Outing Bloggers - the Ultimate Act of Douchebaggery. An opinion piece/rant

Recently some shit has gone down that has been disturbing to me, and I'm sure to every blogger who writes under a pseudonym. Red Tory has been outed by some insignificant shmuck who has decided that he, in his infinite wisdom, knows what's best for the entire blogosphere. He has decided that anonymous blogging is bad (but only for people who are not blogging tories). So he took it upon himself to stalk and find out RT's real name and city of residence and post it on his blog. He also encourages his readers to harass him. Even went so far as to post his picture and suggest that if you're ever in his city to pay him a visit. Oh, and he also posted a link to a picture RT's girlfriend(?). I refuse to link over there, and I suggest that if you venture to the lair of assholery that you hide your ass so he can't see your IP addy, because you will probably be next. The popups suck, but it's worth it to keep youself safe from someone who won't even let people put unmoderated comments on his blog, but is on a crusade to incite harassment of bloggers who dare to disagree with him.

Okay, first of all, Red Tory, you handsome devil, I suggest you get a lawyer and start making a list of what you'd like to do with everything this piece of human filth owns.

I'm going to say this loud and clear for the record, even though it's already in Teh Rulez: IF YOU OUT AN ANONYMOUS POSTER ON THIS BLOG, WE WILL BAN YOUR ASS SO FAST YOUR HEAD WILL SPIN. We don't suffer that kind of shit gladly around here. Why? For a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it is our RIGHT to blog anonymously. Just because someone who may be a mentally unstable wannabe tyrant thinks he knows what is best for discourse on the internet does not mean that we do not have the right, on the blogs that we OWN, to write under a pseudonym. Last I checked, although the right wingers are doing their best to make it otherwise, we still have rights, and one of them is to write about politics, or sex, or cats, or music, under a name other than the one we were given by our parents.

Secondly, as the blog owners here are women, we have a unique set of concerns. Ever been threatened with rape? Ever have someone say they want to find you and "hate fuck" you? Ever had a photo of yourself in a noose or muzzled posted online? No? Well that's very very good for you. But if you're a female blogger, chances are good that you've had at least one message of that nature left to you. In case you have been living under a rock and don't know this, misogyny is rampant online. And in meat space. Women live with the very real threat of violence every day. So in the interest of keeping some sexually violent predator from coming after us because we pissed him off by saying that his chosen elected leader is a thieving bastard, we blog under pseudonyms. It helps keep us safe. Lord knows it's dangerous enough out there for women, especially us uppity bitches who don't know our place.

Ever consider that someone might get fired if their boss found out about their political views? Or that maybe someone has an insane and violent ex-spouse that they'd just as soon not be able to find them easily under google? People blog pseudonymously for any number of reasons besides personal safety. It's nobody's place to judge whether or not it's best for them to have their views out in the open. Maybe my dad will beat the living shit out of me for saying that Ronald Reagan was an asshole. If you outed me, and that happened, guess what? It's your fucking fault.

Let me reiterate: outing a blogger - most especially a female blogger, but really ANY blogger - is a truly heinous act, and it is NOT. YOUR. PLACE. to decide if and when a pseudonymous person reveals their true name/photo/identity. It potentially puts people in danger. Where I come from, we might call that a dangerous instrumentality, you dig? You might think you know what is best for the internet and the world. I know I sure do. But that doesn't mean that I have the right to expose people to potential danger, or loss of income, or harassment, or even embarassment. If you want to blog under your real name, go for it. I don't really give a fuck. But you have no right to demand that the rest of us do the same.