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If someone cuts you off with a grocery cart between the milk and the bread, chances are you don’t flip ’em off as you speed around them. However, if someone cuts you off in traffic, there’s a good chance you might do just that.

It’s called a hit and run. Why? Because you make the gesture and flee the scene. You don’t own the responsibility of your frustration or its possible outcomes – an argument or even a good thrashing.

Anonymity also plays a role. It’s likely you’re shopping near home, where you will be recognized. You’re not that blur in a rear view mirror.

Alas, that kind of conduct behind the wheel can lead to braver and bolder confrontations, as a recent story in the Naples Daily News proves.

According to police and news reports, Zachery Alan Schreiber was a passenger in a Mustang convertible whose occupants were listening to Mariah Carey just a wee bit loud.

A passenger in a black Honda pulled up next to the Mustang and was so annoyed at being surrounded by Mariah’s five-octave range that he decided to call Schreiber a derogatory name.

Whatever William H. Greenman said didn’t go over very well with Schreiber. The pair continued to exchange profanities as both cars sped down the road and ended with Schreiber throwing a bottle at Greenman and hitting the driver instead.

Schreiber left the experience with an arrest and felony charges. He’s lucky. It could have ended in death for any of those involved or for any of us along Pine Ridge Road that night. As for Greenman, I think he should consider himself lucky he wasn’t also arrested.

Unfortunately, the ugliness doesn’t end on our roadways. Readers are also artists of the hit and run in the comments section of this and other online newspapers. I read hatred and vile remarks written under the veil of anonymity that I rarely, if ever, hear in public.

Not a day goes by that I don’t read some nasty comment. A story from last July’s Naples Daily News stands out in my mind. It was about Brandon Perkovich, who attended Community School of Naples. He was class president, valedictorian and had just been accepted to Harvard. He’s also gay.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to win anyone’s approval or a victory for gay rights. Our neighborhood is fairly conservative and I think people are entitled to their opinions.

What I find disturbing is that of the 69 comments that were posted below Perkovich’s story, most were negative, vile and ignored his achievements in favor of bashing him for being gay. Directing such comments at a teenager is hardly the Christian thing to do. Yes, I went there.

I thought about giving you a sampling of those comments, but I prefer not to give ink to such things. Search for Perkovich’s name on naplesnews.com if you would like to read for yourself.

Here’s some facts I’ve gathered as a regular reader of the comments section: I find that nearly every story that mentions a Rodriguez, Lopez or Sanchez will have a “deport them all” comment; we have many experts in almost every field that could solve nearly every problem the planet might face (too bad they’re too busy writing comments); there are too many Monday morning quarterbacks and not nearly enough referees, and our little piece of conservative paradise will still defend one’s right to hang “truck nuts” from the bumper of their pickup. I hear a new “You might be a redneck ... ” joke coming our way.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the comments. Every spiteful, hate-filled word. It’s entertaining and a lot more interesting than a number of the stories posted. I’m just a big believer in owning one’s opinion.

So I ask, who’s the real you? That ugly person who hides behind anonymity? That nice persona that you use for the public – at least in your neighborhood? Something somewhere in the middle?

Lets try a radical experiment. If we can’t say something to each other’s face and own it, let’s just keep our mouths shut.

That’s just my bylined opinion.