They are out there somewhere. Maybe they’re hiding under rocks or perhaps they stay in their houses and don’t turn on the lights.

They hit and they run.

They are nameless, voiceless, faceless and even gutless, yet they can shoot down a person’s character with bullets of the printed word that can get him or her reprimanded or fired from a job.

They are the anonymous ones, also known as “concerned citizens” or “John Does” or any other pseudonym that prevents their identities from being known.

Often, their goal is to hurt or destroy someone, and if they succeed, they have committed the perfect crime for which they will suffer no penalty.

When I coached high school baseball, I was called into the athletic director’s office one afternoon. He read me a letter written by a parent who complained that my players were not getting equal playing time. Other details in the letter criticized by coaching style.

“Who wrote the letter?” I asked.

“It was signed ‘a concerned parent,’?” he said.

“So if there’s no name, it’s anonymous.”

“You could say that, but you still should take the letter seriously. It’s probably not signed because the parent fears you’ll hold it against the kid.”

“Really?” I said. “Well, since I don’t know who wrote the letter, it can be from any parent of any player on my team so the only thing I can do is hold it against every kid.”

I laughed. He didn’t. The truth is if enough “John Doe” letters attack someone’s character or abilities, administrators fear they’ll be the next target so they feel they must fire the accused.

To be fair, sometimes it’s wise that an author of a letter remains anonymous.

Editors John Stotz and Brookleyn Parslow of the student-run news organization of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute wrote, “We believe that people should publicly stand by their opinions. When people don’t want to attach their names to their submissions, we have an obligation to ask why. If there is a real danger that physical, emotional, or financial harm will come to the author if their name is revealed, then we will consider anonymity.”

Writing anonymous letters is one thing, but living a life in anonymity can carry with it a great burden of loneliness and depression.

Fredrik Backman, author of “Anxious People,” describes how we can be invisible when we’re just another face in the crowd.

“ … We’re just strangers passing each other, your anxieties briefly brushing against mine as the fibers of our coats touch momentarily on a crowded sidewalk somewhere. We never really know what we do to each other, with each other, for each other.”

Then there are some who crave to be just another face in the crowd.

In one of his last interviews, Elvis Presley was asked that with all the fame and money he had acquired, was there anything left he still wanted to achieve.

He answered, “I want to walk down any street in America and not be Elvis Presley.”

The word does not always associate with negativity. Philanthropists often do not attach their names to large sums of money they donate for public good. An anonymous person donated a million dollars to a local college for the construction of an athletic complex.

On a smaller scale, a nameless person walked into a Walmart in New Jersey and paid off the charges for all the customers who had placed their Christmas gift purchases on layaway.

An unknown turnpike driver paid the tolls for the next 10 cars that had passed through a particular toll booth. A nameless patron leaves a waitress at a diner a $100 tip.

Anonymous good Samaritans are everywhere just looking to make someone feel happy for the moment, but not take any credit for their deeds.

Here are a few funny quotes written by writers, who are, well, anonymous.

You see a bunch of kids sitting on park bench staring at their phones. “People are held prisoners by their phones. That’s why they’re called ‘cell’ phones.”

A policeman asks a driver why he didn’t use his turn signal. The driver replies, “It’s nobody’s business where I’m going.”

A relationship breaks up and as the scorned lover walks away, she turns around and says, “Don’t drink to forget me. You’ll end up seeing double.”

A teacher asks his lazy student why he hasn’t turned in any work. The student replies, “I work hard at doing nothing and I never know when I’m going to be done.”

Two moviegoers leave the theater after watching a serial killer thriller and one asks the other, “Do you think anyone other than me stared at those dead bodies in the movie to see if I could catch them breathing?”

There are circumstances when being anonymous is necessary. Like many others, I dream of winning big money in the lottery. If I win a million dollars, can I remain anonymous or do I have to publicize my name? I’m out of luck here. Only six states allow you to keep your anonymity, and Pennsylvania is not one.

If I buy that lucky lottery ticket, every Tom, Dick and Harry is going to call and ask me for some of my money.

I’ll send them all checks signed with the name John Doe.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.

Hit-and-run crash in Schuylkill