In a business column dated January 20, Baltimore Sun writer Jay Hancock seems to delight in the fact that a prominent accounts receivable management firm filed bankruptcy in the midst of an unemployment-driven recession. Speculation suggests the underlying message of the article was to threaten violence against collectors.

Hancock states that collectors are not working up to par to recover money because in a recession people owe more money. But wait! This argument runs in circles, many collection agencies protest. Yes, debt collectors will get much more work when credit defaults are on the rise. But the collections industry, like any other, depends on the financial stability of consumers. If consumers do not have the money to pay back the debt, collection starts to seem like a moot point.

Despite the fact that many of his economic theories and beliefs are in erroneous, later in the article Hancock brings up the bankruptcy of debt collection law firm Mann Bracken, making the suggestion that violence against debt collectors could be an acceptable path to justice. Because Mann Bracken had an order to stop debt collection activities, thousands of cases filed by the firm against consumers will be tossed out.

Hancock’s reaction is a little bit shocking. “A firebomb tossed into the company’s offices could not have been as effective.” Seriously? Firebomb the office?

It is clear that people take their interactions with collectors very personally. Some handle it well, some do not. It is hard to believe that there are swarms of consumers out there wishing physical harm to debt collectors and their offices. On the flip side,unfortunately, debt collectors are people with emotions as well. Your debt is their commission. While most collectors follow protocol, there is that one occasional jerk that gets you really angry. Founded or unfounded as these feelings may seem, it appears that things have taken a turn for the worst when violent threats pass as a business column.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a national collection agency .