An e-mail zinger

FROM THE MAIL ROOM

I just received this e-mail from an anonymous (of course!) reader of my foundling blog-effort. I thought I ought to share it, because: (1) it is instructive in certain respects and, more important, (2) it's the first response of any kind--from anyone--since I launched last month.

Hey, a**hole it's clear your [sic] a f***ing reactionery [sic]. Your [sic] thinking with the wrong end--try reversing polarity and maybe something will come out that makes sense. And maybe you will also discover how to say something with the fewest possible words. Here's [sic] a couple of examples. In your "God" article, you could have reduced it from a boring 3,500 words to this: "God sucks." Want more? In your "Education" article you could have written: "Education sucks." How about your "Black Helicopter" article: "Government sucks." And on John Roberts, "Biden sucks." Get the picture? As it stands now your blog sucks. If you don't unsuck it, the next time I write, I'll tell you what I really think. --Anonymous

[sic] indicates the uncorrected original
* indicates my redactions

My answer: Thanks for your "suc[k]cinct"counseling. I do understand your main points, which are: (1) I should be writing for people who have the attention span of an in-vitro embryo. (2)And the perspective I should convey ought to be as devoid of as much reality as possible--right?

I can hardly wait to get your future follow-up counseling. While I struggle to learn to apply your principles of writing in future posts, I suggest you'll find something nearer your liking by logging on to those websites that spout easy to read and understand one- and two-syllable hate slogans the authors pound out hourly--Michael Moore being the dean of this style. If you prefer more conventional thinking, you can always check with Democratic National Committee under Dr. Howard Dean, or Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid. There are hundreds more, of course, but knowing how much you appreciate intellectual depth and breadth, I've cited only the creme de la creme.