When the Comments are the Story

The Comments sections on most newspaper websites are usually complete train wrecks filled with so much gap-toothed, mouth-breathing trash flinging dung at each other that you need hip boots to get anywhere near it. Maybe it's just the fact that it's my town, but the Herald's comments section often cracks me up. Witness this thread from this morning's story on the seven-alarm fire that burned down the James Hook lobster building on the waterfront.

It's the sort of raucous scene you get in a bar between two crowds of guys tossing insults at each other, right on that line between "all in good fun" and all-out brawl. While often nasty and cruel, the comments are usually properly spelled, punctuated, and well-informed, if terrifically biased. It's the sort of shit show that would simply make the Globe look even more pathetic, but with the Herald, it actually feels right.

Several commenters questioned why over 130 firefighters responded, and how they got so many to show up so early. One responded earnestly that they showed up purely to help their brothers; this being Boston, such sincere emotion was invariably met with 200-proof sarcasm:

JonCarry
How come all 130 Jakes arrived with little metal pots full of butter? And bibs?
#297319 - May 30, 2008 10:41 AM EDT

The real prize, however, goes to this commenter, who asked a very good question indeed:

CommAve
I hate to sound cynical, but a fire in an old building in a dramatically rebuilding part of the city does make one go "Hmmmm. . . . " I'm with Donnamonroe - I suspect that Hook will not be back on the site and that after cashing the insurance check, they'll sell the property for big bucks, even in this down real estate cycle.
#297182 - May 30, 2008 8:56 AM EDT