Sometimes, the best way to define something is to begin with what it is not.
I think this is because the more stuff we get exposed to, the harder it is to distinguish between things that appear similar but really aren’t. The Internet Age has amplified this, as we all know. Social media in particular has grown into what a lot of people might call a necessary evil (although I personally think it’s very unnecessary, despite the fact that I use it). Each day more of us are seduced by it for one reason or another. And as that happens, the general discourse gets — in my opinion — degraded. This blog’s been around for about a decade, and until very recently it’s been immune to some of the ills I see in the discourse between otherwise anonymous people. “Civil discourse” seems to get rarer each day as keyboard commandos, trolls, and just straight-up assholes feel entitled to ruffle feathers just for the hell of it or, more likely, because they hate themselves and can’t think of anything better to do but project that self-hatred onto strangers.
So, to put it plainly, as far as what this blog is not:
— It is not yours
— It is not a petri dish for trolls
— It is not Instagram
— It is not a forum for “free speech” or spam
— It is not an outlet for unsolicited, uncivil discourse
What it is (as if that weren’t obvious):
— A place for my wife and me to share our thoughts, experiences, photos, and videos about chukar hunting and the culture surrounding it
— A place for civil discussions in response to our posts
As I said, until very recently, the impetus for wasting bandwidth on this issue never existed here, but I feel compelled (and really saddened) now to do so because I want to make it clear that if you feel like being a jerk on this blog, I won’t give you the perverse satisfaction of publicizing your self-hatred. Sorry.
If you don’t like what I write, or what my wife writes, and want to say so, we want to hear it if you can be a person about it. I like disagreement; I learn a lot from it. But if you can’t be a person, please don’t read this blog and please don’t comment. Unsubscribe. Go spread your self-hatred somewhere else, or better yet look in the mirror and face yourself and get some help. We’d all be better off.