Let's Go Over This One More Time...

I thought I would give you all a bit of insight into the sort of sheer idiocy I see on a weekly basis. You may remember that a while back I was actually contemplating “retiring” from writing this blog. There were several reasons for this but one of the main factors was the large amount of ignorant and hateful correspondence I receive on a weekly basis.

Most days I let this sort of stuff just roll off my back but it does wear on me after a while. I try pretty hard to write intelligently on a variety of topics. I don’t pretend to be an expert on anything. I’m just a guy who has an interest in the natural world, in general, and wildlife in particular. While I do have an interest in cryptozoology, particularly the bigfoot mystery, most of the time I write about much more common animals and topics. Why this inspires such negative reactions in some people I will never understand.

While I hesitate to publish correspondence from cretins, I thought I would give you all an example of the sort of thing that makes its way to my inbox. Below is an email I received this week from an anonymous reader (the jerks always remain anonymous, it seems) in response to a post I did called “Wolf Attacks on Humans on the Increase” back in March of 2010. I would ask you go back and read the post and then read the comments below.

“SHAME THE WOLF WAS KILLED, INSTEAD OF THE REDNECK, YOU PEOPLE IN TEXAS ARE SO HUNT DRIVEN, YOU WOULD MAKE UP A STORY TO HUNT SOMETHING OR ANYTHING...OVIOUSLY DID NOT GET ENOUGH COWBOYS AND INDIANS.”

Did this guy even read the post? The comments do not make any sense. The two people referenced in the post that were attacked by wolves were from Alaska and Canada. That being the case, where does the redneck reference come from? Wishing a person dead is a disgusting sentiment and provides a bit of insight into this person’s sick mind. This moron ends his comments with an accusation that I have made this entire story up just to justify the hunting of wolves and/or other animals. His final shot at Texans in general is an all too familiar refrain from his ilk.

The overwhelming majority of correspondence I receive is positive in nature. I don’t mean that everyone agrees with me on everything, rather, I mean that the messages are intelligently written by someone who has actually given the topic in question some thought and who has chosen to voice their opinion in a civil manner. A few times a week, however, I get a something like what you just read.

Generally, I just delete the offending posts. I’ve stated before that I will publish all comments, whether they agree with me or not, as long as the writer abstains from name calling, insults, and sheer insanity. This post would normally be zapped due to its hateful nature but I decided to print this one just to show all of you the kind of stuff I see on a weekly basis.

So, let’s go over the rules one more time. Feel free to comment on any and all the posts you want. Send me an email if you feel you need more room than the “comments” feature allows. Understand that no comments or emails containing hateful, profane, or downright crazy language will be published. If you can’t be civil, you won’t be heard. Not here anyway. Again, I’m not saying that only comments that agree with my ideas will be published. Nothing could be further from the truth. I AM saying that if your vocabulary is not expansive enough to articulate your thoughts without insults, profanity, or making you appear to be a lunatic you are just wasting your time.

To the vast majority of you out there who are not drooling imbeciles, I say thank you. Your comments and thoughts are ALWAYS welcome. They restore my faith in the human race. Keep your correspondence coming. If I don’t publish your comment right away or reply to your email quickly it is likely because I’m wading through garbage like the example above. Be patient and I’ll get back to you.

If, however, you are a mouth-breathing simpleton that types in all caps, fails to use spell check, and won’t even sign your own name (probably because you can’t spell it), well…do us all a favor and keep your comments to yourself.

That is all.