Mom said there'd be days like this

Among the life lessons learned at my late mothers knee were such gems as "put things back where you find them", "it's always easier to tell the truth", and the ever popular "Golden Rule", also known as the ethic of reciprocity. You know the one, it talks about doing unto others as you'd have done to you. Well lately, I seem to be the recipient of someone "doing unto me" as they no doubt would be loathe to have "done unto them'. What's laughable is that the individual doing the attacking is such a coward that they can only attack me with anonymous comments, which until recently I've mostly ignored.

Annalee Newitz of www.alternet.org writes in her excellent article "The Trouble with Anonymity of the Web"; "... an anonymous writer doesn't have to worry that their reputation will be tarred -- unlike, say, a writer at The New York Times, whose byline appears on his or her articles." Personally, I've always subscribed to the belief that if you're proud enough to say it, be proud enough to sign it, which is why I write this blog and sign my name to it, when in fact I myself could just as easily hide behind the anonymity of the Web.


Richard Connor of the Kennebec Journal hit the nail on the head when on March 13 he wrote; "It would be one thing if the comments from the faceless and the pseudonymous e-mailers were merely overheated - as opposed to petty, juvenile and downright cruel. But that's not the age we inhabit. With all of its blessings, high-speed technology brings some curses. One of them is providing individuals with a forum to attack others and their opinions without clearly identifying themselves."

Well I for one am unwilling to allow weak, cowardly individuals who lack civility and decency to harass me on my own blog. If these pitifully spineless creatures want to come out from the shadows of anonymity and autograph their work, I'll be only too happy to engage them in intelligent dialogue. But I will never publish anonymous comments and in fact, those that come to me for moderation with the "anonymous" header will henceforth be deleted without having been read.

This will be my last word on the subject. I have no patience for the ignorance and pettiness of those who sling mud yet lack the courage to show their dirty hands. And make no mistake, the dirt on those hands is evident to all around you. It won't be covered by you hiding behind big words, idle threats or even say, the Bible. Take your foolish little game and your small mindedness somewhere else. You're out of your league.

Lori Lamb