Above: The revered French Resistance in action 70 years ago. Today, certainly, these heroes might need to comment and blog anonymously. However, lawyers, shoe store managers, Tulane grad students, accountants, and other country club Charlies haven’t earned that privilege.
Our new digital culture permits a certain accepted wimpiness to masquerade as needed “privacy” and personal “style”. However, anonymous blogosphere participants are rarely worth anyone’s time, thought, or respect.
Man up, spine up, and grow up. Avoid crowd-think. Think your own thoughts. Write. Sign your name. This blog does not publish anonymous comments. Absent compelling reasons, nameless blogosphere participants, in our view, are rarely worth anyone’s time, thought, or respect–even when they think and say brilliant things. Anonymous writers and commenters have already “discounted” themselves.
They are second-class citizens. They say third-rate things. Certainly, they have no incentive to exceed below-average. Feel free to look down on them–and enjoy it.
It doesn’t take much thought or courage to lob one in there when you don’t sign your name. Our new digital culture permits a certain accepted wimpiness to masquerade as needed “privacy” and personal “style”. But it’s a ruse. Most of us can do better than that. Don’t buy into nameless blogging and commenting (or participation through pseudonyms) unless it’s deserved.