I've been impressed with the recent volume and effectiveness of the blogosphere when it comes to righting wrongs (or lefting them, as the case may be), but I've grown increasingly concerned that a few bad apples are not keeping within reasonable bounds.
This controversial article in particular made me want to say something.
When you decided to take action, please consider two basic questions:
- Is the target of your action reasonable?
- Is the action taken against the target reasonable?
It's easy to get upset about every whiff of potential conservative bias coming from everywhere. From the point of view of somebody on the left, everyone seems like they're coming from the right. Be calm and rational about your judgments before flying off the handle. Does that newspaper really only publish conservative op-eds, or do they provide a mix? Are they really taking quotes out of context or omitting important facts? Lying? Being careless? Being lazy by repeating spin without doing research? Is it really their fault or were their hands tied by laws or standards of conduct? Is it reasonable to expect a boilerplate newswire article to do a fact-check on everything George W. Bush says at some rally?
When you take action, are you really doing what's proper? Is it a good idea to write a letter accusing someone of unfair bias or better to write a letter to the editor to express an opposing view? If Joe's Widget Shop is advertising on a channel run by Evilcorp, boycotting them only works if they know why they're being targeted. Maybe they're one of the good guys and they didn't know Evilcorp was doing something bad. They're in a position to have a positive influence. It only makes sense to treat them cordially. If a major stockholder of Evilcorp is a democratic contributor, they're one of the good guys. They're not the type to be chased away by mean-spiritedness.
Above all, threats of violence against some person, their family, friends or property are never appropriate. Neither is "hoping" that something bad happens to someone. Nor is name-calling or insolent whining. If it's not something you'd do in person in a public forum, please reconsider if it's appropriate. If you feel the need to do it anonymously, then you out to reconsider doing it at all. If you threaten violence, I have no sympathy if your name is published or if the police show up at your door.
A lot of time the people taking your phone call or your e-mail will be some poor low level sap. They don't deserve screaming or threats. A well reasoned, rational argument it a lot more likely to make headway than swearing and threats.