Since the advent of the Newdow ruling, I’ve had visiting commentators to this blog seeking deliberately to provoke a religion-based argument simply because I prefer the Pledge of Allegiance as it now reads. To a post below about Newdow, someone posted comments having no relevance whatsoever to my remarks, but speaking exclusively about her own belief system and insulting Christians as thugs. I replied as I tend to do. In similar circumstances I will again, although I have now deleted both the offending comment and my reply. This is my blog—my property. If you find something here worthy of comment, feel free. I wouldn’t have enabled comments if I didn’t want them.
However, I don’t care for non sequitur comments, nor for picking fights. I also tend to respond badly to lectures on tolerance from people who do themselves exhibit intolerance but excuse it because the people they hate are in the majority.
Insult me if you like—but for guidance in this respect, read about the card game incident in Owen Wister’s The Virginian. In any event I would much rather be insulted sincerely than flattered falsely; if you harbor a seething animosity for opposing points of view, don’t even try to conceal it with nauseating obsequiousness because the harder you try to sell it, the less likely I’m gonna buy it.
And ultimately, if the comments feature proves to create more friction than I want on this blog, I’ll simply get rid of it—and then the cranks and trolls can resort to e-mail if they wish.
