Struggle and resistance – the self-expression of a free subject – are inevitable wherever and whenever power is exercised (Smart, 1985). In the context of blogging this concept is important to keep in mind.
In the case of Heather B. Armstrong, the struggle began before she was fired whereby she attempted to obfuscate the identities of the individuals about whom she was blogging. One could reasonably speculate that Armstrong may have been aware that, had she blogged about clearly identifiable real life characters, her firing would have come much earlier and with much more certainty. Her attempts at blurring identities could be seen, at least in Foucauldian terms, as means of struggle and resistance (if you’re going to catch me I’m going to make it difficult for you.
Ellen Simonetti continues her efforts to seek redress and justice in the wake of her firing. Signs of her struggle are clearly evident on her blog as she points out what she alleges to be hypocrisy on the part of Delta Airlines and encourages readers, by way of various small advertisements, to take up the issue of free speech in the work place.
These examples are particularly narrow observations of the applications of the mechanisms of power and the responses they might receive.
Smart, B. (1985). Michel Foucault. Sussex: Ellis Horwood Limited.
