Letters to the Editor

This letter is associated with the following article:
The Internet is being degraded by rude and self-centered people who smother civil discussions.
  • Bad manners are often the message.

    A most welcome opinion, indeed.

    Unfortunately, those most prone to using bad language are, I believe, not doing so out of a lack of manners. These missives are a deliberate act with deliberate goals, depending on where they are sent.

    If they are sent to a site they agree with, then the bad language is an attempt to establish "cred" - to tell other posters, "Hey, I'm one of you! I hate who you hate, maybe even more than you do!"

    If they are sent to a site they disagree with, then they are sent to silence that site. They seek to label the site as profane, partisan, and worthless as a venue for serious discussion.

    In either case, the message is not in the words, but in the tone.