There is a saying, “the mob rules”. I am afraid that with the new policy of anything by anyone goes, on the comments section offered for each post, in the new Iranian.com, I am sad to say that the job of carefully crafting, researching, and writing pieces that are thought out, well timed, poignant, spell and grammar checked, simply doesn’t pay enough to warrant the beatings I get for it. Certainly not by buffoons. I’ll gladly take a spanking by a superior now and then when I deserve it, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to go through the 3-4 day mental exercise and trouble of thinking about something that usually needs to be said, only to have some juvenile complex-ridden degenerate graffiti on it for pure sick sadistic fun and games, specifically to spoil it for others. The new system has attracted a troubling element, the common trait is that they can’t live with themselves or offer a counter point that is equal or relevant to the article, or serve to make the dialog richer. At first I thought it would be a healthy release and it would settle down once people got the angst off their chests, but it’s getting worse. For me it has simply become far too exhausting emotionally. As the National Guardsman said, “I didn’t sign up for this!”
I have in effect been censored not by “the editor”, but rather the mob that is increasingly ruling this site and running amok in it. Don’t get me wrong, a certain amount of punk rock anarchy is a wonderful thing. But clearly either I am not evolved enough to take the lashings I am dealt daily behind my back, or there is something very wrong with having profanities screamed at you constantly, whether you defend yourself or not. And I’m tired of checking to see if I’ve addressed an incorrect accusation or corrected a language barrier misinterpretation, or if I have had the last word on the pettiest of arguments over what usually ends up being merely ego. Usually macho ego.
SO, to all the cowardly, faceless, spoiler, pissant “Goozidam beh rishet”s out there, enjoy your victory, you win! You have managed to sour something that was quite sweet and dear to me these past 10 wonderful years I have been writing for Iranian.com. Judging from the many positive responses I have received from gracious, thoughtful, and intelligent (and thankfully not necessarily always agreeing) readers, I think frankly (and I’m sure you will crudely disagree), I will be missed. Certainly one can say, the many good, outweigh the few bad apples, but honestly, I’d rather stop writing than give you the satisfaction of having even one more place to publicly urinate anonymously, then run to another writer’s article and do the same to them. You certainly deserve your prize, namely nothing! For that is precisely what you will now get from me.
I also always thought that putting my real name down was a key requirement for an honorable discourse. Clearly it isn’t. Clearly: Anonymity is Sacred.
But seriously, congrats once again, you’ve merely managed to successfully reinforce the stereotype!
