Kos: Getting harassed? Stop blogging.

It’s always nice to see our “progressive” brothers taking misogyny and violence against women seriously.
Markos on Kathy Sierra and female bloggers being harassed and getting death threats:

Look, if you blog, and blog about controversial shit, you’ll get idiotic emails. Most of the time, said “death threats” don’t even exist — evidenced by the fact that the crying bloggers and journalists always fail to produce said “death threats”.

So let me get this straight: blogging about the oh-so-controversial world of software development means you should expect to get death threats. After all, nothing brings out the crazies like tech-talk. And besides, she probably made it all up anyway.

…Email makes it easy for stupid people to send stupid emails to public figures. If they can’t handle a little heat in their email inbox, then really, they should try another line of work.

I mean come on, if you can’t handle your address and social security number being published along with threats of rape, hanging, suffocation and death–you’re a fucking lightweight.
Seriously though, it’s one thing to argue–as Markos does–that a blogger code of conduct would be ineffective. Fine. But dismissing online misogyny and Sierra’s experience (without even bothering to do any research on the subject, to boot) is reprehensible. Though predictable given the source.
Implying that women are “whining” about harassment or violence against them and mocking them for taking these threats seriously is just such a sexist cliché. I think the progressive blogosphere deserves better.
Zuzu has the short and snappy version. Also see Shakes, Bitch PhD, Ampersand and Echidne.