I received this message below yesterday from a reader whose comments I have deleted. She is thoughtful, articulate, and valued. I was writing about hate and noticed several messages on my blog that were using hateful language to insult politicians they dislike, in this case, the President.
____________
A valued reader to me, I won’t use her name: “My first reaction to your statement that maybe hate is just soured love was immediate disagreement–because I have never at any point in time felt anything remotely positive, let alone love, for the current trash that lives in the White House. But on reflection, maybe you’re right, Jon. Maybe my deep love for my country has been turned into hate for the one who has soiled it–has turned it into a garbage pit. Nothing has surprised me in the least about what I’m seeing — I had him correctly sized up from the start, back in 2016. What makes me despair is the people who are either still blind to it or don’t care, or are owned by pure self-interest and fall in line.”
_____________
I should have shared my decision earlier to block any message that slips into name-calling rather than thought. Some people are unaware of doing it.
I don’t care who people like or dislike, but this blog is what I call a sanctuary, a place where there is no hostility, no hatred, and no name-calling (not from me, either).
As the anger and fear grow at the constant chipping away of our democracy, I notice some intelligent and interesting readers are slipping into hate language.
I don’t blame them, but I don’t want that on the blog. Imagine what it would be like if everyone on either side started using hostile language, and I were to publish it. (I used to do that).
That doesn’t go with Pastoral art or flower pictures.
We tried that, and much of the country is doing it; it was a nightmare for me when I did it.
Anyone is welcome here, regardless of their color, orientation, or purpose. You are all free to like or dislike me and my thoughts, as well as those of others and their thoughts.
But no hostility, please, no insults. I’ll delete it. Feel free to share what you think, not who you hate. That isn’t anybody else’s business.
As I said, this is a reader I greatly respect and appreciate for her intelligence and perspective. She has important things to say. But I already got some hate messages directed at her because of the hate she directed at him. I don’t want those messages on the blog. Many of the people who read the blog are supporters of him and are distressed to see someone they love assaulted verbally.
Regardless of my views, that’s not the kind of dialogue I am comfortable with on the blog so I won’t post it. I pledged to provide a safe place and am committed to maintaining it.
People who disagree are welcome, but I will not post any messages that use derogatory names for me or anyone else.
I just wanted people to know that.
Calling someone trash might or not be true, but thinking someone as thoughtful as this reader might consider simply saying what it is that she dislikes so much about him without calling him “trash,” a common tactic to ensure that any of his followers, more than half of the country, will get angrier and more divisive.
There are enough people working day and night to divide us. I don’t want to be one of them.
These are rough times; somewhere online, people have the right to feel safe. I’ve volunteered my blog for that, it seems a good way, and maybe my only way of helping people. It’s my responsibility to keep that promise. I’ve already deleted many hostile messages.
The blog is becoming a place where people can escape ugly rhetoric and focus on what matters, rather than what he did or didn’t do this hour. The President has sucked almost all the space out of our media, making authentic dialogue difficult, if not impossible.
There are more than two sides to our world. I get a lot of messages like this one every day:”
From B: “I am a conservative, but I haven’t watched Fox News in years. They do not represent my beliefs at all. The hate, conspiracy theories and authoritarian ideas which are broadcast on that network are not what normal conservatives believe.”
And not all liberals are deranged terrorists. That’s the problem with labels. Thanks for the message.
Loving more, that’s what the Pastoral Photos and flower photos are meant to do. I’d like for the thoughtful people on the blog to avoid name-calling here.
I understand the point of the blog now: to feel safe and calming here. That is no small trick I work very hard at it every day.
The chaos out there is something else; I have no control over it, and I won’t succumb to it by hatred and name-calling.
So I’m issuing my own Executive Order today—no more insults on the blog.
___
Above, Maria found a baby pigeon wandering right up to Zip’s territory. It sat in her hands for a long while. She got it to a safe place.
