Sorry Kos. You're wrong.
As a DailyKos regular, I'm quite dismayed at Kos's dismissive dismissive comments about Kathy Sierra. The feminist section of the blogosphere has already weighed in here. I'll just add that, much as I respect what Kos has done as a blogger and activist, he's plain wrong.
Kos has the sort of thick skin that comes from years of military duty, political activisim, and years of blogging. Is he sexist? Look, everyone is sexist in one way or another. Kos has no perspective when he says, "Look, I get hate mail all the time and I don't freak out! You just have to roll with the punches!" He is a political blogger. Kathy Sierra is a tech blogger. He spent three years in the Army and no doubt spent a lot of that time learning to use assorted firearms. Kathy Sierra is a former game developer. He is desensitized to hostility and hate mail. Kathy Sierra isn't.
I've been following the Kathy Sierra story, waiting for the details to unfold. She does not deserve death threats. She does not deserve to live in fear of her life. I poked around her blog and could find nothing that would inspire rage or death threats. There was nothing inflammatory. Her blog is far far removed from the stew of roiling emotions that you find in the political blogosphere. (Did I just mix a metaphor there? Oh well.)
I firmly believe that Kos's inappropriate, unsympathetic response is due to a lack of perspective. Instead of asking, "What's the big deal?" I think the more appropriate questions would be: "Suppose this happens to one of us? How can bloggers stick up for each other? How do we convey the message that death threats and hate mail and posting personal information are unacceptable? How do we confront this without letting it frighten us away from the blogosphere?"
Kos has the sort of thick skin that comes from years of military duty, political activisim, and years of blogging. Is he sexist? Look, everyone is sexist in one way or another. Kos has no perspective when he says, "Look, I get hate mail all the time and I don't freak out! You just have to roll with the punches!" He is a political blogger. Kathy Sierra is a tech blogger. He spent three years in the Army and no doubt spent a lot of that time learning to use assorted firearms. Kathy Sierra is a former game developer. He is desensitized to hostility and hate mail. Kathy Sierra isn't.
I've been following the Kathy Sierra story, waiting for the details to unfold. She does not deserve death threats. She does not deserve to live in fear of her life. I poked around her blog and could find nothing that would inspire rage or death threats. There was nothing inflammatory. Her blog is far far removed from the stew of roiling emotions that you find in the political blogosphere. (Did I just mix a metaphor there? Oh well.)
I firmly believe that Kos's inappropriate, unsympathetic response is due to a lack of perspective. Instead of asking, "What's the big deal?" I think the more appropriate questions would be: "Suppose this happens to one of us? How can bloggers stick up for each other? How do we convey the message that death threats and hate mail and posting personal information are unacceptable? How do we confront this without letting it frighten us away from the blogosphere?"
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