Simple, Shallow, and Banal

On the issue of anonymous blog posters, there is an interesting discussion going on over at an article by Timothy Garton Ash at the Guardian. This comment (by Nagajchaos) was interesting:

Bad ideas in your last paragraph: anonymity is not the issue. The issue is that the Blogosphere has revealed a central truth we educators have known for years. Most people are simple, shallow, banal, and relatively inarticulate. It takes a rare degree of perception, insight and understanding to construct a decent argument. That's why there are so few of them. Naming the writers will not improve the quality of their arguments. That the vicious and stupid are sometimes encouraged to be nasty by their anonymity is unfortunate, but naming them will not make them go away. Not any more. The best thing to do is to respond well to those who respond well.

More at the article