Shut Up And Listen 235

Anyone who's spent a lot of time online knows that there is a big difference between the online world and the real world. People are more bold online, secure in their anonymity and the fact that they can say almost anything without fear of actual reprisal. Despite this, I've always tried to apply the real world standard to things I say online. I try very hard to make sure the online persona I give off is as close to the one I present in real life, and have been told that the two are quite similar. But, this week, I was shown that to be a lie when I was forced to confront the real world and see that perhaps I'm not quite the same there.

Jonathon Yazer is the opinions editor at the school paper and since it's the beginning of the year, he hasn't received that many letters, so he relies on columns from the editorial staff a little more. Wanting to help, plus being able to write things very quickly and having an opinion on almost any subject, I've been quick to tell him that if he ever needs a column that I can give him one. I wrote one for our first issue back and then this past week, he asked if I could give him another. He didn't need it until the next day, so I had time to come up with a topic. I couldn't really think of anything, but then something a prof mentioned in a class that night got me thinking.

I would write a column on abortion.

I thought about what aspect I would write about and went home and wrote the column. Just around three thousand characters (a little shorter than one of these columns basically) and I thought it was pretty well done. I tried very hard to maintain a balance of both sides, preferring to come in somewhere in the middle, which is where I actually am on the issue. Basically, I was aiming to piss off the fringes on each side, while make sense to most people who fall somewhere in the middle.

That's when the problems began. The idea of it going into print made me consider it more. Think about each and every point I made and whether or not I really wanted my name attached to it. If it had been for this column, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it (especially since the columns I think that will piss people off never do and the ones that I think people will ignore receive a lot of comments). But, the idea of it going out in ten thousand papers made me begin to have serious doubt.

I went into the office the next day and said to Yazer that I didn't want to use that column and he sort of nodded and said he understood, but then suggested maybe I just make some changes. So, we talked about it a bit and I decided to retool the column. I kept the first three paragraphs and rewrote the rest, targeting men's roles in abortions rather than trying to argue for something in between the pro-life and pro-choice sides. I'm sure that it will still piss some people off, but I feel a lot more secure in it (mostly because I'm avoiding a lot of that bullshit that comes with being a man who dares talk about abortion--which I cite as a big problem, actually).

What concerns me is that maybe I do behave a bit bolder online, more willing to say stupid, crazy shit because it's online and doesn't really matter. I mean, I stand behind everything I wrote in the first column, but then why did I feel like I should change it? Is the newspaper world like an ultra-real world? A world where you have to be even more careful? Is the discrepancy there and not with the online world? Or am I just a huge phoney?

I don't know, but it's definitely something I'm going to pay more attention to from now on.