Letters to the Editor
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re: never anonymous
no reputable newspaper allows anonymous letters if you are not prepared to put your name to it your opinion is only worthy of a mouse If you are afraid of the consequences - don't say it or ask a friend to write about you in his own name - but that weakens the data--Hugh W
Admittedly they posted under one anonymous personna, Publius, but are you willing to say that the Independent Journal, the New-York Packet and the Daily Advertiser, should not have printed Alexander Hamilton's, James Madison's, and John Jay's essays in favor of ratifying the Constitution? Please, the editors at Salon still "know" who the anonymous writers are--the writer still has to submit a legitimate e-mail address--and Salon has the ability, and right, to delete any and all comments, including yours or mine, as they see fit.
Just as there are some things better left unsaid, there are--equally--many other things that must be said. Yet, sadly, most people are too afraid to be attributed as saying that which must be said--think about slavery, women's rights, modern-day whistle-blowers.
So, do you want your employer, the government, etc, to be able to look up or attribute every thing you've said? Which, in this era, is becoming exceedingly easy, (anonymous or not, this especially applies to our govt.). And most importantly, are you willing to restrict your speech just because you are afraid that someday, someone might find out that you said something that, while you and a minority may consider it true, the majority would automatically condemn, ridicule, or hang you for it? Anonymity, while not perfect, can at least offer a modicum of protection--again, think of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. Just food for thought.