Keep it civil folks
June 9th, 2008 at 11:12am Wally Haas
Today I received an e-mail from a person who recently had a letter to the editor published. The writer had received an anonymous letter threatening him.
It’s not the first time that I’ve heard of a letter writer being threatened. There was a writer who received a couple of nasty phone calls and another who received a series of ugly e-mails.
It’s OK to disagree with a person’s opinion, but you should do so in a polite, respectful manner. When writers are accosted either verbally or via the mail, it discourages them from writing again. That limits public discourse and is a disservice to all of us.
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6 Comments Add your own
1. Ben | June 9th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
This is an example of why anonymous letters to the editor should be allowed so long as they are not libel. You allow anonymous sources in news stories, but not in letters. They are both the same thing. Why should a person have to risk retaliation or ridicule in order to volunteer an opition for community discussion.
2. redrover | June 9th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Have you been off sleeping in a cave somewhere, Mr. Haas?
Physical violence against peaceable expression of free speech is the favorite tactic of the neo-nazi right.
Believe me, I’ve been there and been done like that by thugs who think of themselves as infallible patriots and regard those of us with differing views as traitors and terrorists.
That very real threat of violence from those nazi nitwits is why pseudonymity and/or anonymity are so important to those of us who participate in your paper’s blog replies and forums.
Please raise the subject of these verbal assaults upon letter-to-the-editor writers the next time the idea of ending anonymity / pseudonymity comes up for discussion in your editorial board meetings.
We are not living in Bedford Falls any more, Mr. Haas.
Despite your well-meant lecture on the topic of respectful disagreement, Pottersville is here and it ain’t going to go away anytime soon.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
3. Wally Haas | June 9th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
We’re not likely to allow anonymous letters. Names add credibility.
Ben, we do not use anonymous sources in news stories. Editors are told not to use them in wire stories either. That’s our policy. There have been a few exceptions (crime victims) and a few missteps, but anonymous sources can only be used with the permission of top editors.
I know we’re not living in Bedford Falls, redrover, but I still prefer to believe there are more good people than bad out there. Some just need gentle reminders now and then.
4. thedudeabides | June 9th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Didn’t Anna V just post something about “the perils of anonymity?”
http://blogs.e-rockford.com/bricksandclicks/2008/06/06/superintendent-warns-grads-of-perils-of-anonymity/
After reading this post, which one seems more perilous now? Anonymity or the ‘chilling effect’?
And I really hope you realize the futility of admonishing people to “disagree …. in a polite, respectful manner”
5. redrover | June 9th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I won’t debate social demographics with you, Mr. Haas, but it seems to me that whatever the population percentage of good people is out there, the kinds of people who verbally assault your letter/editor writers are not the kinds to be dissuaded by a “gentle reminder”.
It’s noble of you to try, but I think that it is not an effective way of changing their behaviour.
On the other hand, I’m not sure there is any effective way of doing that, in any event, so what the hey, there’s nothing to be lost by trying, but nothing to be gained by counting on success.
6. Karl Vocal | June 10th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Walter or Waldo….you are a good man for trying. I appreciate your efforts. Do not let the critics get you down.
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