LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Be brave enough to speak openly and thoughtfully...

Recently, the Columbia Basin Herald covered a protest organized and held by Moses Lake High School and Vanguard Academy students, as well as a protest by Ephrata High School students.  

I understand we’ve all got strong political opinions these days, but the commentary on our social media channels I saw directed at the young people who participated in those events was appalling. For the first time since I’ve been editor at the Columbia Basin Herald, I turned off commenting on the two posts associated with those stories. Something I never do lightly. Even if conversations are a little rude, our general rule is to hide comments with profanity and those with personal attacks. If a profile is obviously fake and generated just to stir the proverbial pot, we’ll block it. Otherwise, we want people to have a discussion, express opinions and – hopefully – think things through and learn from one another.  

The amount of profanity, some directed at the students who participated in the protests, was rather extraordinary. Whether hidden in a meme, typed out full form or disguised in 1337 speak (pronounced ‘leet speak for non-computer-geeks), it was beyond excessive. In one instance, a Moses Lake resident made sexual comments about the students.  

Many of the comments that were inappropriate weren’t posted under the person’s actual name. Instead, they were posted using a fake profile generated solely to be able to digitally harass the students, attack those whose opinions differ from their own, or generally just be an online troll. Those fake accounts were blocked from our social media channels and will continue to be.  

What strikes me is how cowardly the use of fake profiles on social media is, and how lazy. Over the course of the last couple of years, we’ve seen those sorts of profiles used to create drama on a variety of issues, including homelessness, school finance, political campaigns and animal control issues – among others. Those topics take real thought, not knee-jerk reactions. 

These fake profiles are cowardly because they eliminate the accountability of those who post. The First Amendment is a responsibility as well as a right and is not without consequences. If you’re not willing to face the music when it comes to your online behavior, maybe that behavior is something you know you shouldn’t be proud of. The profiles are lazy because they eliminate the need to develop an articulate response to the issue at hand.  

Our nation has a framework from Congress, to state legislatures, to city councils and down to our friends we visit with at the coffee shop that is built on the need for thoughtful civic discussion. Fake profiles, lazy responses and pejorative language is detrimental to that framework and, quite frankly, un-American.  

Let’s do better as a community and think before we speak. Remember that compassion is more important than snarky commentary – and let’s let children learn and grow without being horrible examples for them. It’s not like the adults in the room never did something our parents and neighbors disagreed with at that age. Many of us just didn’t have the internet to face when it was all said and done.  

With appreciation for those who treat their rights with care,

R. Hans "Rob" Miller
Managing Editor
Columbia Basin Herald
Basin Business Journal