The above header should take you to a Washington Post article about threats and harassment against female bloggers. I'm not surprised. A friend of mine had a blog on parenting that she ditched because of weirdos. And I have to admit that a recent tour of the Internet made me think about ditching these posts, too, or at least limiting them to people I know and trust.
Towit: Last week, under the comments section on my Washington Post op ed, I found a few disturbing missives. The worst began something like: "If I saw you I would kick you in the crotch and remind you that you have 40 years of life left while these children are now rotting corpses... " It went on. My husband asked for its removal, due, in part, to the threatening nature and in part to the language. I understand that the subject of Blacksburg and death and victims is cause for anger and upset. Duh. I feel it, too. But why have we reached a point where anyone who doesn't agree with you exactly is suddenly the enemy? I got similar responses when I covered music. I was a c#&$ because of a few choice words about Puff Daddy. Ditto after I gave Aerosmith a great review but disparaged ever-so-slightly Steve Tyler's voice on "Dream On." But that wasn't quite as personal as what I felt last week.
To make me feel a little better, a little less shaky, my husband took me to other comment sections at the Post website. Almost every story had something pointed and nasty written after it, under the cloak of anonymity. No "I respectfully disagree." Just swears and threats and curses. Ditto on youtube after a video of Nikki Giovanni's speech from the recent Tech convocation.
Why are people so angry, me included?
Why did I get ticked off at the woman in the wildflower shop, just because she didn't know the states in which the Bluebonnet was considered a native plant?
Why did the Marine from Colorado hang up on my stepdad after calling him, blindly, to see if he agreed that cadets should pack guns on campus and serve as a backup police force. (My stepdad didn't agree, thus the hangup. But doesn't civility command a "goodbye, and thank you for your time?")
Why, when someone cuts you off or stays in the left lane too long, does that person suddenly become a (insert swearword here) as opposed to just some dude whose driving could stand a little improvement? (I'm sure I could find a way to relate all of this back to Don Imus, but for now let's just leave him out of it.)
I'm not sure of the answers, but I'm glad people are asking the questions. Meanwhile, my spring resolution is to try to mellow out. To be -- at the risk of sounding like a deadhead -- kind. I'm hoping more people will do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment