Building a better blog

I’ve been delighted that County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Callton decided to get into the blogging game with the “Barry Home Companion” blog in order to add another voice to serious cyberspace political and social commentary about Barry County and West Michigan. Dr. Callton, with a nod to Goldilocks and maybe Fox News, has billed his forum as “not too liberal, not too conservative, but just right,” but the Barry Home Companion has fallen victim, as many other blogs have, including this one at times, to the scourge of anonymity and its use as a way to hurl mud at political opponents, particularly the use of sexual innuendo to slime a public official. There’s absolutely nothing anonymous in the featured postings clearly identified as to who their authors are: Callton himself, State Rep. Brian Calley, Commissioner Jeff VanNortwick and Chuck Reid, a County Commission watchdog, all have written opinion pieces, giving the blog variety, a different approach than my lone wolf style and one that I enjoy reading.

However, comments in reaction to postings sometimes have gotten out of hand, just like they did too often on West Michigan Politics a while back. Buoyed by their anonymity, some people have made outrageous, questionable and personal attacks on public figures. I suppose this too often is a big risk when setting up and running a blog that invites everyone to the table to speak their minds.

Because of the nefarious nature of certain anonymous claims on this blog in bygone days, I changed my policy by not allowing anyone to post simply as “anonymous.” My compromise was that comment contributors must consistently use a handle in order to be able to post. And since I'm limited by the tools Blogspot and Google offer for free, I felt this was the best decision. Granted, those sending comments still don’t have to identify themselves by their real names, but with a particular handle, it becomes a lot easier to have back and forth debate and some people eventually give themselves away under their pseudonyms of choice. It's also easier for people to gauge how they line up with an author's point of view through repeated exposure to their signed blog posts and it works as a check against people saying things they might otherwise say if they were one of a number of comments listed as "anonymous."

I hereby ask Dr. Callton, customarily a reasonable man, to eliminate all anonymous commentary on his blog, to use his authority to block scurrilous charges and suggestions from these secret snipers who don’t have the guts to join the cyber discussion with at least a nom de plume of some kind so that others may judge their record of posts and encourage a responsible and civil discussion. I think automatically turning away anonymous commentary will cut down on the more outrageous tabloid-style attacks we have to endure in our laudable never-ending efforts for political discourse outside the usual channels. It won't end it, but those now more rare out of bounds comments can be deleted by the moderator. I have even cut out an offending comment and re-pasted the rest of the author's post when I felt they'd crossed a line but the rest of the comment was worthy of discussion.

I also believe Commission Callton should set a higher standard simply because he's a public official. He already got in some hot water for having the blog linked to an official government web site which he has since rectified. But by having his name on the blog and because of his status as a public official, his opponents or those trying to damage his reputation or the power of his blog can use these gutter tactics against him by attaching him to the attacks. I think it's in his own best interest to clamp down a bit but not so much as to completely stifle discussion and dissent. Some will cry censorship but that rare minority is likely to be the one most willing to use anonymous attacks for character assassination.

When I started my blog, it was my intention to have debate, discourse and discussion about political issues crucial to people who live in Barry County and West Michigan, issues that might not be seriously discussed in traditional media formats because of fear of reprisal. I developed West Michigan Politics as a haven for that discussion. It may not be the perfect forum but I've done my best to live up to my own high standards. I admit to being a flawed person, an amateur political commentator who has made mistakes in my judgment and my grammar and not always lived up to my own intent and potential. My intention is not to promote the sleazy, slimy and salacious, it is, rather to promote a truly open, honest and illuminating discussion that the traditional media dare not offer. It is with humility and respect that I beseech Dr. Callton to do the same.