The much heralded Yahoo News “Cities Rising: Rebuilding America” segment featuring Buffalo burst on the scene on January 15. The six-video series by Katie Couric actually launched with Buffalo's Big Comeback.

"I wanted to see how American ingenuity and innovation are taking hold and revitalizing some of the most important cities in our country."

"The first stop was Buffalo, and it was full of #Buffalove! I enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells and inclusiveness of the West Side Bazaar. The indoor collection of shops and food stops, where some of Buffalo’s newest citizens sell their native goods, is part of an effort led by the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) to rethink the city’s struggling West Side.

"I could feel the excitement of 43North, a tech incubator where innovation is happening at every corner.  Part of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative, 43North gives out $5 million in cash prizes each year, bringing some of the brightest entrepreneurs from around the globe to Buffalo to lay down roots and grow their businesses.

"Canalside has taken the history of Buffalo (and a song I sang in elementary school, “Erie Canal”) and turned it into a modern playground. In its heyday, the Erie Canal harbor was America’s “Gateway to the West,” but the arrival of trains and automobiles in the early 20th century led to the demise of this once-bustling hub of commerce, eventually rendering the area unrecognizable.  The new Canalside is a 23-acre collection of restaurants, shops and activities, including something called ice biking, a Buffalo favorite — trust me, you need to check it out.

"I loved seeing a new side of this city, but most of all I loved the people in Buffalo, who were as warm as the temperature was cold the day I visited (26 degrees, in case you were wondering). They asked me how I would feel if my daughters moved to Buffalo, and I told them I would be thrilled — but added that I would make them dress warmly."

I was curious to see what the Yahoo News viewers thought about Buffalo and the Comeback that we are so proud of and which Couric so enthusiatically portrayed. So I did something that I never do. I scrolled through the comments.

I have learned NEVER to do this on Buffnews.com or Buffalorising.com, but I guess I thought the bile posted on these sites was the work of a small group of hateful souls with no lives dedicated fulltime to the disparagement of Buffalo. While this indeed may be the case, the racist, bigoted, ignorant and illiterate posters are hardly limited to our local publications. They were out in force in response to Buffalo's Big Comeback.

Do yourself a favor. Watch the video, but skip the comments. They reflect very badly on our society and provide no value whatsoever. What a shame. What a waste. This could have been an interesting and informative conversation.

Couric is on a "journey to see all the things that are working in America." Her next stop is New Orleans. May she, too, ignore the comments and continue to fulfill the mission of the series: to show "how American ingenuity and innovation are taking hold and revitalizing some of the most important cities in our country."

Remember, it's the “Cities Rising: Rebuilding America,” not the "Cities Failing: Destroying America" series.