Write about women, you'll be threatened with rape.

Laurie Penny regularly committs the heinous crime of writing about women. Last night, after the rape threats that constitute discussion on Guido Fawkes noxious site, her address was published..

I don't visit Guido's site often, the libertarian utopia he apparently believes he runs, is a site where any woman posting will be subjected to the underbelly of misogyny that exists in political debate.

Commenters trying to convince themselves, and everyone else that their twisted thought processes and hatred of women somehow exemplify  what men really think. They insult all men, and then accuse feminists of being 'man-haters'.

Other people should restrict their freedom, and stay silent in order to protect the right of Guido's merry band of followers to threaten rape. All men treat women this way, didn't you know? Anyone without a cock daring to write something they don't agree with is asking for it. Men who can't control their own hatred and inadequacy, expect the world to bend to accomodate their inability to control their own behaviour, and see no irony in describing those who object as thinskinned and irrational.

Their 'freedom' to express threats of sexual violence somehow doesn't restrict the freedom of women to contribute to political debate. Our media outlets einforce this by endorsing Guido and treating the space he perpetuates as legitimate-with the spin doctors of our main political parties treating what Paul Staines contributes to political discourse as reason enough to ignore the consequences of what the policies on his site achieve.

Apparently Laurie doesn't have the right to write something, without putting herself and her flatmates at risk because inadequate fuckbags  believe that they have the right to threaten, and denigrate women for existing. I have a couple of pieces going out in the next few weeks that talk about women. In order to protect Paul Staines, should I change the locks on my house? Should I make sure I warn my child's father that an acceptable response to me exercising free speech, is that our daughter is at risk? Should I warn the police when I write something that mentions the 'F-word'.

The trolls who exist on there, and populate the comments boards of our core political blogs appear not to know that to the rest of us they are a joke. We take bets on the content of the cliched tired insults they bandy about. That far from being original, and representative of men- generally men's reactions vary from amusement, to shock and disgust. It ceases to be a joke, when threats of sexual violence are coupled with publication of your address. Then it becomes a real risk. And it becomes intimidation. A few inadequate men who believe they are protecting freedom of speech, become ample demonstration of why lines still need to be drawn.

I am a libertarian. People who believe libertarianism is about having the right to hurt whoever they choose, really miss the point.

 

 

 

PS What is truly worrying, is that the reason I am able to be so open about my view on this, is that I don't have a career to look after. Because this is what women are expected to put up with. Without getting 'irrational' or being 'hypersensitive'.