Hey people, I just finished reading this all today, and I have my thoughts on the topic.
A) Everyone is allowed their opinion and is allowed to express it where and when they want. Thorninyourside can believe what he wants with relation to the ugliness/fatness/hideousness of people in Moncton. Frankly, I can understand his position and tend to agree with him, but probably to a lesser extent. Regardless, you all have the right to not agree with him/her as well.
B) I think the mob mentality everyone else adopted on this forum and the ferocity with which you've opposed Thorn's position is just as blameworthy, if not worse than Thorn's approach. I assume no one really knows who Thorn is, yet everyone was already labelling him/her as a bigot, racist, George Bush, Hollywood-loving, superficial, Cosmo-magazine-molded, dark and twisted product of mass media. Maybe he/she was only doing it because of the feral response he/she was receiving, sort of like I used to increase my tormenting of my sister as her hysterics increased, when we were both young, that is.
Has anyone had the chance to read the October 30th, 2006 edition of MacLean's, with on the cover: "The Internet Sucks"? In his article, the author mentions a term coined by a University of Chicago Law School professor called the "echo chamber" effect of blogs and message boards. It refers to the phenomenon by which instead of "fostering debate, moderation and common understanding", "these sites have contributed to the polarization of our political culture. People gravitate towards sites that reflect their established point of view, and once comfortably ensconced in their political echo chamber, the participants take turns preaching to the assembled choir, reinforcing each other's ideas and biases, and denouncing anyone who might disagree".
This message board is a great example of this. One dissenting voice threw everyone in a uproar. For that, I congratulate Thorn for not adopting the majority opinion. I think the negative uproar he/she caused only egged him/her on more.
C) You should read that MacLean's article. It was quite good.