What do you think accounts for the rise in incivility?

[OldHippieChick]

49. Many interesting and thoughtful ideas on here

Tis true that incivility was directed toward "others" in the past - racial minorities, gays, women, so that many of us were unaware of and/or not targets of same. There were boundaries taught to us by parents, teachers and other elders and we always respected our elders. The anonymity of the internet has spilled over into everyday life as we become more and more unable to re-establish some kind of line. But the height, to my thinking, was when Joe Walsh called our President "liar" during his State of the Union speech. That crossed a line and should have awakened us to just how far we had gone, but alas, it has only worsened. Hate speech masquerading as acceptable discourse has given rise to the notion that one can say anything w/ no consequences and has given wackos license to shoot innocent people and shoot at political headquarters because they simply don't realize there are any rules left. Perhaps there aren't