Of all the bloggers I read regularly, Heather Armstrong at Dooce is the most fearlessly honest about her personal life, especially her mental health struggles. That’s one reason why it pains me to see even a small sample of the hate mail that people send her. It is so ugly and unnecessary, and depressingly similar to other attacks I’ve read elsewhere on the net (mostly directed against women — coincidence? I think NOT). Here’s a typical example from “Agnes”: “Condolences for your miscarriage might be in order if you didn’t make a career out of thumbing your nose at God.”
Today I was taking my daily tonic from Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, whose “Book of Jewish Values” was highly recommended by someone closely concerned with my own mental health, and read the following:
Don’t Be a Pious Fool [day 143, if you want to follow along]
… Any time you assume that what matters more to God is how you act toward Him than how you, or your government, treats human beings, you are acting like a “pious fool.” …
Agnes, you listening, hon?
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