I just came across an interesting essay on the tendency of those who comment electronically to resort to irrational hatred of a kind rarely found in crank letters in the past. It seems that atheists and academics--especially atheist academics--are particularly prone to such displays of venom, even when commenting on the blog of a prominent atheist like Richard Dawkins. For that reason, Dawkins (felt he) had to close down the comments section of his own blog.
What's up with that? Is it the new technology that requires so little effort compared with taking the trouble to write and mail a letter? Is it something about academics who are used to going unchallenged in their own milieu? Is it about a romanticism that values the expression of feeling for its own sake no matter how far it goes beyond the limits of civility and rational discourse? Or is it something about a particular kind of devotee of reason that makes him or her particularly prone to the irrational?
Read more here: http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/58706/sec_id/58706
Paul
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