Yesterday I found something on the net that I’m not sure how I feel about : Blog seeks to draw attention to purported thugs in Charleston area.  Charleston, SC happens to be my own backyard.

Here is the link for the blog referenced Charleston Thug Life.   And here is a link for on the incident referenced as the inspiration of the blog’s creation North Charleston Officer Shoots Teen.

As a supporter for our constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech I cannot logically say these folk (whoever they may be) don’t have a right to do this but I also think it loses a lot of standing by doing it anonymously, though I fully understand the “why” of why they do so.   As a one time “net activist” I look on this endeavor as nothing short of brilliant, much like I thought of WikiLeaks putting corporate and governmental bad behavior on display for all to see (if they chose to look).

However… Is there a downside to this?

No matter how hard I try I can’t come up with a logical counter to say “this is wrong because….”  Making me feel a bit uncomfortable isn’t reason enough.  Frankly, we are not made to feel uncomfortable nearly enough.  There are difficult things “out there” in the “real world” that we blissfully ignore as assiduously as we can.

Police officers learned the hard way that what they post on the internet can cost them court cases and sometimes their jobs.  Some ignore the lessons of the unthinking and fool hardy that came before them and walk unseeing into the ramifications of stupidity.  Now, I guess it’s the “thugs” and the “wanna bes” turn to learn.

In the end, I’ll just tell these anonymous folk  “let’s be careful out there“.