Comments: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (And Rejected)

The tasering of a student by a Middletown Police Officer has touched a nerve in our community. Parents and students are concerned, civic leaders are concerned, in the past couple of days it has been the primary topic of conversation wherever I have gone on Main Street.

I have spoken with friends and acquaintances whose reaction to the tasering is almost completely the opposite of mine. These conversations have challenged me, but every one has left me enriched by the thoughtfulness and care that exists in our community.

Concern is also reflected in the comments section of every news outlet covering the tasing story. Unfortunately, these comments sections seem to attract many who hold a simplistic view entirely devoid of empathy for either students or police ("Punk: deserved it" OR "Police: stupid thug").

The comment moderators on The Eye (Jen Alexander, Ed McKeon, and myself) will not reject comments that we disagree with or that are difficult to understand, but we will reject any that are anonymous and ugly. Of course, each of us has slightly different ideas of ugly, but we share the belief that no anonymous comment should insult or defame or spread rumor. This morning I rejected an anonymous comment which called another commenter 'you idiot'.

If you want to publish an anonymous and insulting comment, you will have to find another news outlet. If you really really must insult somebody in The Middletown Eye, let everybody know who you are and we'll approve it.

Hopefully our community's thoughtfulness and care can be reflected in the comments section of The Eye.

A comment rejected

The Middletown Eye frequently publishes comments which are critical of elected or non-elected public officials, even when those comments are anonymous. Three of us (Jen Alexander, Ed McKeon, and myself) have "volunteered" to decide whether a specific comment should be published, a task which none of us particularly enjoy, but which we think is very important for The Eye's success. When I am faced with such a decision, I try to evaluate whether the comment is closer to a constructive expression of a personal opinion or closer to a destructive attack.

In the last week or so I rejected the following anonymous comment [ellipses and brackets indicate my alterations]:

What don't any of you get! [Name of public official] is operating the puppet strings of the .... They do whatever .. suggests and recommends. [This person] made a mess ..., does not care about ... The sole purpose of ... actions is to make [this person] and the "yes" people surrounding ... a big pay day .... Wake up Middletown ... taxpayers! This [person] is ruining ... town, and spending our money on things we don't need, or have anything to do with .... Need to be chased out of town!

Always wanting to see the best in others, I think that the authors of comments such as these are expressing a heartfelt, albeit extreme, opinion about a person working as an elected or non-elected official in Middletown. However, when hypernegative comments are written anonymously, with absolutely no facts to back them up, they are read by most people as little more than the spewing vitriol of someone unhinged.

For me they have crossed the line into a personal, anonymous attack, and they do not belong in Middletown's community newsblog. I will reject them.

To reiterate what has been said by Jen and Ed before: sign your name and demonstrate that your opinion is informed, and your comment will be published and you will help to make our city a better place.

Lest You Think This Is Some Newsblog That Allows Anonymous Name Calling

Just in the last few days I've had to reject the publication of four or five anonymous comments which were not about challenging issues raised in blogposts, but about calling names. One was a racial slur aimed at Barack Obama. Two called a post writer, or another commenter a moron. One called a commenter something worse.

Those kind of comments won't be published here. Ever.

I believe firmly in free speech. I love a good curse. A well-aimed insult is delightful. And I'd be willing to consider publishing a name-calling comment if the commenter was willing to provide his/her name, address, email address and phone, and have some reasonable defense for slinging epithets. Your free-speech right to hate stops here when you are unwilling to use your own name, but cower instead behind a shield of anonymity. Never will an anonymous name-caller have a comment published in the Middletown Eye.

Anonymity has it's place, but in general, I detest anonymous posts.

So don't waste your time, or mine. Peddle your hate with a newspaper which allows racism, sexism, bullying, and xenophobia in their "comments" section because they know it boosts visits to their page.

BTW, to the people who sent those posts, my name is Ed McKeon, and you, my friends should feel free to stew in the fetid stench of your own misery. But please, don't bother sharing.