Thursday, June 21, 2012  Why Can't We Be Friends?  Before I
entered the blogosphere, I don't think I realized how much I
wish everyone would just get along. Maybe that's because on the
internet, even if you sign your real name to a blog post or a
comment, you're usually a safe distance away from anyone who
might be enraged by your comments, so people seem to feel safer
in expressing dissenting opinions. And maybe these people would
express these opinions in person, too. I've certainly met a few
of these at parties, but then I was able to walk away, forget
what they said, or tell myself they were joking, etc. On the
internet, their words sit there in the comments section, to be
read and reread by anyone whose blood boils because of them.
I've gotten better, over the years, at not letting these things
ruffle me as badly, but whether I'm the one being disagreed with
or not, I always wonder: Why do these people want to fight?
Before I keep going, let me just say that the blog-fighting I
see is usually not highly