All Fired Up!

There's a subject that I was thinking about over the weekend and I want to get it off my chest.  I'm citing one specific instance in this post, but it's not the first time I've seen this happen.  I just HAVE to say something.  Last week I was reading Dooce and she wrote a post about the Republican Convention and Sarah Palin's appointment.  I could go into detail about what she said in the post, but that's not what completely disgusted me.  What pissed me off more than anything else was the 2400 or so comments left on that post.  While most of them said "you go, girl"  and agreed whole heartedly, there were a scary amount that attacked her.  One of them even included a death threat.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!

Don't they get the whole point of a blog?

If you can't post your opinion on your own blog where can you?  I completely understand that when you give your opinion anywhere, especially on a subject as touchy as politics, you open yourself up to have people disagree with you.  That's fine. It's expected.  What I cannot even begin to understand is what compels brazen, rude, self righteous people to personally attack someone because their opinion differs from yours.  If it is a book, magazine, newspaper or post that offends you. Stop. Reading.  If it is music or television, turn it off.  You have that choice. No one FORCED these people to continue to read her post.  Absolutely no one FORCED these people to call Heather B. names, insult her intelligence or threaten her.  Her opinion is still valid.  She's still entitled to have it.  It's what this country was based on.  Freedom.  Freedom to voice your opinion even if it's the minority.  Even if it's controversial.   Again you have a choice to be exposed to it or not.  You also have the choice to either be like the many people who left comments on her blog or you can be a better, more tolerant person.  

I choose tolerance.  

Because you never know when your opinion may be the one in the minority.  

And you would expect the same respect.