The comments
In recent weeks our conservative friends have added freshness and wit to the comments on this blog. In general, they have kept us honest, pushed away from lazy thinking, and made their objections to our positions quite clear in blunt but effective language. I am glad they are with us. They make this blog better and more interesting.
On at least two occasions, however, they have dipped into bigotry.
One series of comments impugned gay couples as being on the same level and having the same legal claims as those who would exercise polygamy and incest. This is digusting and hateful.
A second comment, which I hope was a throwaway jab and not indicative of a general hatred of poor and African-American women, is troubling as well.
For all our commenters, left, right, center, libertarian, and silly: Please be polite and respectful. Please refrain from racist or homophobic comments.
Pick on me. Make fun of me. Criticize me.
Go after people because they think like me, vote like me, talk like me, and write like me.
Better yet: criticise my thoughts, ideas, expressions, claims, and opinions. But if you must get personal, make me your target.
But don't go after whole classes of people who have done nothing to disrupt your lives or earn your disdain.
I have only erased one comment in the history of this blog: when someone posted as someone else. I have never banned anyone, despite some pretty nasty things said about me (not by any of our regular commentors but by a passing stranger).
Let's try to use the comments to drive discussions forward and correct errors and overstatements. I will continue to allow free commenting as long as the bigotry stays off this site.
We may have a president who likes to have those who disagree with him excluded and forcefully removed from his "town meetings." But we don't have to be as unAmerican as our president, do we?
Leave a comment