In the last few weeks, I have read some incredibly controversial Odyssey articles. From abortion to feminism, these articles have been proudly polarizing. Whether I agree or disagree, I applaud these authors for their bravery. But then I made the mistake of scrolling down to the comments section.

These women were getting absolutely torn apart in the comments. Strangers from across Facebook were coming out to argue, but not in a productive or remotely respectful manner. Derogatory names and disparaging comments ran amuck.

So here's my plea to you, faithful residents of the comment section: please have some respect and some class. Sure, you disagree, and that's great. I encourage you to start a discussion with the authors of these articles, but in a productive manner.

The flow of ideas is one of my favorite parts of the internet. But a disparaging comment isn't going to get your point across, instead, it's simply going to discourage the discussions that so desperately need to happen; the discussions that broaden peoples' views and alter their opinions.

I've seen a surge of identity politics across the internet-- identity politics, here, meaning that we identify so hard with what we believe in that when someone challenges our opinions, they challenge our identity, our idea of self.

And while this can be beneficial (I've never seen such passionate arguments and protests than from those who build their identity around their beliefs), it can also cause strife, and I find it strongly correlated to a number of nasty comments that are left. One begins reading the article and immediately senses that the author disagrees. They may or may not even finish reading the article.

They jump to the conclusion that, because the author disagrees, they are a terrible person of some sort. It tends to be a close-minded community that simply lashes out instead of starting a discussion, ignoring the ideas and challenging the author. Simply because you disagree, this does not make either party a bad person, a bigot, a racist.

I see these names thrown around and am frankly shocked. I pour back over the article, looking for signs of this, and often find none. It is simply because when we disagree, we have learned to challenge the person, not the idea. Nothing gets done from this.

Odyssey has been heralded for giving college students a platform and a voice. It's home to such diversity of thought and opinion, and authors and readers alike have worked terribly hard to build this community.

We pride ourselves on being able to share our thoughts and foster discussions on our beliefs. If you disagree, by all means, come talk to us. But don't hide behind the anonymity of the internet and forget that we, too, are human beings.