Censorship Only refuge of Weak and Fearful
You see it in articles and replies all the time. To paraphrase, it usually boils down to this..." stop saying things i can't deal with, or i'll censor your words." It matters not how polite the person is. It doesn't matter if the person refrains from insults and profanity. All that matters is that the host of the article can't effectively argue something, therefore his only course of action is that of any coward. Run and hide. In this case, censor the writer.
Of course, that's their choice. But what a weak choice it is. It is, in effect, an admission that they cannot back up their own points. It's usually surrounded by a bunch of "eloquent" language, but anyone with a brain knows what's happening.
I've been in some very heated arguments over the last decade + of writing online. Sometimes you are dealing with someone unreasonable. No matter, just stand your ground and the "trolls" usually go away after a short while. When they don't, they can be fun to play with. Plus, anyone who has been in a heated debate with me knows that when the dust settles, like in a boxing match, I am usually the 1st to extend a gesture of friendship and emphasize that perhaps we can find common ground elsewhere. But some aren't interested in finding common ground, they are only interested in bullying their opinions on others, and when they find they can't, they censor. They know not of competing hard and good sportsmanship, they only want victory uberalles.
In all the years I have written, and written online, I have always used my own name wherever possible. I do it for a reason. I stand behind what I write. And just because someone comes on and tells me i'm wrong and uses their "evidence" as proof, doesn't make it so. And i'm big enough of a boy that I can deal with some yahoo yellin at me. Censorship has never been an option. Censorship is for cowards who hide behind their keyboards and act like bullies. Usually paper bullies.
I have been sworn at, insulted, had my family and friends insulted and worse. But I don't censor. It is a principle. Obviouly one not shared by all. Some would rather supress dissent than deal with it. Some don't have the mental capacity to understand that people will disagree with you often, no matter how well you think your argument has been laid out. Some take this bloggin stuff WAY too seriously.
Many times over the years, I have called these keyboard bullies out. I'm not afraid of them, like they think I should be. This usually results in 1 of 2 things. Either they back off, or they try to censor me. To tell the truth, I usually have more respect for the ones who back off, even if it isn't accompanied by an apology. At least those folks are showing they are capable of seeing how stupid they were. The censors just prefer to live in their state of denial, their delusional world where everything they say is right.
Of course, these are the 1st people who start accusing others of being stalkers and trolls. They even try to foolishly define them sometimes. Of course those definitions never apply to them, as they are perfect in their own eyes. It's sad and a shame.
But if they choose to bury their head in the sand and act as if they are justified in squelching different opinions, so be it. But if they think others don't know the truth, they are really delusional not realizing that while you may be able to wield absolute power on the lil ol blog site, in the real world, the truth is known, and discussed without censorship.
If you are gonna dish it out, you gotta be prepared to take it is the bottom line for most. But for some, they only wanna dish it out.
Such is life.