Personally, I’m totally in favour of publishing — either on paper or online — the moronic and idiotic. The Telegram does it every Friday, and even pays me for it.
A lot of people have apparently lost sight of the principles of free speech and public discourse.
At that sentence, trolls are undoubtedly pounding their keyboards, eager to mock the very concept of “principles” — what, in this age of tax havens for the rich, politicians who sell their time to the highest bidder, etc.?
One of the essential principles of public discourse in a free society is that when people publish an opinion, they should put their name to it.
The importance of this concept was lost almost as soon as the Internet arrived and started transforming us into a society of imbeciles.
Some Telegram commenters claimed this week it is too dangerous and risky for people to put their real names on submissions to the comments section.
Unless members of the secret police wearing jackboots are going to kick down your front door and drag you away in the middle of the night, it is perfectly safe to put your name on your opinion.
The Telegram just wants to censor people who disagree with its “politically correct” leanings, others have said.
Not to worry. Readers will still enjoy the right to describe Telegram content and/or writers as moronic or idiotic. That’s legitimate feedback in public discourse. In the days before online comments, I used to get phone calls from readers making derogatory accusations about my failings as a columnist and as a human being. My standard response was, “You should write a letter to the editor.”
Really. If you feel strongly about it, why just blast me? Put it in the paper and tell everybody. Of course, then you’ll have to put your name to it, and it will help if your rambling rationale is somewhat coherent. Other than that, go for it. Some did.
The excuse of job security is often brought up to explain why names shouldn’t have to be attached to opinions. Sometimes, though rarely, this can be a valid concern. But most of the time it is mere paranoia Don’t worry. Your boss can’t reprimand you if he/she finds out you think municipal taxes are too high or you don’t like subsidizing the IceCaps or you think Paul Davis was the best premier ever.
Let me give a concrete example of how it is possible to express a personal opinion without fear of workplace repercussions: sometimes, my Telegram bosses can be moronic idiots. They’ll make an important decision without even walking over to my desk and saying, “Jones, what do you think we should do about this?”
Regarding The Telegram’s changes to its policy on readers’ online comments, I would have replied, “Treat online comments exactly the same as letters to the editor.”
That would entail requiring people to attach their real names to their comments, and us verifying that they were in fact who they say they are.
Why? Because the principles of free speech and public discourse require it.
To put it bluntly and succinctly, demanding anonymity is cowardly.
If people want to participate in public discourse — and, fortunately for our democracy, many people do — they should recognize the importance to laying claim to their opinions. “This is me, and this is what I think.”
Journalists, columnists and, yes, even politicians have their names (and faces) revealed in the public sphere, as they should. When you join in, so should you.
Brian Jones is a copy editor at The Telegram. He can be reached at [email protected].
