Anonymous Commenting, 1872

People often seek to justify leaving anonymous comments on blogs by explaining that they are employed by governmental agencies or companies that would frown on them using their names in connection with their opinions.

It is true that having a regular job with a paycheck and benefits can have some costs; one of these costs can be that your employer might punish you for saying the wrong thing in public.

But it has always been thus. So I wondered to myself, “what did these people do before the internet when they wanted to express their opinions but were afraid it would harm them at work?”

Then I realized:

(Ku Klux Klan, Mississippi, 1872, in the public domain from Harper’s Weekly via Wikimedia.)