Blogger Anonymity

Pittgirl was the pseudonym of a very popular Pittsburgh blogger. People enjoyed her comedic efforts and her verbal jabs at city government. But there are always those (probably jealous) individuals who want to hurt or bring down anyone doing well. Pittgirl knew her identity had been compromised, so she revealed it on her blog.

It turns out she was Virginia Montanez, a 35 year-old married mother of two. After she revealed her identity, her employer fired her. She had worked for a nonprofit called the Negro Educational Emergency Drive in Pittsburgh. Her former-employer won't say why they fired her.

Recently in Alaska, 43 year-old political blogger Jeanne Devon was outed by an Alaskan legislator (who should be ashamed of his cowardly actions). Her blog was called The Mudflats and she exposed right wing skullduggery in the northernmost state. Another Alaskan blogger, who writes The Immoral Minority, had anonymous right-wingers calling the school where the blogger worked. Regardless of political affiliation, these kinds of threatening actions should not be tolerated by anyone.

I started out blogging with a pseudonym myself, because I wasn't sure how my employer would react to my blog. But I finally decided that as a political blogger, I might have more credibility if I used my real name. But that was my own personal choice, and I fully understand why a blogger might want to keep his/her real name a secret (especially a woman-- it's shocking the kinds of abuse and threats aimed at females). The use of a pseudonym should be a personal choice of a blogger (who knows his/her own situation) and not a target of inferior intellects.

Take for instance, what happened to Montanez. All you have to write is one thing that your boss doesn't like and suddenly you're jobless. There are also nuts out there who will harrass and even threaten or hurt a blogger, just because they disagree with them and don't have the intelligence, wit or education to spar with them in a comment section of the blog.

Personally, I think anyone who resorts to name-calling, threats, outing a blogger or trying to get a blogger fired from their job is a SCUMBAG and a COWARD (and if you'll notice, they usually do it anonymously). Frankly, if you can't handle someone else's opinion and don't have the tools to present your own side, maybe you should just keep your mouth shut and stop reading the blogs. Name-calling, threats and outing someone just shows your lack of an argument.

I have a right-winger who comments on my blog often using a pseudonym. We've had some fun arguments. But I would never consider outing his real identity (even though I know it). I simply do not have the right to try and harm him or get him fired by releasing his real name. That would make me a snitch and a coward, and I was raised to not respect either.

That's what I think. My name is Ted McLaughlin and I live in Amarillo (and that's my picture above). I say what I want on this blog, and if you don't like that it's your problem. I've lived too long and experienced too much to care.

P.S. -- By the way, if your comment is nothing more than name-calling or threatening or has racist content, don't expect to see it -- it won't be approved. And I don't care what you think about that either!