Article (Giles Fraser): Bloggers killing debate

[...] Yet, despite the social unacceptability of sending hate mail, those who post comments on websites — also known as bloggers — are able to get away with the most disgusting bile, wrapped in the clothing of anonymity. “Comment is free” is what The Guardian calls its blog site. Comment is cheap, more like. Sadly, nasty and insulting comment drives away all the interesting stuff. Who wants to get involved in a serious discussion only to end up trading abuse?

What is doubly preposterous is that many such bloggers regard themselves as the vanguard of the open society, doing the morally commendable job of protecting free expression. Thus they pretend that saying the most unpleasant things is some sort of moral virtue. In this way, the new hate mail gets to provide itself with moral cover. Read more