I might as well admit it. Hi, my name is DJ and I enjoy poking at trolls.

That is right up there with never send an email you wouldn't want someone to quote later.

ACPOTI...which means that you need to watch what you say.

What about speaking out against a totalitarianism which actively seeks to silence critics?

In such instances, you don't HAVE to speak - but if you don't speak you are conceding your freedom.

And if too many concede their right to speak, than the freedom to speak is no more.

Maybe you survive, but at a huge cost.

Patty,

If you are not going to take the heat for what you say, then you are nothing more than a petulant child, shaking her fist at the injustice of the world for not recognizing the genius you represent. ACPOTI means that what you say DOES go farther than it did before. (For an example: Imus, Marcotte, et al.) Do not be decieved people will still stand up for what they beleive, but understand the anonymity that you have on the internet is an illusion, what you say is more irrevocable attached to you than ever before.

Listen, I caught you RED HANDED last week changing "Cheryl Crowe" to "Sheryl Crowe"... just admit it!

LOL - LOVE Howie Carr by the way. I'm still shocked that Whitey and his bastards never got poor Howie.

MunDane: What does ACPOTI mean?

In response to: "what you say is more irrevocable attached to you than ever before." I don't think it is as simple as that. (BTW - I'm not talking about insults or personal attacks - I'm talking about publishing cartoons if you want to, even if some think that they are "offensive.") Totalitarianism doesn't work if many disobey its rules. But as more and more fall in line, the remainder become isolated and can be attacked. That is the result of thinking always of "personal survival" in the face of totalitarianism.

ACPOTI = Anyone Can Post On The Internet

If, and this is not that big an if as one would think, I am going to be persecuted for my thoughts, writings and such, I will still make them.

I will not submit.

Totalitarianism works through fear, and if people do fear the results of their actions undedr that system (it doesn't have to be a government BTW, pleanty of corporations run this way too) they are submitting to those rules.

But some rules have to be followed for the good of the workplace. The fact that, say I can read a Bible or a Playboy in my workplace or eat raw meat or cooked beans for lunch does not mean I should. I need to be respectful of my surroundings and those that need to work with me. I may live in such a place where said rules are seen as necessary, but fighting hem for thesake of fihgting them is silly.

MunDane: Of course a person should be considerate and appropriate. Most Americans are not only considerate but also very accepting and not easily ruffled. I know I am. Live and let live...

But I can't stand it when one group comes out and suddenly declares topics and discussions off limits. For example, global warming - no discussion possible or you are a "denier." Imus remark - must whole heartedly condemm or be accused of racism. "Diversity" - support or be condemed as rascist. Criticism of Islam - no discussion.

The list is long and grows longer daily.

But I think I am veering off-topic. I assume the original post is about civility etc. It's just the suggested survival technique of "say nothing if you absolutely don't have to" runs counter to a free and vibrant society.

That is right up there with never send an email you wouldn't want someone to quote later.

Yup. People may forget what you say, but email is a written record.

Some years ago, a financial officer at a company I used to work for caught wind of a money scandal/conspiracy brewing among the suits, and started saving emails to his personal computer (he was cc'ed on a lot of them). So when the investigators showed up in his office, he had tons of evidence that both exonerated him and implicated the guilty.