Mac Daniel called me today, and will have a little blurb in the Globe about the rally tomorrow. We will definitely have some media coverage, so be sure to feather your hair and wear your best tubetops, visors, and red-white-and-blue sweatbands!

As I may have mentioned, one of the first people I contacted about the rally was Mike Dukakis. He finally got back to me this morning, sending regrets that he would not be able to attend, and suggesting I contact Deval Patrick, who will be at the hearing.

But I was way ahead of him. About a week-and-a-half-or-so ago I sent all the gubernatorial candidates an email asking for comment on the proposed fare hikes. None felt the urge to respond except Deval Patrick, and he is by far the cutest of them all, so we know who’s getting whose vote come election day, don’t we? Anyway, a spokeswoman from his campaign informed me that he was already planning to be at the hearing to make comments. She sent his regrets that he would not be able to attend the rally beforehand because of a prior television engagement. Fair enough. The point is that his campaign obviously views the fare hikes as a serious enough issue, that they’ve got him putting in an appearance at the hearing. Bravo, I say.

I will be in Copley Square, Dartmouth side (MAP) from 3PM. The rally will start promptly at 4PM and will be over by 4:30. Please plan to attend the hearing, not to rabble rouse, but to give your testimony on the fare hikes. A big showing outside will be good, a big showing inside at the hearings will be even better.

Take a moment before the hearing to prepare a short statement. Try to keep it sharp and focused and don’t ramble or monopolize the mic. Trust me, there will be enough crazy people on hand who go to all these freaking meetings who will. Just don’t be one of them.

But don’t let that keep you from actually stepping up to the mic and taking your turn. It’s important that the T hear from as many people willing to go on the record against the current fare hikes as possible.

I want to take a minute to thank Sarah Shugars for dragging me into this with her idea of a public action of some sort. And Lee Matsueda of the T Riders Union (TRU), whose materials and encouragement have been invaluable. I hope that Lee will speak at the rally tomorrow as well. And to those of you who read this blog and intend to show up, and to those who don’t and do, too, my thanks in advance to you all as well. Please be nice to me. I am not as mean in person.

And big fat raspberries to everyone else.

Puritan City recently posted a guide of sorts, entitled “how to insult your fans“–about bloggers raging on those who write in to comment on their blogs. This is, as many of you know, a topic dear to my own heart.

There’s some highflown rhetoric about how democratic the blogosphere is, and all that, but the truth is that the “delete” button is a blogger’s best friend, and not only to rid the record of those who disagree with you, but for just generally chuckleheaded comments that have the cumulative effect of wasting everybody’s time to read them. Low-quality comments devalue your blog in the end. It’s a “company you keep” type thing. He who lies down with dogs wakes up with fleas, know what I mean?

I am all for vetting comments. I have not done so on T-Rage! as of yet, but I’m certainly not for suffering fools. The main thing that starts my itchy delete finger is name-calling. I deleted several comments from my mennonno.blogspot.com blog (which contains only my Metro opeds) because I had someone cyberstalking me, and the comments were invariably more about his obsessive-compulsive disorder than about anything I had written. But there are also comments that are garbled beyond intelligibility. There are comments that are flippant, and do nothing to advance the great cause of democracy. I usually leave them in, myself, but each one I get sort of erodes my faith in humanity a little more. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt.

But all this talk of democracy cracks me up. Democracy is really not about just saying what you think and that being of inherent value to the debate or the community. If you spout hateful epithets, what value to the debate is that? If you toss out flawed assertions or assumptions as fact, what value does it have to producing a fruitful dialogue? If every time we dialogue on an issue we have to waste an hour debating again whether the earth is really round, what’s the point?

It’s absolutely true that civility is a vital part of democratic debate, and because of the anonymity of the web people are emboldened to behave badly. I don’t think bloggers should berate those who comment, or delete comments merely because they present views that differ from their own, but I don’t object in the least to bloggers moderating their comments, and removing those that are of no value or include offensive epithets. That’s not a devaluation of democratic ethics, it’s just a recognition that even in democracy–and even in the blogosphere–there is such a thing as decorum.

What’s most important on Tuesday, JUNE 6TH, is that you come prepared to go to the hearing at the Boston Public Library, a formal proceeding, where individuals can give their “personal impact statement” for the record. If you do come to the rally and/or go to the hearing, you may wish to prepare a short statement.

You will be asked to state your name, where you’re from, and which bus or train you use most often. Tell them whether or not you support the fare increase, and why or why not. Try to keep it concise and focused on the fare issue. You may wish to write a short statement and read it, so as not to get off-topic or forget anything you would like to mention. Use facts and numbers whenever you can.

I will mention that I feel the fare increase is excessive, that with the move to the OnePass the monthly cost to me will jump from $44 to $62. And while I understand the T would like to promote a view of the system as a whole, the buses do not run regularly or dependably enough along the routes I travel. It is very literally quicker for me to walk once I’ve gotten by train to Back Bay, where I work, than to take a bus. It is also much quicker for me, especially on weekends to ride my bike from Dorchester than to take the bus or the train.

But I also object to the surcharges or penalties that will come into play for those who use cash or the CharlieTicket instead of the CharlieCard, as outrageously excessive as well. Many cannot afford to pay for a monthly pass all at once. And I am concerned the T is not doing all it can to acclimate them to the new system. My concern is that the MBTA will not take adequate measures to provide information and education about the new fares and the new AFC system to people in more vulnerable populations, and that they will not provide adequate FVMs in the places where these people can use them easily and conveniently.

That’s really all I plan to say on the matter.

And this is about all I have to say before the rally, too. Hope to see you Tuesday, at 4PM in Copley Square (Dartmouth side–see MAP) and/or at 4:30PM in the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston St. entrance).

If you can’t make it Tuesday, check the MBTA website for other hearing dates, times and locations that might suit your schedule better. Some dates have been added.