Name Calling

I just posted a comment at another blog that's worth posting here (with some edits):

Name calling on the web just gets in the way of rational discourse. It's "e-mail bravado": People say things in dashed-off e-mails, posts, and comments that they wouldn't say in face-to-face conversation. And being civil, face-to-face, isn't just a matter of avoiding a fistfight. It's a matter of seeing the face in front of you and thinking something like this: "Here's another human being; he or she is worthy of my respect until he or she proves otherwise," or "I was taught good manners as a child and I've found that good manners are generally met with civility and a respectful hearing."

Now, satire isn't name-calling unless it devolves into likening your ideological opponents to people like Hitler, Stalin, or bin Laden. I don't often engage in satire, but I reserve the right to do so, without becoming offensive.