Ah…the perils of blogging.
When I first established this blog, I did so because I wanted to express my views on not only politics, but the state of Humanity as well. I also wanted to get some other pieces written dealing with parenting, home ownership, family life, music…a whole list of things ASIDE from politics. Although the topics have been for the most part political in nature over the past few months, they by nature HAD to be given the importance of this past Presidential Election. Needless to say, there will still be political posts in the future. I sure as hell don’t expect everyone to agree with what I have to say, and that’s why there is an OPEN AND UNMODERATED COMMENTS section.
Why open and unmoderated? Well, I am a great believer in freedom of speech and the right to state one’s opinion without being edited by a site administrator or moderator (except of course if the comments were socially unacceptable e.g. rascist or slanderous in nature just to name two.). I am also a great believer in an intelligent discussion of ideas and an exchange of opinions in a civil manner. This usually entails a willingness on the part of the individuals involved to have a DIALOG…something akin to more than just a few short words about a topic. I received three comments from a new reader today that are not intelligent, nor are they an exchange of ideas, nor are they anything resembling a dialog.
Look, I don’t expect a doctoral dissertation in a comment. I DO expect more than just a few words (which are kind of the written equivalent of a hit-and-run in my opinion). I’d like to think that since I put thought into my work, that comments and replies on this site reflect that same kind of commitment. Talking points don’t cut it with me…never have and never will…so please, save those for the Fox News Channel. I can only assume that short one-sentence comments are those representative of a Troll. In my “About This Site” page, I explained that Trolls will be dealt with in a unique fashion, and since I loath not to keep my promises, I shall now reveal the award winning comments to you of the winner of my first Troll Award:
- Comment on “Election 2008 Word Association”: “‘Senile? Republicans’ Wow. how open-minded of you” [sic]
- Comments on “Hope For The Republic”: “‘and the death of Communism as we knew it.’ it shall be reborn under obama” and “sorry communism wont be reborn socialism will be brought upon america destroying the entire capitalist foundation of the US” [sic]
CONGRATULATIONS TO READER “YEP” FOR BECOMING THE VERY FIRST TROLL ON “INTERSECTIONS IN REAL TIME”!
I said it would be unique way of bringing Trolls to light, and there it is. “Yep” has now been brought to the attention of everyone, and any comments from this individual should be regarded as those of a Troll unless he/she proves otherwise. The easy way would be for me to delete their comments, but I won’t do that; it’s a matter of principle. I can, however, give them enough rope with which to hang themselves. If anyone disagrees with me on a post I’ve written, please feel free to let me know about it…several readers have already. Their comments were well reasoned and thought out and contributed to a discussion. Other readers responded to those comments and created a little something called DIALOG. That is being civil. “Yep” was a hit and run attack…period.
So, I’ll continue to opine and you may feel free to leave a comment or not. Please just be intelligent in your remarks, back up your arguments, and let the debate begin. If you can’t do that, please feel free to say nothing and move on to the next blog where you can troll away.
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” – Ray Bradbury
Intersections In Real Time 
LOL! As a friend said one day after I received a scathing diatribe and borderline threat from a young Zionist extremist, stated: Congratulations for your troll, you’ve hit the big time!
I responded to him once, then posted his complete comment as an entry, while letting the young man know I had his I.P. address. Strange how I haven’t had a visit from him since.:)