Anyone in the public eye gets a little bit of hate mail. If you don’t, you’re not making an impact.
Not that I’m suggesting that anyone should do something to deliberately attract hate mail, far from it. But if you achieve even a little bit of local fame, there’s someone with a self esteem problem who’s going to stand back and say you don’t deserve it or you’re not so great or whatever. It’s pitiful, really.
The only thing an anonymous attack will do is inspire this declaration: It means nothing. If a person doesn’t have the stones to stand behind their real name and a real email address, their opinion is worthless and will not even elicit a response. Virtually all media operates this way. It’s almost amusing that some people think that by sending an anonymous letter, they’ll somehow get their point across and create change. Actually, it’s the opposite. We look for a name and return address and if it’s not there, the contents don’t even get read! We get the last laugh.
So if someone has something negative to say, they should come out and be seen or shut their pie hole. There’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism or an opposing point of view. But a spew of venom rarely comes with an authentic John or Jane Hancock at the bottom. As always, if you have a comment to make, please leave it here, with a real name. Otherwise, enjoy life in the delete bin.