>That's not the type of statement that would have burnished my candidacy as a
>job applicant during my recent search for a new position as a PR writer.
>But is what I believe, and it's a position I would defend vigorously if
>anyone ferreted it out and challenged me on it. I guess I'm a sap to put
>any faith at all in the right to free speech, but as much as I dislike
>actually existing US democracy, I take democratic ideals seriously and am
>willing to exercise my nominal rights even if it's foolish to do so. A life
>that consists of nothing but temporization isn't worth living, IMO.
>
>Carl
That's not the best example of what people might be worried about.
I think it's arguable that not posting under your name is temporizing. I'd bet a hardass like Carrol would argue that "in the last instance" it is, but I think we should encourage people to engage and play on these lists, especially young folks who want to test out ideas. Part of the reason I post as Peter K. and don't use my last name is that I want to demonstrate to lurkers and others that they shouldn't feel pressured to use their full names if they don't want to. It might seem obvious, but it's an important point. At least that's what I tell myself. (Perhaps, I have a bit of the pessimist in me and in the back of my mind figure that 10 years down the road, after a couple more terrorist attacks and after the government has issued national ID cards, these lists will come back to haunt us; except that the optimist in me would point to what a mess the INS is and speculate that it will be a long, long time until Capital gets its act together. Also, my father is the chief judge of one of the most republican counties in the country and was once the right-hand man to the candidate most likely to be the next governor of Illinois. So there's that, but I think there's also a point to be made that sometimes paranoia about privacy is just a way to make ourselves feel more important or more dangerous to the government than we really are.) Anyway, if a list ever instituted a "real names only" policy I would immediately drop off and try to enliven some other, more free-wheeling list. But also, the archive is nice.
Peter K.