Opinion: Anonymous online commenting only encourages civic bile
By William Endicott
It was with some trepidation that I logged on to sacbee.com and scrolled down to reader comments on Jennifer Garza’s recent story about the inclusive philosophy of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church and its gay and straight congregation.
Stories that mix religion and gay rights are always ripe for the most outrageous comments from both sides of that divide. So I feared the worst and those fears very quickly proved to be well-founded.
The very first comment I saw made mention of a particular body part and was so offensive that it does not bear repeating.
That was followed by this: “Is it just me, or does anyone else weary of the ‘gay in your face’ news we endure day in, day in, day out.”
From the other side, someone compared anti-gay Christians to sociopolitical fascists and another declared, “Nothing is so immoral as Christianity.”
And my favorite: “Another reason why I quit getting the Bee,” apparently missing the irony in the fact that he or she was commenting on a Bee story.
A few of the nearly 300 comments that were there when last I looked were thoughtful, some were inane, ignorant and/or snide, others were hateful and mean-spirited. But most had one thing in common: They were anonymous.
William Endicott is a former deputy managing editor of The Bee.
I quit the Bee because I got stung too many times. Hah, hah.
Lake Tahoe News would greatly improve the quality of dialogue if individuals honestly identified themselves in order to comment. It would be a service to our community to stimulate constructive discussion of the issues. Clearly, productive insight is lacking here due to the large number of regular repeat anonymous contributers.
Keep one’s identity is clearly a personal thing and has little to do with what sort of comments you wish to provide. How far should the idea go? Should all comments be required to have the home address and phone number of the writer as well? Should they have to list their occupation, children, schools, church, etc.? The problem is not identity, but manners. Something that is sorely lacking in today’s world. We hear that bullying is out of control in the schools. Has anyone listened to our politicians lately? Or our sports personalities? The example of poor manners and lack of respect is shown by entirely too many in our society. Not putting your name on a comment has some advantages in a very small town as well. Also, there is a chance to have a little humor in your comments. I agree with Mr. Bradford to some extent, productive insight would be nice, however, it needs to be most improved by our elected officials rather than the populace. The public should simply try to be polite.
I think there is a place for both: Full name and anonymous comments.
I certainly wouldn’t speak as openly if at all, if my full name was used. I’m not very thick skinned!
Many people use the safety of anonymity to make comments in a public forum that they would not otherwise make publicly. I would prefer to hear or read comments that reflect an intelligent response, even those giving personal opinion, than to see the idiocy and vitriol that some subjects seem to garner.
And the use of bad language always seems to me to indicate that the writer really has no point but thinks that the bad words will help to make a point more profound.
I wouldn’t be able to post if I had to use my real name.
I walk among the people I criticize and would surely be retaliated against.
It’s easy to give your real name when you’re trying to be nice to the big business and big govt. entities in this town! But if you want to be honest, and are trying to make a minimal living in this town, incurring the wrath of those who control the big bucks can let’s just say, “not be good for you!”
Having said that, I do think the tone of many of the comments and bloggers could use a bit of an upgrade!
If My memory serves me well Mike..your call name use to be” Asia B—h”, on yahoo, when you replied to ideas about lakeside inn you didn’t agree on.
You have a short memory Mike.
Heck, even Harvey’s old big shot “Joe”, doesn’t play at your joint like the rest of us ANYMORE.There’s better spreads down the street, No Kidding.
PAWN SHOP GUYS ,YOU GOT ANYTHING TO ADD TO THIS?
Mike, if the golf course is forced to close would you still be for alternate #2?