Quote: (09-18-2013 02:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (09-18-2013 02:15 PM)Fisto Wrote:
You SHOULD be able to say what you want behind closed doors.
Right. But commenting on public websites isn't being behind a closed door. You can say what you want privately (i.e. private and anonymous forums such as this one), but the Huff Post, NYT, Twitter and all these other platforms that are dominated by corporate interests have their own set of rules. If you're going to voice your opinion in those arenas, whatever it may be, you better know how to do it without being inflammatory. Common sense 101. If you don't have the gall to voice the same sentiments in a public setting in real life then you probably shouldn't do it on a public website.
Death to the armchair Christopher Hitchens. This should be welcomed.
I disagree.
I know not everyone here is American, but nevertheless - anonymous pamphleteering goes back to the Founding Fathers.
Common Sense was published anonymously. Thomas Paine wasn't forced to login with a verified Facebook account to publish it.
Even after independence, when there was no longer the threat of British oppression, American politicians and common citizens alike would publish anonymous letters, essays, and polemics to try to persuade people to their point of view. They would often use names taken from ancient Rome.
The most famous example is the Federalist Papers. As far as the public was concerned, "Publius" wrote the papers, which were intended to get the states behind the proposed Constitution. But of course, Publius was just a pseudonym for three men, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
Here's a quote from a guide to the Federalist Papers:
"As Justice Clarence Thomas has observed, in all of the major essays published in favor of or against the Constitution, only George Mason and Luther Martin signed their true names, and they had a special reason for doing so. All of the other commonly cited authors wrote anonymously."
Writing anonymously is as American as apple pie. Now it's being snatched away from us, like so many of our other liberties.