Congratulations! You and Steve seem to have so much in common. You claim to be Liberals, yet you wish to squelch the free expression of opinions with which you disagree. You enjoy claiming the "other guy" is just obnoxious while gleefully engaging in personal attacks every bit as juvenile. You enjoy the opportunity to post as often as you wish about anything that strikes your fancy, yet bristle at the thought of others who post too frequently for yout tastes.

Perhaps you should simply invest the time and money to start your own blog, complete with the power to ban posters with whom you disagree. Title it something ironic, such as "Open Forum." "Salon" is already taken.

Just because you once gave me a "Dirty Sanchez" and I thought it was peanut butter doesn't mean I'm your be-atch, whut!

I may indeed be a bathhouse rim-shot cleanup boy, whut! But I've got feelings too. Gimmie a reach-around, whut!

I wish we could get rid of "St Fuckwad" over here at Salon.

P.S.--Stevie: if "not acting like an asshole" is your sole criteria for being tossed from your lame site, well, thanks for an excellent example of "begging the question."

Thanks for proving my point, Stevie G. Perhaps your skin wouldn't be so thin if it wasn't stretched 'round such a girth. It's quality that matters, not quantity. I'd suggest you apply for a paying gig with Salon, but evidently they only hire one black at a time.

"The US has an oft diagnosed problem of mistaking itself for the world, and the world for itself. I'm sorry to see Salon writers and some readers doing it again here.

Ah, don't let it bother you, Anonymous. Every imperialist bully-empire in history has suffered from the same diagnosis. The prognosis is always death, and the rise of those they have been busy ignoring and mocking.

This is the INTERNET and the internet is accessible to people WORLDWIDE. I know it's shocking but reader responses come from many different countries.

The US has an oft diagnosed problem of mistaking itself for the world, and the world for itself. I'm sorry to see Salon writers and some readers doing it again here.

A number of responses have posed variations on, "Why are professional writers so thin-skinned and precious?". Part of the answer is this: unless a letter writer is responding out of some profound personal experience - writing about a death in their family in reply to article about grieving, for example - a lot of on-line letter writing is the result of minutes of thought.

Paid writers live with what they write for weeks or sometimes months beforehand. It occupies at least a corner of their mind continually prior to publishing. Their relationship to what they write is formed through living with it. A piece of that writer goes with the story. This is simply not the case for most letter writers, I would suggest.

This is probably neither a fair nor accurate subject title. Nevertheless, the 275 letters and counting is a remarkable compilation of opinions and remarks that given further study would reveal much about American culture. I have to admit that there is no way I have time to read all the response letters submitted to Salon. It is hard to imagine how anyone has time to read all these letters. And if you did read all the letters, what does that say about your life? Anyway, to my point which is that these letters reveal alot about the personality and character of the letter writer and not necessarily much about what or how the letter writer thinks.

What a vast array of comments! To think that there is a face, a sentient being behind each of these letters. But, who? Some letters are so completely irrational (at times disturbing) that you can not help but wonder what planet these people are from. Others are so tightly composed and focused on the most insignificant and often mundane subjects. It is a little alarming and I cannot help but wonder if I have ever known or met people like this? Many of the letters express some real insight and/or fresh ideas and genuinely provoke as much (sometimes more) thought as the subject of the original article. I kind of get envious of those letter writers. Everyone can see they got their act together in life. Many, if not most writers are expressing common thinking. They serve the useful purpose of characterizing how most people think – a baseline if you will of “middle America.” All and all, I enjoy the letters these articles generate and consider it a form of entertainment. I do not mean this in a light or condescending way. I certainly empathize with the amount of time and thought that goes into most of the letters.

It occurs to me that writing, either letters or the articles, is a strong form of narcissism. Most of the time, when we put a piece of writing out in the public domain, we are telling others what we think and that what we think is important enough for others to know. It is implied that if we are going to be allowed to express our views (factual or not), then we must permit others to do the same, whether it be about what we write or something else entirely. Obviously, not everyone is thrilled with the “feedback” that they receive. The question of whether letters should be anonymous or not, speaks directly to how people perceive themselves and how concerned they are with how other people might perceive them. Again it is all replete with narcissism. My argument would be that since writing is so narcissistic, it gives each of us and those who read what we write, an opportunity to peer into our souls and learn quite a bit about who and what we are, how we think and how we think of others, expressed or implied.

So, I can imagine Gary et al. reading our letters, and trying to imagine who are these faceless people? Is this America at its best or worst? To think about all the cumulative energy and time taken to reply to the article, what does it all mean? Is there hope or reason for concern? Should we even spend anymore time thinking about what it all means? Of course, I have no idea what you all are really thinking. But I leave you with a couple thoughts, clichés actually.

From the car sales world – There is an ass for every seat.

And, a personal favorite – You cannot be all things to all people. All you can try to do is be true unto yourself.

So, everyone pile on! Who knows where this bus will take us next?

Cheers!

P.S. You know someone should write a serious book about “Letters to the Editor.”