At least Roseanne Barr put her name beside her racism.
But there is another element - at least as insidious - that flows through social media, as well as the comments posted anonymously on websites, including DelcoTimes.com.
It's simple, really.
America has a race problem.
Still.
Don't believe it?
Yesterday our website posted a story on charges being filed against an Upper Darby couple in connection with an incident in which a 3-year-old was allegedly left home alone and wound up falling from a second-story window.
The story included a photo of the mother and father charged by police.
Within minutes, one of our illustrious online commenters posted a remark mentioning Michelle Obama.
Now what would make someone do that, aside from a virulent brand of racism.
I deleted the comment.
But I will tell you it's very likely you can go on far too many of the stories that appear on DelcoTimes.com, as well as numerous other websites, and find similar troubling sentiments.
I refer to it as 'Internet muscles.' You know, the online equivalent of the guy who suddenly becomes the biggest, mouthiest, most obnoxious guy in the bar after a couple of beers.
I am in a way complicit in some of this ugliness.
We extend this forum to people to say whatever the hell they want under the veil of anonymity. Other than an IP address, people post for the most part in the shadows of anonymity. And comments are not 'moderated' before they appear. Criticize me for that. I'm not sure I would disagree with you.
Yes, we offer a similar forum in print. It's called Sound Off. You should hear the stuff that does not get in. All that material is reviewed by editors before it hits print.
Not so for online commenting.
Take my word for it. When people know their name is not going to reside next to the comments, it's amazing what they are willing to say.
Personally, there is nothing that I do that does not carry my imprimatur, that includes Twitter and Facebook.
And before my legions of fans point the finger at our editorials, which routinely do not carry a byline, here's a little inside baseball. I write most of them. You're stunned, I know.
If you don't agree with the sentiment, the offer still stands. Pick up a pen, or your keyboard, and write something contesting the views expressed therein.
With one caveat. Don't expect me to print it without your name sitting beside it.
I don't have the answer to this nation's race problem.
A little more than eight years ago, the nation elected a black man president of the United States. I thought we had turned a corner.
Nine years later, I'm not sure how far we've come.
There is a non-stop drumbeat that every problem the country faces is President Obama's fault. And at times it appears the sole goal of the current resident of the White House is to knock down or destroy every initiative implemented by his predecessor.
Yes, race is still a problem in America.
And it's a whole lot more complicated than the ugly postings of Roseanne Barr.
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