Is Civility Dead?

Is Civility Dead?

by Natalie Pompilio

I live in a city known for its brotherly love, but I didn’t see a lot of that one recent day while reading an on-line edition of the newspaper where I work. The public comment section contained some of the coldest, most vicious writing I’d ever seen.

Under an article about a woman’s murder and her boyfriend’s arrest, some one wrote, “So 2 pieces of trash are off the street now. Great.”

In reference to a story about a 10-year-old killed when his skateboard rolled into traffic, an anonymous poster speculated that the boy’s parents were on welfare, as if that made it their fault their child was dead.

I know firsthand how hostile the reading public can be, having been threatened with death a few years ago after I wrote an article rooting against my home city’s beloved football team. But this example stopped me short: Is civility dead? Can’t we all just get along?

Read the rest here.

Tags: aggression, civil, civility, communication, courtesy, discourse, manners, respect, society

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Comment by Doug Reardon on March 22, 2010 at 1:46pm: Nope!

Comment by Matt on March 22, 2010 at 6:30pm: I think you will find TA to be close to unique in that regard Adriana. Here, everyone is united for a common reason and therefore there is a certain amount of given respect. Most websites people hide in their animosity and allow themselves to go uncensored.

Comment by Charlotte on March 23, 2010 at 1:43pm: I can't decide if deep down, people are jerks or they're kind. I go back & forth. I do believe anonymity has a lot to with behavior. It's easy to hide behind a screen & a keyboard.

For the most part TA is very friendly, at least civil. Of course, there's "one in every bunch." I belong to another atheist site & they are not as civil. A lot of them seem to enjoy arguing for the sake of arguing.

Comment by Apple on March 24, 2010 at 9:54am: That's exactly why I prefer this site, Charlotte.

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