The Fever Swamp Grows Just A Tad More Concentrated
By Mitch Berg
“Ollie Ox” at “A Bluestem Prairie” – what is it with leftybloggers and anonymity? – has apparently realized that liberalism is a vapid mind-suck, and that her fellow liberal bloggers range from talentless ninniesm comically depraved hacks, and wannabee Frank Riches, and has decided to shutter her blog:
After posting at this blog for 2 years, 8 months, we’re feeling the need to spruce up the joint. Bluestem will be shuttered after today until June 1, when the blog will return as a venue for nonfiction essays about rural topics.Thanks for reading
OK, I made up the rationale. It seems to be in vogue.
Oh, all kidding aside, I’ve mixed it up with Bluestem Prairie in the past, but “Ollie” was one of very few anonymous leftybloggers who seemed not to abuse her anonymity as a cover for gutless, abusive hackery. Why, it’s almost like she wrote stuff a normal person could attach a name to.
Hm. Radical concept.
Anyway, all the best.
(Two years and eight months? Sheesh. I can do that standing on my head).
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
I’ll theorize that anonymity is part of the standard issue world-view for the lefties; that they’re radicals speaking truth to power and The Man and therefore have to protect their identities lest they be spirited away in the night by the goon squad. Never mind that The Man (and The Woman) in the halls of power these days is more apt to pat them on their pointy heads than send them to some cultural Gulag.
Conservative bloggers probably have more to fear from a Google-search that could jeopardize a job, contract or chance at tenure yet most of those I read blog under their own names or use an alias or persona but list their names on their blogs. It’s a fine tradition; imagine if the signers of the Declaration of Independence had gone by “Tea Party” or “The Virginia Monologs.”
It’s a fatuous conceit that overlooks that in many other countries (and the number seems to be growing rather than diminishing) using your real name likely will cause you to be hauled into court, or worse.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
That said, two years and eight months is a good run and I tip my keyboard to “Ollie.”
April 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I don’t think Ollie’s identity was a secret to anyone who was paying attention to what she was doing.
On the other hand, Night Writer is one of several rightie bloggers whose pseudonym is impenetrable to me.
As long as people aren’t slinging scurrilous or libelous stuff, I’m fine with individual writers deciding whether to “hide” behind a pen name.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Charlieq – my name is posted on my blog; you can penetrate it with a mouse-click. The name is a common one shared by several well-known people so I use my “handle” for blogging so as not to embarrass them.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Charlie,
I’m not bagging on Ollie’s anonymity, per se. But there are quite a few in the regional leftosphere who are grossly irresponsible about it.
I had a run-in with that last week myself. Yet again.