I personally don’t care for people who make internet posts anonymously or hide behind an avatar. At the very least, it undermines their credibility. Whatever you say or believe, you should be able to stand up for it - As You Are; yelling it from the shadows is cowardly, wormy, spineless.
Many folks who use this tactic are internet trolls whose primary reason for being anonymous is to maliciously disrupt conversations using personal attacks or to take the conversation off topic. It’s more than annoying; it’s destructive, cowardly, childish and often cruel.
This despicable behavior, in my opinion, is the product of a society where perpetual adolescence is held in high esteem.
Nevertheless, it’s repugnant to make it illegal.
The idea of either forcing people to identify themselves in the realm of public discourse is clearly unconstitutional. It also degrades the human person by taking their right to protect themselves under the cloak of anonymity, not to mention freedom of expression. In a totalitarian or oppressive society, anonymity may be ones only just shield where censorship is demanded to maintain power over the masses.
Making internet anonymity illegal is another way to censor; it’s a way to power.
We do self-censor all the time in the books we don’t read, movies we don’t watch, speeches we don’t listen to, or posts we don’t read etc. We do this naturally and in harmony with our world view.
It’s our right to think, to evaluate, to apply justice, to believe and act as we see fit. It is a God given right, that of free will.
Albeit, we should caution ourselves on this lest we close off too much. Other (even contrary,) points of view are the necessary tiller whereby the soil of the mind is kept fresh, potent, and productive. We owe it to ourselves; for, even when dealing with children, we must listen to them. Later, like the Old Lady in the Shoe, we can whip them all soundly and put them to bed.
We deal with this, and other things, without government. We do it every day. We are capable. We can be trusted.
This power is ours and cannot be imposed on us externally.
Strangely, Ira Silverstein –D, a state Senator from Illinois has introduced a bill to require all web site administrators to “upon request…remove any comments posted on his or her web site by an anonymous poster unless the anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name, and home address are accurate.”
WTS?
It is my understanding that such a bill has little chance of passing. SCOTUS has ruled on the anonymity issue before. However, this should concern us all.
I have to ask the question, why would the government care about what people think or say? Why would they even care? The range of answers should send a chill up your spin.
That is, if your brain and spin are still attached.
This bill, and others like it, are a warning. It’s a warning of a coming upheaval; a dangerous tempest lurking within the deep recesses of our country, churned up by the most formidable of all beasts.
Childish little trolls who need a good whipping will always be part of the landscape. They’re out there with the dragons and other unsavory creatures, lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce.
I’ll take my chances doing battle with these pathetic creatures on my own or with my brethren. The fact that the government wants to step into this once again speaks to the lack of faith in the human person to solve their own problems.
The last thing we want is to awaken the most unsavory of creatures, that leviathan known as government.
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