A few days back, Alison posted a really interesting blog here on the topic of a report which she believed conflated rape with excess alcohol intake. (I agree with her analysis, by the way.) It is precisely this kind of thoughtful and challenging writing that I want to see here on ATW and I salute Alison for tackling this issue.
Now then, Alison’s blog generated a fire storm of comment – I see it is now almost 150 comments. Because ATW is unmoderated – as it says at the bottom of every page – this means that I do not hold comments to approve them, as I do not have the time nor inclination to do so. This means that inevitably some comments are made that I never see or else I may scan them without fully taking on board all the content. On this occasion, as I pointed out at the time, I had a family funeral on my mind and was not taking in very much in the way of comment content. I hope you will all accept this.
But I have become aware of comments that were made by Rottypup on this thread – and I am also aware that some female readers took exception to these. (As did some male readers, in fairness!)
I have now read all comments and would make the following points.
1. I sincerely value the contribution from ALL of ATW’s female visitors. It goes without saying how much I value Alison – as her presence as a co-writer demonstrates. I want this site to be a place where you all feel comfortable and happy to make your points of view without suffering hysterical abuse. Things that impact negatively on this disturb me.
2. Rottypup is a writer who makes some great points over on his site, and I frequently agree with his scathing tone on a range of topics. Apart from his choice in Music, he gets the War on Terror, the lies of the Left, etc. However, I think he gets Alison and her argument on this topic completely wrong. Not only that, but he takes issue with it using some vicious ad hominem comments – which have no place on this site. Ever. Clearly neither Alison nor Aileen are "feminazis" and I think that the attribution of such moonbattery values to serious commentators is out of order and only undermines Rotty’s point of view.
3. It distresses me when I see those of us broadly on the right diverting our considerable energies against each other. Unlike leftists (Well, unlike most Leftists! Hello Frank!) we like to dissect argument and identify if the prevailing logic holds up. But name calling does not achieve this – and I really hope that this is minimised without me having to get involved all the time. I am sure that all writers realise that one cannot edit out every unwarranted attack that comes their way. Just for your information, over the years, I have received two death threats, been called every imaginable name (!) – including some I couldn’t imagine – and I know Andrew has endured some very nasty comments too. It comes with the territory alas. As this site has grown, in some regards this has grown with it since we attract a large number of visitors not all of whom agree with the broad editorial line taken by the writers! But I don’t like it when we are attacked "by our own", if you follow me.
So, I want to re-affirm just how much I, as the proprietor, value all female contributors and hope you will feel comfortable here. Any issues at all – drop me an email. The site would NOT be the same without your points of view. We may not agree all the time but we can try to be agreeable when we disagree – seems a good rule. Let’s all operate to that!