Why I have to gird my loins to blog

I always find it difficult to throw my opinion out into the world (the world of the internet, that is). The few times that I have, there's been immediate backlash. (Don't ever comment on an opera clip on youtube, ever ever ever.) It's not that I feel I have nothing to say on certain subjects, it's that I would rather not deal with twenty five people telling me I'm totally wrong and stupid. There's only so much you can do to defend yourself before an argument becomes pointless. Most people would rather assert the same thing over and over and over than agree to disagree, and after awhile that becomes a waste of my time.