What motivates a person to send an anonymous letter? I wondered after the election, as I read an unsigned letter that I’d received in the mail.
Why would this person bother to find my address, type up a letter telling me that nobody cares about my opinion and suggesting I move to another part of the country, then cut out three bits of headlines, paste them to the top of the page, photocopy it, put it in an envelope, type my address to avoid using handwriting, on a label with a donkey lying on its back and holding a little sign that says “Do not resuscitate,” then put a stamp on it and stick it in the mail?
Then I heard that about a dozen other people had also received this same letter. I thought, wow, this person even kept track of who’d written letters to the Daily Item in favor of Harris and sent them all a copy of that same letter. I was genuinely puzzled. Why not just write a response to the newspaper?
My experience with anonymous writings is mostly end-of-semester course evaluations. I cared what students had to say and asked them for comments all semester. But students seemed to feel disempowered, as if afraid an instructor might retaliate against negative comments by slapping them with a lower grade or something. I thought anonymous evaluations only reinforced that fear. “Protecting the students” in that way, I felt inadvertently assigned me some kind of superpower that I emphatically never felt or wanted, that no teacher should want.
Which is how I felt about this anonymous letter. That it attributed a power of intimidation to me that I’m not interested in having, as if someone, a neighbor, hesitated to interact with me openly. I’d rather get to know my neighbors and hear what they’re thinking, even when we don’t agree. Before the election, I did hear from someone who was voting for the candidate I did not favor. We had an email exchange, and I hope to meet this person face-to-face at some point, so we can talk further. I’d like to hear more about how they see the world, where their thinking comes from, and share my own story.
The anonymous letter-writer asserted that nobody cares what I think. That’s pretty much the assumption I used to take into the classroom. Just because I loved something didn’t mean anyone else would. I tried to earn students’ interest and sometimes succeeded. When I write here, I don’t assume anyone will be interested, either. I write because I feel strongly about something. I’ve worked on an idea, tried to think it through. That process has brought me some clarity—at least for a moment. I don’t want a reader just to say, “You’re right!” I don’t write to win. I want to be part of an ongoing conversation that makes us all keep thinking and trying to understand one another better.
I treasure the editorial page offered by newspapers, this open forum for the community. The range of opinions helps me see issues in a new light, and understand the people around me.
Though I only occasionally write the Forward Thinking column, I edit it almost every week, while Doug Orbaker contacts potential writers to assure a continual flow of submissions. In the past five years, we’ve published about fifty different people’s voices—including a few college and high school students—on issues such as climate change, discrimination, health care, reproductive rights, neighborliness, fireworks and more. I’ve learned a lot by working with our writers, even when I don’t agree. Our goal is to present progressive viewpoints that have been thought through, are based on some kind of evidence, and are written so that even people who disagree might read to the end. For that reason, no sarcasm, insults, name-calling, etc.
We are always looking for new writers and welcome your ideas. Doesn’t have to be polished. We offer supportive editing to help you express your thoughts in the clearest, most powerful way possible. If we can’t use your piece, we offer the editing anyway to encourage you to submit it as a My Turn.
Hope to hear from you!
Lynn Palermo (11/24/24)