Someone not brave enough to give their real name and e-mail address asked if I was going to comment on Mike Malloy’s recent firing from Air America Radio.
Well, I’ve written a letter to Air America. Here it is:
To whom it may concern:
I’m deeply disappointed that you have chosen to fire Mike Malloy. He was my sole reason for listening to Air America. I don’t anymore.
And neither do a lot of other people I know.
Sincerely,
Sabina C. Becker.
If you’re pissed, do your bit. Write to them in your own words:
And that’s all I have to say.
Thanks a lot, Sabina.
I’m on your side. I signed the petition and sent my emails to those concerned, too. But I was interested in your reaction, like I was interested in those from DU and the malloy site.
I don’t give my name and address anywhere on the net for security reasons, not because I am afraid of revealing myself to anyone, least of all you. I have 30 years experience as a software engineer and so I know what the problems are.
And I get a bit touchy when someone says things like you just did without thinking.
Excuse me, stranger, but I have no idea who you are, and I can’t help but find it odd that you came out of the blue to seek out my thoughts and feelings without telling me anything about who YOU are. Seems kind of an unequal balance of power, does it not?
To give no trust is to get no trust, as Lao Tzu once said. I have nothing to hide, but I have every reason to mistrust those who do. I can’t take it for granted that you are “on my side” if you don’t even trust me with something as basic as a handle. Most people, regardless of their line of work, will at least let me know where I’ve seen them before. A simple “hello, it’s JQPublic123 from the Malloy board” will do; it doesn’t have to be your real name, but rather something by which I can recognize you. For all I know, you could be a troll from some freeper site; I’ve been cyberstalked by them before. Or something even creepier, like a Homeland Security agent. (I’m not saying that I think you are any of those things, but rather, that I cannot take your bona fides for granted because you did not present any.)
I think you would also do well not to assume I said anything here “without thinking”. Everything I write for this blog goes through multiple revisions, even a short post like the above (and a response like this, which has gone through several previews). I thought it through, and I decided that my post was appropriate and measured, given the peculiar nature of your approach.
I’m sorry if this post has made you “touchy”, but I happen to write here under my real name, and I post to other blogs and boards under an alias that is close to it. I know full well how vulnerable that makes me. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that anyone posting comments here not try to fob me off with a laughably transparent fake e-mail address–or two, as you have now done. If you really are what you claim to be, you must know that you can at least use a Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail account for privacy reasons, and also that your IP number appears on the e-mail notification I receive whenever a comment is posted. And if I really wanted to find you, I could do it. However, since I’m deplorably incurious about you and bear you no ill intent regardless of what “side” you’re on, I wouldn’t ever bother.
I only ask that you think your own words through better, if and when you post here again. And that you let me know by what nickname I can call you, if indeed we have met before. That way, we can avoid further misunderstandings in the future.
You invited me here sabina. Twice. From when I used to post at malloy’s. I only asked if you would be commenting on malloy. I’m not sure why my question would result in you throwing a hissy fit.
As I said before, my internet security is worth more than giving out ANY of my personal information, especially to someone who writes some obscure blog. You obviously haven’t thought enough about that to see why it’s true.
Do me a favor. Post something on your site to let us all know when you’ve grown up. Maybe then I’ll come back and read your stuff.
I “invited” you to come here? TWICE? On Mike’s board? LOL–that’s rich, Nameless Troll. I’d ask where I did that, except I seem to recall that I did no such thing. That makes you a liar as well as a coward. How about them apples?
BTW, this was not a “hissy fit” (still isn’t). Your behavior tells me I was right to mistrust you. You come here, UNINVITED, don’t play straight with me, and then flame me like a rank amateur when my gut instinct pegs you accurately. Just the kind of person I want hanging out on my “obscure” blog, asking me personal questions while lurking in REAL obscurity himself!
Hope you enjoy your brand-new IP ban–your “maturity” level merits it, as does your patronizing “advice”. Which, of course, I have no intention of taking, as it is (a) unsolicited, (b) inapplicable to me, and (c) from a highly dubious source that smells of organic fertilizer.