Someone using the name Jordan Heathcote has submitted provocative comments on my two most recent posts. I doubt that the name is genuine but I’ve published the comments because I welcome alternative perspectives and because I think there’s some truth in what the commenter says, although he (I assume it’s a "he") over-eggs the pudding somewhat – for example, by treating all journalists as liars. I worked in the media for more than half a century and can’t recall any instance when a colleague knowingly reported something untruthful. (Bias and distortion are another matter.)
Should I have published comments from someone I suspect is hiding behind a pseudonym? That question forces me to revisit the vexed question of anonymity. But it also raises a far bigger and more disturbing issue – namely, the climate of fear that obviously deters many people from exercising their democratic right to say what they think, using their own names.
