The Mailbag: 'I need to be what?'

I'll be honest; watching the Oscars was not on my to-do list as someone not at all interested in the Hollywood elite. After waiting to learn whether the widely visualized altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock was staged, I decided to briefly opine on Facebook that we can't go around hitting comedians even if the "jokes" they tell are in incredibly poor taste.

This was, of course, before Smith's statement today in which he apologized to Rock for his actions.

"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." Smith added in his post that, "Violence in all forms is poisonous and destructive."

In the hours after writing last night's Facebook post, some conservatives began commenting in response that Smith's actions at the Oscars were justified. Some even suggested that had Rock told the joke to their family members, they would have done worse to Rock than Smith did.

I don't think anyone who follows the TBA Facebook page would be shocked to learn that I don't tolerate calls for or suggestions of violence in the comment section of posts — so, as is my right, I deleted them.

If you haven't learned by now, some conservatives and those associated with the far-right aren't super thrilled with the idea of what they suggest is "social media censorship," and it's normal to expect that some individuals might be less than thrilled to learn their comment was deleted.

But even I admit to being surprised by the email I received today, which stated:

"You need to be shot. DEAD."

While this particular email doesn't appear to be associated with anything I've written about Anchorage's mayor or social media groups who have made the past year and a half...interesting...it is perhaps indicative of how civil discourse has seemingly all but evaporated in this country.

For what it's worth, if it's worth anything — stop talking to people like this — use your words, and more importantly, quit threatening those you disagree with.