Yesterday, I wrote a very angry piece about the Virginia Tech shooting. As can be expected, it provoked a lot of emotional responses.
Unfortunately, some of them were more emotional than I was prepared to handle. For comments that were too intense, I found I banned fred, nukem high, jack, and civil behavior. In fact, jack was banned three times.
It’s partly Kevin Aylward’s fault. He is the one who owns this site, and he didn’t properly secure the banning rights on this blog.
It’s partly Movable Type’s fault. They set up the blogging software that runs Wizbang, and they simply made it too easy to ban commenters with just a few clicks. They definitely need to improve the safety measures.
And, I hate to blame the victims, but it’s their fault, too. They should have known how some people get very worked up over things like this, and should have taken steps to protect themselves, to make sure they didn’t provoke this senseless act.
In the end, though, I find I have to take some of the blame. I was really in no condition to think clearly when I was reviewing their comments.
In light of this incident, I have asked Kevin to temporarily relieve me of my responsibilities as Main Page Editor while I go into rehab. I haven’t quite decided what sort of rehab is appropriate for my condition, but as I understand it rehab is the panacea for things like this and in just a few weeks, I will be free and forgiven and able to resume my duties.
In the meantime, I ask for your understanding. Also, if anyone has any way I can get hold of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, I understand that their forgiveness is a key step in my public rehabilitation…
In case anyone missed the “satire” tag, let me spell it out for you: this is SATIRE. No individual was banned or otherwise harmed in the production of this piece. Do not remove tag under penalty of law. Contents may settle during shipping. Your mileage may vary. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this posting.
