Every now and again, the need arises for me to draw a line in the sand. No, it’s not that I’m feeling threatened, but once in awhile things become a bit…um, let’s just call it “civility-challenged.” Since this is my sandbox, I get to set the rules of the road (How’s that for mixing my metaphors, eh?).
As I said, this is my sandbox, so being the sole proprietor of said silica container, I get to set- and enforce- a minimum standard of conduct and civility. It may not always seem to be uniformly fair, and it may occasionally seem arbitrary, but my sandbox, my rules. Capice?
I don’t expect people to agree with me. In fact, I really rather enjoy it when I spark a discussion and someone disagrees with me. Every now and again, I learn something. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, and I’m certainly not the last word on anything. That said, if you disagree with me, it shouldn’t be too much to ask that you do so civilly and with a modicum of respect, right? I don’t pee in your sandbox…so shouldn’t it stand to reason that I would expect the same in return?
If you think I’m wrong about something, great. Let me know. Tell me why. If you’re going to do that, though, I must ask a couple things of you: 1) support your argument, and 2) be civil. You may think that you have the absolute right to go off on me because you think I’m a freakin’ moron, and perhaps in the world you live in that’s true. Here in my world, though, I expect all of us to play well together. The shield of the Internet is not designed to grant you the absolute right to throw civility to the wind if something I’ve written offends your tender sensibilities. Agree. Disagree. I don’t much care. Just play nice, ‘kay??
A wise man once told me that ‘tis better to be thought a fool than to unburden yourself, hit RETURN, and remove any lingering doubt….
Look, I’m not perfect. I don’t always do a great job of living up to my own rules, but I think I hit the mark more often than I miss. I have opinions, in some cases rather strong ones, and that’s part of the reason I do what I do here. They’re just opinions, not evidence of my worth (or lack of same) as a person. They don’t define me, nor do they infer any special powers upon me. They’re just opinions. Nothing more. I do this in part because I hope that I can spark a discussion, to get people to think about something that’s important to me. If something I’ve written offends you, well…mea culpa; just keep in mind that it’s just my opinion, not an attempt to cause insult or injury.
If you’re so thoroughly offended by something I’ve written that you feel the need to go nuclear in the comments, I’d ask you to step back from the keyboard for a moment and think. Seriously, no one’s holding a gun to your head and forcing you to be here. You have the choice to go elsewhere- and frankly, if you’re unable to control your inner troll, I wish you would. I value my readers, but not to the point of be willing to countenance any and all manner of incivility and insult. As my readership has begun to increase recently, I’ve noticed an uptick in incivility. I’m not offended by this; I’m a big boy and I’m strong enough to not take one person’s meanness and insensitivity to heart (I also don’t conflate agreement with me into validation of my personal worth.). I expect pushback on occasion, and I’m flattered that anyone would view me as such a serious threat that they absolutely MUST slap me down. That said, can we all just try getting along…even if we don’t happen to agree on a particular subject?
Really, though; why bother using the comments as a means to set me straight…unless you really enjoy looking like a mean-spirited jackass out of compliance with their medication? I don’t like banning people from commenting, but neither am I reluctant to do so if it’s warranted.
By all means, enjoy your time here. Bring a friend. I won’t be offended if you disagree with me. If you want to tell me that you disagree with me…well, good on you. Just play nice. Like the road signs say in Texas: “DRIVE FRIENDLY!”
Y’all have a nice day…and remember, these are just my opinions. Nothing more.
