In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mike Nichols weighs in on the James Buss bust.
Nichols writes:
West Bend police arrested James Buss the other day for being an anonymous idiot on the Internet.
I hope they have a big jail.
This is America.
Anonymous idiocy is our national pastime.
It's true that what police say Buss posted under the nom de loon "Observer" on a Web site discussing teacher salaries was of particular note - if for no other reason than how he was unveiled.
A teacher called the police after Mr. Observer praised the Columbine killers who "knew how to deal with the overpaid teacher union thugs. One shot at a time!"
It turned out, according to police, he is a teacher himself down in Oak Creek.
In addition, it seems, to being a poseur.
But, hey, is there anyone on the Internet who isn't?
In response to Nichols' question:
Yes, there are people on the Internet who aren't poseurs -- me.
It's not all "anonymous idiocy."
True, I don't plaster my full name on my blog. I intentionally don't put out identifying information about myself, not because I'm "hiding" but because it's the smart thing to do. Especially when voicing opinions about politics or controversial issues, it's not wise to put out the welcome mat for nutcases and stalkers.
That said, I stand behind everything I say. I'm willing to be held accountable.
Why? Because I'm not going to do something as stupid as James Buss did.
I'm not going to create a character and then say threatening things, however vague.
Nichols proceeds to run down some examples of offensive, nasty e-mails that he and his colleagues have received.
There's no denying that they're ugly. There's also no denying that people take advantage of the supposed anonymity of the Internet to vent. Apparently, conscience often loses in the battle with the twisted pleasure of spewing vile stuff anonymously.
Nichols says:
Most anonymous blathering is harmless. I don't think Mr. "Observer" was advocating real violence. I'd be surprised if he's even charged. He was, it appears, just doing what everyone else does. Pretending. It's hard, most of the time, to even pretend to care.
I don't know why Nichols is being an apologist for Buss' boorish behavior.
When one comes across some disturbing comment on a forum or a creepy threat on YouTube, it's not prudent to assume the individual is harmless.
Nichols takes the stand that "this is America." Everybody acts like an idiot. So, what else is new?
I disagree.
Everyone doesn't pretend. I think the ones who do don't understand that they aren't as anonymous as they think.
If they knew that what they post on Internet forums and blogs leaves a traceable trail, perhaps the phenomenon of "pretending" wouldn't be as prevalent as it is. Debate wouldn't be as poisonous and it might actually be constructive.
Nichols concludes:
Entire debates take place on blogs and the radio without anyone ever knowing who is speaking or writing.
It's more than cowardice that prompts it. It's habit.
People, even smart people with valuable things to say, have abandoned the very thing that was once supposed to be their most treasured possession: their name.
NO.
In some cases, it is a matter of cowardice, but not in all. For me, it's a matter of taking proper precautions to safeguard myself and my family from dangerous people. And there are truly dangerous people trolling around the Internet.
My good name, my word, is a treasured possession. I wouldn't blacken it. I take full responsibility for what I write. I'm not ashamed of it.
I can guarantee that no one will ever accuse me of making a threatening remark over the Internet. I will never find myself in Buss' position.
6 comments:
I think the trick is to use your real name. On the front cover of the Milwaukee Journal this past Sunday, a story leads: "As the so-called father of the religious right, Paul Weyrich is well-steeped in the frictions and frustrations the periodically plague the conservative movement he helped create. [...] 'Where's our Ronald Reagan?' I tell you, if I hear that question one more time, I'm going to take out my rifle.' "
Congrats on being quoted by James Taranto in todays OPJ Best of the Web on this post. I post with a nickname for security reasons but my real name is associated with my blog and I leave the link open unless I comment on a lefty troll's blog.
Thanks, Goat. I didn't think Goat was your real name. :)
John, you know using your real name doesn't give you license to say anything.
Though if James Buss had made those Columbine posts under his real name, maybe the West Bend teacher who found them would have googled Buss and discovered that he might be a teacher at Oak Creek.
If it did happen that way, do you think the W.B. teacher would have ratted Buss out?
I'm having a huge amount of trouble understanding why, exactly, what this guy said was a threat. (I agree he's an ass, but that's a different matter.) To me, a threat requires something more specific, as in, "I'm going to kill you." THAT is a threat. But some generic comment that the Columbine killers were right, I don't see how by any definition that rises to the level of a threat.
Years ago one of Winston Churchill's political rivals (a woman) told him, "Winston, if I were married to you I would put poison in your tea." To which Churchill responded, "Nancy, if I were married to you I would drink it." So glad the hypersensitive fear-mongerers we have running things today weren't around then, or what is a funny story would instead have ended with both of them in jail.
"anonymous, 4:53 PM, December 04, 2007" --
Are you an American?
The West Bend teachers and the West Bend police determined the post to be threatening and serious enough to require action.
Your Churchill story example doesn't apply here.
The individuals involved weren't anonymous.
That's dramatically different from an anonymous online posting.
The West Bend teachers feared for their safety because of what Buss wrote.
DA Martens determined it was not a threat. Buss admitted to making the posts and claimed he was being facetious.
Buss isn't in trouble with the law. Of course, two computers and two rifles were seized from his home when police conducted their search, but he was cleared.
Hopefully, faculty, staff, students and their parents in the West Bend School District feel safer now that the investigation has been completed.
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