I've received some interesting e-mails about my post on the Secret Simon blog. Most people aren't as angry about my feelings on Simon as they are about my kneejerk reaction to that guy in New York with the new HIV strain. The general consensus is that it was a judgemental, immature and overly harsh entry.

I'm posting the following e-mail because I really do agree with everything this reader says. I edited parts of it because some of it was in reference to a previous e-mail that wouldn't have made any sense to y'all. I tend not to think twice about the things I post on this Web site, but with thousands of people reading every day, I admit that I should be a little more aware of the impact my opinions have on all of you.

… people have been told for years that having unsafe sex will get you into trouble, and that using crystal can only makes things worse … people have been told for years and years…that smoking and drinking will kill them eventually, too—and they still do it. (from what i understand, these are two vices you’ve had your day with also.)

implying that people are bad and wrong and stupid because they’ve made poor decisions, or didn’t care enough about themselves to make the right decisions (which is far more often the case), isn’t productive and doesn’t help anyone. you have to understand that nobody wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, “how about i go out today and develop a debilitating meth habit and contract a disease that can only lead to a protracted, agonizing death brought on by several degenerative illnesses destroying my body at the same time.” not everyone has a toby as a friend reminding them to make better decisions for themselves.

whatever, we’ll obviously never agree on this, but you have to understand that there are larger issues at work with addiction, and simply characterizing it as a “choice” and writing people off because of it only serves to make the issue worse. nobody is asking you to be a role model or not speak your mind or whatever, but when you can’t muster the compassion or maturity to recognize when something is literally an issue of life or death for a lot of people, that’s just sad. and when you decide to publically make fun of someone because they made mistakes and are going to die, that’s just mean. …

UPDATE: An alternate view, one among many:

... With all the jazz going on about the new HIV strain (nevermind the Secret Simon chap), I don’t think your entry was overly judgemental, or harsh. Addictions (be they to sex, or crystal, or something else) in and of themselves aren’t a choice, but the first step is...that fellow had a choice to start engaging in such high-risk behavior. And as for the idea that you should censor yourself: yes, a lot of people read Vividblurry, yes, you have an impact on all of your readers, however, it remains your blog, and your thoughts, no matter how one might view them, are what keep people coming back.