Michelle Malkin’s post on hate mail amused me yesterday. Hate mail laws must be universal.

I’ve said before that the right and left have crazy fringes that send hate mail, and I still believe that. As I told someone on Twitter last week, I’m desensitized to being called a Nazi/Brownshirt/fascist, but it should be noted that it isn’t a very accurate slur. The Nazis were the socialist party in Germany. Plus, there’s a 90% chance you won’t spell “fascist” right.

I fail to understand what motivates someone to send a profanity-laced email. Is that person angry? Can they not process their emotions? Don’t they realize that someone is going to be reading that email, and that someone is rarely the intended recipient? I’m starting to believe that folks who send profane emails are one step above Darwin Award winners. If you can’t deal with your emotions with a complete stranger, I can only imagine how horrible you are in real life.

The notes that bother me are the ones that wish violence or rape upon myself or family members. Malkin highlights the email that wishes her family would die in a car wreck. How can you hate someone that much? I immensely dislike the Climate Change Sex Poodle and Nancy Pelosi, but I would never wish them dead or their families dead. Someone on this planet has to love them. Why do some people struggle to grasp that concept?

Based on Malkin’s post and recent hate mail experiences I’ve had, if you must send someone an angry email, follow these rules:

1. Don’t send it from your work address.

It is way too easy to track you down. Plus, in the event of Malkin, your email may be published. If you’re the kind of trashy person who sends hateful email, I believe your name should be spread all over the web. I’m sometimes tempting to look up the company and forward that hate mail to the writer’s supervisor. I haven’t done it, but I’ve wanted to… Technically, anything that goes through the server of your company is their property, and writing hate mail from a professional account is likely a violation of a workplace policy.

2. Don’t include your name, address and phone number in the footer.

I can’t begin to recount how many hateful messages have included where he or she lives (or ironically a quote from the Dalai Lama.) If you send a threatening note, be aware that your address makes it that much easier for me to file a complaint with the police.

3. Use correct spelling.

Sad, but many people don’t understand this fundamental concept.

4. Understand that there are words in the English language that extend beyond profanity.

I’ve actually written someone back a note for sending a thoughtful attack email. This person took the time to articulate exactly why he or she didn’t like the project. You’ll get further with thoughtful debate than four-letter words.

5. Stop calling women derogatory slurs.

It seems like liberals, especially liberal women, would be the last ones to use words like c–t, yet most conservative females have been called that. What does it accomplish? It just shows that you are tacky and hypocritical.

That’s right. Hate mail is the norm. For every example of hate mail or death threat that Democrats receive, there’s one made to a Republican. By racing to release the most hate mail, it only exposes the ugly side of humanity that draws angry extremists and incites more hatred and violence.

Anyone who works in politics or advocacy is familiar with hate mail. Every political/social movement has their crazies. There are people who show up at Tea Parties with Guy Fawkes masks, and there are people who show up at peace rallies calling for the murder of all Republicans. I’ve seen them. I used to work near the White House and would watch the anti-war protests during 2006-2008. There are scary, scary people in that group. It works both ways.

It’s ridiculous for Democrats to paint themselves as helpless victims caught in the cross-hairs of those crazy Tea Party people.  This is the party with a majority in Congress. They clearly have votes to pass controversial legislation. They have the House, Senate, White House and a majority of the governorships. Why on earth are the nice grandmas who hold protest signs at Tea Party rallies scaring Nancy Pelosi? Don’t believe me? Take a look at my photos from various Tea Party events. The normal Americans far outnumber the crazies. As I’ve said before, who is scarier?

Anti-war protesters

Kill the Bill Rally

Throughout the years, I’ve gotten lots of angry emails, phone calls and even the occasional death threat. It comes with the territory. Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen should deal with it or get out of politics. As Eric Canter said this week:

“I want to stress this, and it’s very important: Legitimate threats should be treated as security issues,” Cantor said. “And they should be dealt with by the appropriate law enforcement officials. It is reckless to use these incidents as media vehicles for political gain. That is why I have deep concerns that some — DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine in particular — are dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting that these incidents be used as a political weapon. Security threats against members of Congress is not a partisan issue, and they should not be treated that way. To use such threats as political weapons is reprehensible.”

I was first introduced to the concept of hate mail and death threats when I interned for a Congressional member as a naive college freshman. Hate mail is such a common occurrence in Congressional offices that they have hate mail policies. As the lowly intern, I was the primary receiver of the angry emails and phone messages. I dutifully logged them in, wrote letters in response and reported the scarier ones to my superiors. I was also told the names and descriptions of the crazies who liked to visit and make threats in person.

Back in college, my College Republican chapter was featured in Indoctrinate U because one of our members was targeted with death threats and religious slurs. The campus progressive group also wrote “College Republicans are facists” on the wall of the humanities building on campus. I’m assuming they meant “fascists,” but the intent was clear. (I’ve never quite figured out what a facist is.) That spring, my car was also vandalized in broad daylight on a busy street because I had a Bush/Cheney sticker on it.

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to it. Between my blog and activism, I’ve been called a gun-toting crazy for wearing a Gadsden flag shirt on Pennsylvania Avenue and have deleted hundreds of comments calling me every name imaginable (B—h, c–t, s–t, etc.). While I’ve never reached the level of the these women, the hatred expressed towards conservative women for simply voicing our opinions is frightening.

When I worked for a conservative web site, I started noticing a pattern since we got such a high volume of hate mail. About 98% of the emails contained f–k as some part of speech, and most expressed their desire to see me, my boss and my fellow co-workers die (sometimes in violent scenarios). Most contained one or more of the following words: faggot, Nazi, pig, greedy, capitalist, fascist, radical, zealot, McCarthyist, pro-Israel, homophobe, war-monger, Brown shirt, hate-monger, extremist and right-wing fringe. Interestingly,  an overwhelming majority were grammatically incorrect.

I’m sure that liberal groups and bloggers get the same treatment. It happens across the spectrum.  If you are crying for Nancy Pelosi or Steny Hoyer, or any of the other whiny Democrats, keep it mind that it happens to everyone. If you engage in the political arena, be prepared to be hated. Unfortunately, there’s an evil side to humanity, and politics draws those people from both sides of the aisle.