Back in the day at Daily Kos, I was the subject of a pretty infamous outing. I wrote then as Delaware Dem and I write now as Delaware Dem. Hell, if you google it, you can find out who I am in real life pretty easily. And considering the fact that we all, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, and Libertarians and whatever it is that Mike Matthews and Dana Garrett are (crotchety independents?), live here in a small state and even smaller political community, we all probably know who each other is, whether we use are real names online or not.
Still, it is a basic First Commandment of the blogs not to out those who are using pseudonyms. For people who use pseudonyms do so for a good reason. They want to protect themselves, their families and their jobs. Some may think that using pseudonyms is a wimpy way to blog. Some think if you are going to publish your opinions online for all to see you should also own those opinions by attaching your real name. That is a perfectly fine opinion to have, and those who hold it may post under their real names to their heart’s content. But those who hold that opinion, and those who post under their own pseudonyms, have no right, or invitation, to out personal information about another person using a moniker.
I don’t care if someone really pissed you off. I don’t care if that person called you an idiot or worse for holding a particular point of view. You will be banned here and your comments will be deleted if you do out someone here or anywhere else in the Delaware blogosphere.
Now, as to personal ad hominem attacks, in our poisoned partisan discourse over the past 20 years they have become common place. Political arguments often devolve into calling your political opponent an idiot or worse. And that is true whether the political opponent is an officeholder, a public figure, or just fellow interested citizen. I do it. Others on the liberal side here do it. And our friends on the conservative side do it too. Yes, we all do it. Does that make it right? No. And it would be nice if we all could refer to each other in the civil parlance of the Senate. It would be nice if I could refer to Dave Burris as the distinguished gentleman from Sussex County, and for Hube to refer to me as the most respected gentleman from Brandywine Hundred. Alas, I have called them ignorant idiots and arrogant assholes on occasion, and on occasion they have referred to me as Delaware Dumbfuck.
Personal attacks of this sort have become common, and to be honest, I really do not take offense at it. In fact, in some sort of perverse way, I take it as a sign of respect, or at the very least, that my arguments have gotten under their skin. Listen, I am not going to complain that I am called Delaware Dumbfuck. I am not going to complain about being called an idiot. If others find that these types of attacks are over the line, then I am perfectly willing to sheath my sword if they are. But I find we, on both sides of the aisle, lapse into name calling like it is instinct. It is like it is the cost of doing business nowadays. Should it be this way? Has it always been this way? Civility in politics would be nice, but I have found that are Founding Fathers were just as potty mouthed, and our civilized brethren across the pond refer to each other as “the right honorable bastard from Nottingham” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
But there are personal attacks that go further, that really cross a line, and I am afraid, like the famous definition of what is pornographic and what is not, we know it when we see it. Attacks dealing with racism, sexism, or other forms of discrimination, for example.
Finally, there has been some talk today of our mutual disengagement from each other in the Delaware blogosphere. Our friends elsewhere may say “Fuck Delaware Liberal and that echo chamber” and we may say “Fuck Delaware Politics and their insane right wing talking points.” I speak only for myself, but I don’t think that is a good idea. I would like to see us all reengage each other. I want to see us all comment on each other’s blogs, and I would like to see us all discuss each other’s posts. I admit that I got away from visiting other Delaware blogs during the campaign, and for me, that was a mistake. My colleagues here are free to disagree with me, and they can choose not to follow me back across the partisan divide. But I will be visiting Common Sense Political Thought, Delaware Politics, Down with Absolutes, Delaware Way, Delaware Watch, Colussus of Rhodey, Kavips, Kilroy, Delaware Curmudgeon, Delaware Libertarian and the countless other sites that I am forgetting right now. And I invite you all on the other side to the same.
We are not going to agree with each other on everything, or anything. We are going to call each other idiots and assholes and dumbfucks. We are not going to respect each other opinions. But there should be engagement, not isolation.