Thursday, May 19, 2011

Jabberwocky of the Day : Don't Comment Where I Said It

So, if you were responding to something that I wrote, where would you leave the comment? Would you leave a comment on the post where I wrote it? Or would you pick another post on a related subject and leave it there? Or perhaps you should start reading all of the posts from that point forward and choose one that says something kinda like what you want to say.

It might just be me, but I think that online etiquette strongly suggests that you leave your comments on the post where the issues was raised.

Confused yet? Go read one of the latest posts on Countering... (look flowers!).

Apparently Minority wasn't allowed to comment on the post that contained the offending text. According to the Ms Wombles, that was an "interesting choice", an attempt "bury it where no one will likely see it", and wasn't an "attempt at honest communication".

Really?

I just had an exchange with two people on an older post from last year.  Should I say that the commenters were attempting to "bury" their comments where only I can see them?  Should I be hostile to them because they disagreed with with I said?  Or maybe I should write a big long rant about how they are unfortunate people who have been "misled by the atrocious misinformation".

Of course the answer to all of these questions is a resounding no.  These people were simply expressing their views about what I wrote in the place that I wrote it.  And there is absolutely no need to treat other people badly simply because they don't happen to agree with me.  Nor is there a need to imply that they are "wrong" and I am "right" or that they have "misinformation" while I have some sort of monopoly on the correct information.

In fact, I actually welcome comments from people who don't agree with me.  I find that I can sometimes learn more from talking to people who disagree with me than with people who agree with me.

If I had to guess at Ms Wombles's intentions in writing what she did, I would say that she was attempting to intimidate Minority by pulling out a comment from an older thread and placing it front and center on her blog.  I'm guessing that she is trying an old teaching trick - public shame.

So Kim, here is your little bit of shame in return.

Minority called you on your statement - in the appropriate place - and you responded with public ridicule because you didn't care for what they said.  It really isn't nice to try to bully people into being quiet.  Don't you think you should apologize for being such a meanie?

On a slightly more serious note, one of the comments on the shameful piece suggested that the recent attacks on the Ms Wombles have just been personal name-calling attacks that don't address the underlying issues.  But I'm going to go out on a limb here and disagree.

(Well, I guess I can't disagree with the name-calling part since I did do a little bit of that - lets just call it "venting" instead, shall we?)

What I disagree with is that my quarrel with Ms Wombles isn't about the issues.  This debate is certainly about an issue and the issue is character.  The autism world is chalk full of people like Ms Wombles who spend their time attacking and demeaning anyone who dares disagree with them and I for one have had enough of them.

(Although, to be honest, there are far worse people out there than Ms Wombles.  One of them actually challenged me to a "duel" because of something that I wrote here.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a sword and they lived in France, so I had to decline.)

But I digress.  As I was saying, the issue is character. The issue is whether it is acceptable to stand on the sidelines when one member of the community tries to bully another.  As Ms Wombles so nicely put it, the issue is accountability after all.

I think it is long past time that the autism community holds its members accountable for their actions.

P.S. Kim, fourteen blogs, really?  Where do you find the time?

11 comments:

  1. Your advertisement is offering me an hotel/sauna combo and a Russian bride.

    I'd prefer something useful like a Russian house-keeper. (We could get romantic on the kitchen table after she'd dusted, catalogued and stacked my Neil Young albums).

    Also, kittens are fluffy and I like them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The ad thing is turning out to be a little bit of a joke. The ads that the provider has run here have absolutely nothing to do with any of the content of the site. And the sample ad that I ran for this site had over 3,000 impressions but not a single click.

    I was going to give it another day or two and then call it quits.

    That is unless you think that the people who visit here from the UK might be in the market for russian brides? I know they aren't too popular in the US anymore but the UK always seems to be behind the times...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kim Wombles is a bully and hate monger who laughs when people make fun of the disabled. Her anger is driven by projection from the bitterness of having a severely disabled son. There is no point in trying to reason with her.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gosh, Kwombles wrote a whole blog post criticizing me for commenting on an old blog article? Is she a nut or what?

    People still comment on old articles on insidevaccines. No problem. In fact I have asked people to put comments on the appropriate article, i.e., discussing measles on a measles article not on a whooping cough article.

    I don't think I'll bother reading her silliness. I have better stuff to do with my time.

    Another failed attempt at shaming someone...how sad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just discovered that I've been suspended from the Autism Speaks discussion forum. I wonder if it has something to do with Kwombles?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would not be surprised if she did, I have seen that group of people do exactly that a few times in the past.

    I did notice that your last comment on this thread -

    http://autismspeaksnetwork.ning.com/forum/topics/do-not-say-1?id=2172273%3ATopic%3A475631&page=5

    was removed from the site. Was that the comment the one that resulted in you being suspended?

    Or maybe a better question is whether they gave you any idea why your account was suspended or what the complaint was that caused the suspension?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't follow the link to see what which thread had a comment removed because I'm suspended. The notice came when I tried to enter and didn't give any info, but did offer the opportunity to contact the moderator. I'll have to decide if it is worth the hassle. I did put up a comment or two this morning, one on a thread about the science and one responding to Jack. I don't recall anything offensive in either one, so I'm guessing it is something I wrote yesterday. Perhaps it was because I put up the link to this blog?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wonder if it has something to do with Kwombles?

    Very possibly. autism speaks as of late has become nothing but a neurodiversity sockpuppet with the funding of laurent mottron and isabelle souleries, as well as having alex plank do filming for them and having John Elder Robison on their science advisory board.

    Offense is in the eye of the beholder, and neurodiverse individuals are quite easily offended.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It was the comment where you linked to this post, yes. The strange thing is that the next comment - the this thread is now closed one - still includes the text of your comment -

    "Reply by Autism Is Reversible 17 hours ago
    Oh. My. Goodness. So there's a pattern of criticizing where people post their comments. I'm sorry I gave this person any attention. Closng this thread now.

    MinorityView said:
    http://autismjabberwocky.blogspot.com/2011/05/jabberwocky-of-day-do...
    no comment...
    "

    If that is the one that got you kicked off and it was KWombles who filed the complaint then I think you would have a good case. As in she clearly has a problem with you and is just complaining to complain.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, typical of that place. I doubt I'll pursue it. Posting there was wearing on my soul, a lot of negativity and repetitive arguments. Now I've got an excuse. What has me worried is that I may only be suspended for a week and I'll be tempted to go back and get sucked in again.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Here is the message I received: You have been suspended from Autism Speaks Social Network

    Sorry, MinorityView, you can not access Autism Speaks Social Network as you have been suspended. If you think you've been suspended in error, you can contact the administrator.

    Click here to delete your content from Autism Speaks Social Network.

    ------------------------
    sounds permanent, to me.

    ReplyDelete