Oh, for crying out loud…
This demonstrates rather well why I do my very best to stay away from arguing on the internet. I feel guilty writing this post since it goes against just that, so I’ll try to keep it short.
There’s no question about the fact that the casual conversation with anonymous individuals that exists on the net is more often than not pretty hostile. I used to think this evolved from a lack of surveillance, understanding and response – kids made up a big part of the early adopters, some might not have come to realize just how valuable courtesy can be and their parents didn’t really consider the internet a communication channel so they didn’t tell them to play nice – the way they would have in real life. The boon of anonymity, never being held responsible for what you said, didn’t help. It was no-ones fault, really, it was just the initial anarchy that would maybe someday form into a new kind of organized society.
I no longer believe that, though, for the general idea is the same thing columnists, show hosts and the like are doing – the same things they did in paper or on radio even before there were computers. And I honestly don’t care if it’s written in a “proper” way, trashtalking people just to get a rise out of them doesn’t get any more noble because you are paid to do it.