An anonymous reader sent me this. The fact that they have to worry about sharing their opinion upsets me. If you are causing people to think twice about expressing themselves, good chances are, you are now a censor. I guess that’s what happens when you threaten to name 100 Does in a lawsuit. You make anyone who talked about you wonder “Am I next?”

Honestly, I’ve been willing to give Mr. Carreon the benefit of the doubt. Despite all appearances he may truly believe he is right in all of this. Possibly this is the result of his otherwise noble intentions corrupted for reason I cannot fathom. I could imagine he is lonely. I could imagine he is confused by the legions of friends and acquaintances that have shunned him publicly. I start to pity him.

But, just as I am starting to wonder how hollow his world is, I feel fear. I have been reading and commenting on various blogs during this ordeal. I have not been as derisive as most, but I have openly mocked him. I have been doing the same types of activities that I have been doing on many different hobby sites. Could I somehow be drug into this as one of Carreon’s enemies? Could I be sued by Charles Carreon for generally minding my daily business? His ability to find cause is impressive. I wouldn’t have the resources to defend myself if he tried to hound me today, or three years from now. His actions and attitudes have made my daily routine feel dangerous. I am afraid to post, to read, to surf. He might somehow decide I have wronged him.

This is why, in the moment before I feel real pity for the fate he has inflicted upon himself, I think to myself, “ you, Charles Carreon.”

Another reader emails me:

I used to work for the Ramones for quite a while with the sound company and I can tell you WITHOUT A DOUBT that the Ramones would not appreciate that toolbag Charles Carreon wearing any Ramones swag in public. I wish he would refrain from tarnishing the Ramone image while he spreads his legal clap-trap around the web.

Being an informative person I reply:

How do you feel about him using joeyramone.org for his stuff?

To which they replied:

If it was up to me, I`d sue him for using the likenesses and what not. As a matter of fact, now that I`m aware of this site, I`ll call attention to it to the appropriate people.

I am not posting this satirically as I originally intended. I had half of this post drafted and then realized the subject matter would be done a disservice by making it into another joke. As anyone who reads this blog might know, I value free speech. I also can be a world class troll if I need to. Maybe that is why I am such a proponent of the First Amendment. I believe through free speech we are granted the ability to do real journalism based on fact and truth without fear of retribution or intimidation.

That being said, free speech and journalism fails when our journalist become lazy and start taking shortcuts. Shortcuts like just pasting an interview into an article with no analysis of the facts. Journalism where the author of an article becomes a mouthpiece for the subject of his piece. I have seen many easily researchable errors while covering Charles Carreon. I also see something sinister happening where Matthew Inman (under advice) is no longer fixing these errors in interviews because of the legal action taken against him. Journalist are allowing Mr. Carreon to frame the conversation as he sees fit, and not standing up for the truth.

Dave Thier of Forbes – Quotes Charles Carreon that IndieGoGo is going to take 9% of the Bear Love fundraiser. When called out on actual facts he in the comment section repeats 9% then does not respond to figures actually obtained from IndieGoGo.com

Michael Cavna of the Washington Post – Repeats Carreon’s line that the picture Matthew Inman drew was of Carreon’s mother, even though it was of the FunnyJunk admin’s mother.

These are but a few of many examples of letting one person frame a debate with journalist who could, and should, place emphasis on the truth. Without a diligent press our freedom will fail. We cannot as a free people allow shortcuts or lack of analytical thought to take us down a dark path. This is also a reminder to anyone who reads a news article, think critically. Do not assume fact because it is in print. Research it if the subject interests you and be a party to our freedom.

Due to an overwhelming majority vote there will now be an Ask Charles section for real! Here are the official results for my question “Do you want an actual ‘Ask Charles’ section”:

Yes, please do so as the Charles Carreon Esq. character. 71.89% (463 votes)

Yes, but I’d rather you do it as the actual author. 7.45% (48 votes)

No. That’s a stupid idea. You now owe me dinosaurs for your ridiculousness. 20.65% (133 votes)

So send me your questions ([email protected]) and I’ll reply to them as Charles Carreon in posts when I get enough. This will be a regular section on this blog and you can ask really about anything. Try not to be too lewd though, it makes me uncomfortable thinking about Mr. Carreon that way. Seriously. I get kind of sick.