Mobs

A reader writes in (the following is lightly edited and anonymized):

Last year I made a post on social media that was a lot like your recent blogs. I spoke with some sympathy of a guy convicted of sexual assault. I'd read the entire police report online twice and concluded he might have been innocent. All my friends got together and decided that I was a supporter of rape culture and did not deserve to work in this town. They contacted my employer and told them to fire me or face a huge boycott. They fired me. Though it was in the journalism field, no one saw any free speech issue.

I was told by otherwise intelligent parties that I never should have posted anything in support of anyone accused of a sex offense, and I deserved exactly what I got.

This has been traumatic for me and I don't post about politics anymore. So be careful what you post.

I'm aware of the stakes, but angry mobs don't make me want to shut up. As a writer, I don't really have a choice. Speaking up is what I do.

Nor will I be provoked into an oppositional stance. Women have put up with way too much crap for time infinitum, and men who don't view and treat them with proper human respect need to reconsider and retool. As a completely separate issue (it's not just one blob of "Men = Monsters"), I find it absolutely shocking that woman can't walk anywhere they want, anytime they want. I don't want to live in a world like that, and I'd like to see it fixed - while remaining reasonable and tolerating all thoughtful perspectives and voices.