A Snowflake Opines...

I remember the first violent message I received on Instagram. It was a veritable bingo of hate: he mocked me, told me no one would want to look at my “dirty” crotch – though his language was worse, of course. He asked if “sluts” like me, moaning until they “get what they want”, was “what our country was coming to”, before reminding me that nothing was going to change. He finished by saying he hoped I was gang-raped “senseless” by 20 men. But, he didn’t use the word “men”. He used a racist slur instead, finishing the message with five middle-finger emojis.

So you blocked and deleted and got on with life. right? 

I remember how my chest tightened and I grew hot with fear.

Oh... 

I hadn’t been surprised to become the target of online hate.

Wait, you expected it? 

When abuse fills up your DMs and your inbox, there’s no way to escape it.

Yes there is. Block, report, delete.

Those in charge of tackling of this abuse (sic) are usually men. They don’t really understand the impact it has on victims and survivors. They haven’t been in our shoes.

Some have, sweetie!  

No single bill from parliament will solve this, and no single software update will either. A holistic and collaborative effort from the platforms, lawmakers and independent initiatives who know the reality of the issue, not just the theory, would be a positive start. Until then, we’ll share our locations with friends, add another dick pic to our screenshots folder and delete messages with trembling hands, hoping that one day our safety will finally become a priority.

Why should it? Everyone's safety should be a priority. What set of genitalia you possess shouldn't give you a head start, given young men are assaulted and killed at a rate of at least two to one... 

This Isn't The Cause Célèbre You Think It Is...

Cell phone video captured the harrowing moment a teenage mother from California was shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer, leaving her brain dead.

And the non-left on Twitter are making much of the fact that she's not receiving the Saint George Floyd treatment from activists and the press, because the official who fired the shots is black, and she's Hispanic. 

But let's look more closely at the actual details, shall we?  

Rodriguez, who has a five-month-old son, was shot as she drove away from the scene near Millikan High School in Long Beach on Monday.

The scene of what? Well, not just the shooting: 

That afternoon, Rodriguez had gotten into a fight with a 15-year-old girl. She was struck by a bullet while leaving the school in a car with the father of her child, Rafeul Chowdhury, 20, and his 16-year-old brother. None of the people in the car were students at the school.

Translation: She went to finish her beef with the girl, aided by her baby-daddy. But surely, you cry, that shouldn't warrant shooting her?  

Video shows the officer fire two shots at the car, which nearly hits him as it speeds out of the parking lot. Chowdhury was driving the vehicle.

Gosh, that puts a different complexion on it, doesn't it? 

Alex Cervantes, Mona's cousin, told reported she did not deserve to get shot. 'She might have been doing something she wasn't supposed to, but she was unarmed,' he said.

She was in a deadly weapon being aimed at an official trying to stop her fleeing the scene of a crime, though...  

The family have launched up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral and legal expenses, and to help support Rodriguez's son.

I hope she gets what she's worth. 

You Wouldn't Know 'Justice' If It Slapped You Around The Face With A Wet Haddock!

Social media users should not be allowed to post from anonymous accounts, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales has said.

What?! Who on earth would say such a stu... 

Dame Vera Baird QC...

Oh. Right.  

...said tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook should not allow people to sign up without providing accurate identifiable information. It comes amid concern the practice is allowing people to abuse others online with little prospect of being identified and prosecuted.

I can post a poison pen letter that's untraceable. I can use a 'burner' phone to make threatening calls. When do you start demanding these avenues be closed down too?

And why, on any subject, should someone too dim and arrogant to scoop her dog's crap be able to shoot her mouth off and be listened to?

Dame Vera said: “I think that getting rid of anonymity is fundamental to being able to enforce the law quite obviously.”

Well, there goes all that whistleblower legislation, eh? 

“People sit at home with a funny name and say the most horrible thing, having quite a lot of pleasure because they can’t be found - that must be the point of it, mustn’t it, to do it without any comeback.”

Like politicians can, in the House? 

“It’s very unpleasant indeed and it’s imperative they be brought to justice.”

Like speeders should?