What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Lose toxicity of keyboard warriors and bring back etiquette of letter writing

We are all aware of the term “keyboard warrior”. If you’re not, according to the Oxford Dictionary, it is a person who puts aggressive and offensive comments about people on the internet, especially one who hides their own identity. But I reckon in this day and age of emailing, messaging and social media, even identity doesn’t have to be hidden. There seems to be so many people that think that just because they are not face-to-face, their behaviour does not have to be in check. Now, I’m no goody two shoes, however I truly believe that being polite and respectful are the hallmarks of good communication. Before the advent of emails, writing a letter was the norm. And for some reason, the etiquette in writing in this way has been somewhat lost. In a letter, the writer would greet the person, explain a situation and, perhaps, their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with an issue and then, cordially sign off with a salutation such as “…hope to catch up soon, yours sincerely….” Or “look forward to your prompt reply, sincerely….” It was not so much what was communicated, but how it was communicated. In my experience, emails and messages — formats that have taken the place of letters — tend to be quite blunt, straight to the point and are in no way cordial. And this is where the angst comes in. Often, without intention, the email or message can trigger emotional trauma, a situation that can seriously mess with someone’s mental health. And I believe it is the keyboard warrior that takes this to a whole new level. These are the people that won’t sit down and talk rationally face-to-face — the person who sees you, but never brings up the issue of concern, those who find it hard to socially interact. It is this style of communication that creates a toxic atmosphere — an atmosphere that can be detrimental to our very social fabric. Now, I’m not writing about any instance specially related to me, but merely voicing concern about a serious trend I see developing. As human beings, despite our backgrounds, we are really all basically the same underneath. We all feel, touch and breath in exactly the same way. So, I reckon, before we get caught up and preoccupied with this silly angst in our lives, let’s consider how it will affect the bigger picture. After all, isn’t that the end game. Peter Fiorenza hosts Sport Shed Saturday between 9am and noon and Fiorenza on Sunday between 10am and noon on Radio MAMA