When I first started blogging, I had little concept of the implications and repercussions of the enterprise, which is one of the reasons I have struggled to cement this blog’s mission statement. I write about the things of which I am most passionate, and while this often means I am obsessing over political news, I sometimes have a tendency to write about the banal occurrences of everyday life.
But before I get into blog theory, if you will, I would like to apologize.
I apologize for sometimes taking seriously the opinions and statements of the disconnected, anonymous, and lunatic fringe. I have wasted my time and your time in an attempt to both defend myself against scurrilous accusations and clarify the facts to those who – no matter what- prefer being hyperbolically contrarian.
We can and should be able to engage with one another, to discuss the issues, and to stay on topic and on point without the need for baseless ad hominem attacks, but unfortunately, with the birth of completely anonymous websites and commentary, it’s nearly impossible to avoid.
The ability to speak anonymously is critical to a functioning democracy, but the powers of anonymous speech can be easily abused, particularly by those whose own ideological mission has left them blind and uncaring to the implications their words can have on real people.
Words have power.
Which brings me back to blog theory.
There is a reason I decided to write a personal essay series. (Obviously, I decided to extend the series beyond my original scope, and I may decide to continue to engage on a personal level). There is a reason I decided to write about my father’s death– which occurred when I was living in Houston– and what it felt like to return to Alexandria four years later and watch as people anonymously attacked me, my family, and my father for expressly political purposes. Ironically, my father actually shared the same political persuasion as many of those who have attempted (and who continue to attempt) to disparage his life and his reputation. There is a reason I have decided to write openly and honestly about my own disability, a topic I am likely to return frequently. There is a reason I have decided to become more candid about my own life.
On the Internet, people have a tendency to dehumanize others. They become so caught up in their own egos and agendas that they lose track of reality.
And let’s be honest: The Internet, by virtue of its egalitarian platform (which I would not trade for the world), provides an outlet of expression for those who are otherwise completely disengaged, and indeed, it provides a platform for the ignorant.
I don’t understand the fear that some people have about expressing their real opinions with their real names. To be sure, most in the New Orleans blogosphere use pseudonyms, but for many of them, it’s thinly veiled; they have no problem engaging with one another as real human beings. (Indeed, CenLamar is also a thinly-veiled pseudonym).
They are a community.
In Alexandria, we do not have a true Internet community. With few exceptions, bloggers don’t really work together. Many of them believe in the virtues of depersonalized anonymity, which, to me, seems like a relic, unsophisticated and sensational.
Let’s attempt to speak to one another as neighbors instead of strangers.
Hello.
CenLamar 
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