Who Let the Snarks Out?  - Anyone who reads articles online these days, and then scrolls down to peruse the "comments" section at the bottom of the screen, cannot help but notice a disturbing trend which has been creeping into our public discourse for some time now. I refer of course to that sub-set of disgruntled humanity known as the "snarks" - a shadowy group of anonymous, embittered, unhappy people who make it their purpose in life, among other things, to provide - oh what shall we call it - "negative feedback" concerning whatever it is they happen to have just finished reading online. This is a quite fascinating sub-group among our population. I wish I knew more about them, their daily habits, their general appearance, their level of education, their stable or unstable relationship history, their criminal record. Wherever I go, whether it be to CNN, Time, Newsweek, MSNBC, The New York Times, BBC, The Week, New Yorker, etc. etc. - all reputable sites last time I checked - I see the same hostile, crude, vicious remarks - but with a level of personal animus and "go-for-the-jugular" intensity not even found in back-alley brawls. This new form of "invisible power" or "anonymous freedom,"  I guess, allows a person that once-in-a-lifetime chance to mercilessly mock, scorn, ridicule, degrade, belittle, punch, slam, rip, pan, attack, disparage, tear down, smear, slander, spit upon, deride, malign, traduce, vilify, question, undercut, eviscerate, dismiss, drag down, pummel, condemn, "go nuclear on" anyone who may happen to enjoy a more elevated station in life or a somewhat different point of view. In the old days, we had "letters-to-the-editor" and punching bags (literally) and not a whole lot else, but now just about anyone can attach their literary graffiti to someone else's work. The everyday examples of this are still quite shocking (see below) even after they have chilled and numbed my senses to the bone. Is this what happens when everyone's medication wears off? What is happening to civility in this country? The rhetoric is all about tolerance and acceptance, but on the mean streets and the web-pages, it's a different story. The jets and the sharks have teamed up to attack the girl scouts. Above ground we see palm trees and white sand while underneath some kind of molten lava is bubbling up that threatens to overtake our village. Or, to use yet another strained metaphor, I see a group of rabid, chanting, cubicle-dwellers, poised with spears and knives making their way towards me, poking and prodding with all their might, their eyes bulging, their mouths covered in white foam. They want blood, you see, blood. But why? How will that help? All right you snarks, guess what? I'm just going to keep singing my folk songs, chanting my love mantra (okay faking that part), sounding corny and goofy and idealistic until I find your inner Pillsbury Doughboy...

Most Egregiously Snarky Feedback of Late (I'm still recovering):

"U r a turd. Mahn. A turd-man that's what u r."

"Your blog is going nowhere. Give up. Jump off a cliff and land hard. Loser!!!!!!!"

"I hate everything about you and I don't even know you. You are obviously a talentless fool  - get it - FOOL! Your tiresome rant against people like me is ridiculous. I guess you want to shut down freedom of speech in this country. Is that it Mr. Him-Her? Mr. She-It?"

"U are the biggest hypocrite i have ever seen. Look at u complaining and getting angry u-r-self. You are an idiot. I don't like u. You don't sound lik a reel man. R u 1? i didn't think so."

"I stumbled upon this blog by accident and I won't be reading it again. Sorry. You just kinda bored me to tears with your random pon-ti-fi-li-cating. Get a life dude!"