‘Dere mad at me

Stop the Presses column by Chris Graham

It’s been a while since it’s happened to me, but the stinger is still in there where it was – and it’s still quite painful.

“You’re an idiot.” “You’re a moron.”

“You’re the biggest dumb— I’ve ever seen.”

“Pinhead.”
“Thumbsucker.”
“Wanker.”

Et cetera …

I don’t know what it is about Internet communication that makes people want to interact with others in this manner.

Oh, yeah, it’s obvious.

“Erie201224.”

“HymenestraDawg.”

“RunninWithDaDevil.”

“CoachKIsGawd.”
“IHeartPuppies.”

When you don’t have to sign your name, you can say … anything … and not have to worry about any repercussions.

Me, of course, I see these kinds of comments, and I want to kick arse and take names.

“I’m an a–hole? You’re an a–hole.”

“Yeah, well, at least I’m getting some. Which is more than I can say for the likes of you.”
Problem is, this doesn’t do much in the way of shutting the kinds of people who shoot first and ask questions never the heck up.

“I’m an a–hole? You’re a bigger a–hole.”

“You sleep with ponies, so I wouldn’t go bragging about it.”

The thing that gets me is, nobody would ever say these kinds of things to somebody’s face – at least I can say to my face. See, I’m 6-2, 240 pounds, can benchpress 320 pounds, train weekly in boxing and muy thai – that’s how I roll.

Ahem.

But not knowing exactly who it is that sends these kinds of messages over the ‘Net, I can only imagine that they’re likely more like you and me than we would care to admit. I mean, come on, we’re talking about moms and dads and lawyers and accountants and teachers – who get emboldened by the anonymity that they get over the web and let it get to their heads a bit too much.

Me, I don’t like being called names – particularly since when somebody calls Chris Graham, the editor of The New Dominion, something offensive or demeaning or otherwise bad, bad, bad, that’s referring to me, you know, the actual Chris Graham.

Call CoachKIsGawd or IHeartPuppies something disparaging, well, they can somehow get on with their lives, even if they decide one day that they need a new Internet handle.

I wish I could say that folks would wake up and realize that the rules of discourse really shouldn’t be all that different – but the toothpaste, as they say, is out of the tube.

“I can’t believe you’re whining about people calling you names in a column. Douchebag.”
I thought I’d get the party started …