What is it about the Anonymous family?

The family Anonymous has a huge reputation. They have written music, and lyrics (even aboriginal songs) and books and poems as well as painted paintings and said an amazing lot of interesting things that fill quote collections. And one traces their quotes back to Ancient Sumer, through thousands of years and all over the world. Strangely their contribution has never been acknowledged. No Nobel, no Grammy, no Brit. How sad is that?  

I´ve had the pleasure of receiving communication from this family for years. The first was in the 1980´s when I sat on a committee that was supposed to create a legal bill that defined what demands a teacher would have to fulfill to get a teaching post. One was a diploma in education (teaching actually). All hell broke loose. And someone wrote a fierce letter to the Þjóðviljinn, a slightly hysterical rag at the time, making rude comments about the bill and asking who would hire a person with a diploma to teach Christianity rather than a priest without a diploma. I was asked by HÍK (Teachers union) to answer this, and I did suggesting that the best thing would be a priest with a teacher´s diploma  

So a member of the Anonymous family wrote me a letter condemning my claim that this respectable old priest could not teach Christianity. Which I was not saying. But reading may not have been this guy's forte and he obviously couldn’t sign his letter.  

Anyroads.   

I’ve had a few more letters from other family members and they do not bother me. You see I will defend anyone’s right to oppose me. But I want to be able to debate openly and I cannot if I do not know whom I am defending. Neither do I agree with violence, theft, mobbing and such things but I want democracy, equality and peace. Ghandi said somewhere that “Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.” 
   

I´ve recently gained a new friend from the Anonymous family. How very nice. S/he first said that my English is absolutely horrible, which may be quite correct.    

So I did comment on anonymity and the way it stands in the way of healthy democratic debate. Then I did close my comments page but opened it again because some friends asked me to. What do you know. I had just opened it for comments when there it (s/he) was again! This time I was a „silly little man,“ and I prove „nothing except your [my] own stupidity over and over again“ and as my writing is so poor there is “no need for attaching a name to it” (i.e. the comment Anonymous made). I´m not as clever as I like to think, I mean well but am “somewhat bewildered.”     

This was May 22nd and my guiding light was busy because it also wrote “Your English is sloppy and your thoughts are shallow at best.” And I am usually wrong…   

Now there may be ways to tell someone they are illiterate louts but come on! Was there not some way to be polite or even point out what there was to be improved?  Just in case I stood a chance of improving – even if I were never to reach the heights my well-meaning friend obviously has reached. And as it remains anonymous I cannot seek the wisdom and guidance (and humility) I otherwise could have by reading her/his, no doubt, inspiring texts!    

But there you have it.           

You have a choice! Try to find blogs that are not as shallow and sloppy as mine (there must be tons!) or just hang in there hoping! You never know!