thought and took it on board. The blog is still mine and I WILL still continue to express my legal rights going forwards. Even if that person doesn’t like it; if you don’t like it then don’t read. This is MY space.

Martyn

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