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Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 03:08:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Demas
You are not the person who posted the original message, but I'll extend my request to you: provide some reasonable, legitimate, requirement for anonymity.
How about a government employee taking part in political discussion without the fear of suffering some form of reprisal by their elected superiors? How about a gay person that's still in the closet that wants to discuss how to explain their situation to their family without the fear that their sexual preference would be exposed? How about those that are HIV positive looking for support while living in a small town that is very afraid of those with HIV, and where the knowledge that one is HIV positive has driven people from the community? How about someone that feels they may be getting sexually harassed but isn't sure that they want to confront their harasser, but wants some advice? How about a rape, incest, or domestic violence victim that is looking for some support group but doesn't want to go public yet? How about the alcoholic, drug user, gambler trying to come to terms with their problem. How about the relatives of those with that type of problem that are looking for a private way to deal/handle the problems associated with their relative's problem? How about the runaway that is looking for a way to go home, or the suicidal person that is looking for help. Must they go public to get that help, or should they be able to ask questions anonymously? How about the person that wants to turn in someone that's going to commit a crime? There are lots of good reasons that people want privacy and anonymity, and lots of them have to do with the prejudices of others about the issue that the person wants to keep private. Chuck Demas Needham, Mass.
I can think of one reason to treasure anonymity: fear of retribution. For what? Oh, anything. Doesn't matter what. You are planning to do something that will cause someone else to take notice of you and respond in a way you fear. Send you to jail? Fire you? Break your fingers? Close your internet access? The problem is that these things are seldom done on a whim. Mostly, for just cause. Who says it is just? You do. You say "I am about to do something that's going to bring heaven and earth down around my shoulders if I do not protect my identity." This fear may be real or imagined.
Please explain, with some detail, what reason a sane, guiltless person might have for anonymity. Giving away $million$?
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Eat Healthy | _ _ | Nothing would be done at all,
Stay Fit | @ @ | If a man waited to do it so well,
Die Anyway | v | That no one could find fault with it.
demas@tiac.net | \___/ | http://www.tiac.net/users/demas
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Robert A. Hettinga