I care, that’s who! I’ll bet others will care as well. And even if they don’t care, I’m pretty sure they will at least respect your opinion. Of course, if they don’t respect your opinion, who needs ’em anyway, right?

Opinion and commentary on the Internet is a funny thing. It’s amazing how rude some people can be when they think that no one knows who they are. It’s kind of like driving on the highway. When you’re in a big city or a long ways from home you might be tempted to be a little less patient, a little less charitable, in your driving manners. But when you are in a small town or in your own neighborhood . . . assuming you care about what people think of you . . . you are less likely to drive aggressively or to lean on the horn or, heaven forbid, to make an obscene gesture toward the object of your frustration. After all, that person probably knows your mother.

It’s important that people feel free to speak their mind but having a sense of shame (the healthy kind, not the toxic variety) is an important element in the functioning of a community. So speak out and speak up and be prepared to defend your opinion but always remember that courtesy goes farther than rudeness.

Did I mention that rude comments and posts will be deleted or returned for revision? I don’t expect to have to do that very often, if at all. So far, the only rude person I have encountered in Coupland was a customer at the Stock Up who blamed the store clerk for his credit card being declined and said some very rude things on the way out. Let’s hope he was just having a bad day and lost his composure. I would hate to think he has to go through life carrying that kind of attitude around with him all day.

Stewart Dale Spencer