Instead of web hate – web love

Last night on Swedish Channel 1 at eight ‘o clock Uppdrag Granskning/Mission Survey broadcasted a programme about the awful web hatred against women, most of them in public position, female journalists, chief editors, bloggers, debaters and others who dare to take a stand in important issues or simply be themselves, leading feminists and/or career women. 12 female journalists and debaters of all ages appeared and read aloud from hate mails they’ve got during the years. It was horrific and groundshaking to see and listen to the amount of hate, death threats, promises of stalking, rapes, mutilations, threats against their families etc that these women receive. They also interviewed two very young women, Julia and Natasha, in their early 20’s who had dared to criticize the fashion store H & M for selling sweaters with the picture of the rapper 2 Pac Shakur who died in 1996 but also was a convicted rapist. Immediately the hateful comments appeared: the death threats, the intimidating threats of rape, the comments about these two women’s looks etc on H & M’s Facebook page. The two young women reported to the police… who did nothing. H & M allowed the hateful comments against the women to remain, and the reporters also confronted a representative of Facebook who couldn’t give any good answer, why they allowed such hate and death threats without taking any legal action.

After the programme the hateful comments have continued to flow against the show, against the women on Facebook, on Avpixlat, on blogs and on Twitter. One of the women who have recieved this web hatred is Cissi Wallin, who has got messages about that she’s an ugly feminist pussy, wishes about that she never should be born, foul comments about her mother etc. Before the TV-programme Uppdrag Granskning/Mission Survey Cissi Wallin wanted to confront one of these men who hate her on Twitter. She called him during broadcast of her radio show at Radio 1. He denied that he had anything to do with the Twitter-account. Directly after the show the Twitter account was erazed. Cissi Wallin just wanted to ask him how he was thinking, trying to understand. The YouTube-clip from the TV-programme had to be shut down too because of even more hatred among the comments.

As a reaction against this designer Jesper Eriksson took the initiative to start the campaign “Istället för näthat – nätkärlek”/”Instead of web hate – web love”. He made a short simple folder where he asked us to look up the e-mail adress of our favourite reporter and send her/him an appreciative e-mail explaining why she or he is so good. I responded immediately, shared the sign on Facebook and Twitter and e-mailed a good reporter. Last night that mission of web love instead of web hate was shared 3000 times and peaked Twitter’s Swedish trend list.

It seems that many men fear feminists and /or strong women. I don’t. What worries me is that the jargong, the way to talk and behave has fuelled an intense spite and hate between the sexes. The men who hate women on the web, who beat them, kill them, call them foul names are small men in my eyes. They are no real men if you ask me. To threaten, kill, slander etc is despicable to say the least. That people quarrel or disagree is one thing, and we must be able to have different views about matters, but there has to be limits within both men and women. Another problem though is that too many girls and women encourage foul behaviour among men, women might be mean, they call each other foul names, they gossip, spread rumours, they harass men, ridicule good men and hate men, and when they choose men, they choose exactly the wrong kind of guy. I critisize both men and women who in a certain way contribute to a gender-alike bad attitude in society, encouraging shallowness, foul behaviour and evil. That’s why web love, and also ordinary love between men and women in a good way is absolutely imperative where both men and women try to listen in each other and try to understand the other party’s views and feelings. Many of us ought to consider where we stand and what we encourage in ourselves and in others.

Anders Moberg, February the 7th 2013