Having read Josh Marshall's response to Natalija Radic, all I can say is that he was a lot nicer than I would have been. That disturbs me a bit, since like Ginger, I'm not in this for the pissing contests. I must be at least somewhat of a milquetoast, as I've only ever gotten three even moderately unkind emails. That's fine by me. I think if I were getting a steady stream of invective I'd quit. Who needs that crap? Real Life is full of frustrations. I've no desrie to seek out more.

Which is why I don't bother reading certain blogs. I don't read Sullivan or Samizdata. I don't doubt that they have useful things to say, but their tone simply turns me off. The way I described it to Ginger at the blogmeet last night was that the tooth-grinding factor was too high. Life is too short for that.

I certainly don't mind disagreeing with someone. That's a good thing, for it forces me to think about why I believe what I do. But if you want me to read you and engage you, you've got to maintain some kind of civil tone. There's plenty of intelligent and reasoned blogs out there - I consider that to be true of every blog I link to. I've no qualms about looking elsewhere if I feel I'm wasting my time.

Don't get me wrong. I'm perfectly capable of being an asshole (or, as I like to put it, a member of the Asshole-American Community), and sometimes I'm more than willing to be one. Overall, though, I've mellowed with age. I'm not ready for easy-listening radio just yet, but I'll leave the blog mosh pit to the kids, thanks very much.