A climate change wave of hate

[marmar]

by Richard Glover
Sydney Morning Herald


A climate change wave of hate
June 11, 2011


After 25 years writing this column, I've had my first experience of an internet hate campaign. So far, more than 2400 people, nearly all American, have emailed me. More emails come every time I hit the send/receive button. About 5 per cent contain threats of violence. Even stranger, quite a few threaten me with sexual violence. They say, in various forms, that they want to rape me.

The only good news: quite a few don't seem to know the precise location of Sydney. Or Sidney, as some call it. ''You are so out of touch with America, I cannot believe you are published by an American paper,'' writes one emailer, having read the story on The Sydney Morning Herald website. Quite a few tell me I should be nervous if I ever try to leave Britain.

.....(snip).....

Here's how it started. Last week, in this spot, I wrote a piece about climate change. It was critical of both the left and the right and contained some comic hyperbole about both: that environmental zealots wanted us all to live in caves and that climate-change deniers should tattoo their beliefs on their bodies so they couldn't later deny their role in preventing action on climate change.

.....(snip).....

Then - sometime Sunday night - a link to the piece was put on a right-wing website in the US, offering me up as another communist trying to ruin the world through the ''hoax'' of climate change. The piece started multiplying in cyberspace, mainly on websites dedicated to exposing the leftist conspiracy about climate change. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-climate-change-wave-of-hate-20110609-1ftix.html#ixzz1OvX1t9Iy

[sasha031]

1. it becomes embarrassing that a relatively small percentage of people

compared to the rest of the planet could cause so much trouble.

[ixion]

2. The Tea Baggers are quite a disturbed bunch

I don't see them calming down anytime soon, but fortunately they're cowards, for the most part.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. Sometimes I am so

embarrassed by the people in this country. The amount of ignorance and arrogance is so unsettling.

[jtrockville]

4. "Avoid travel in the near future to the American states of Arizona, Texas and Nevada."

/wondering why Mr. Glover thinks it may be a good idea to visit those states in the distant future

[lunatica]

5. I've learned to stay silent around the deniers in the UC Berkeley staff

As shocking as it may seem that some long term employees of UC Berkeley can be so cement brained in one of the most liberal and leading Universities in the world it's true. I haven't gotten over the shock of knowing teabaggarati work in UC Berkeley. If that can happen there, it can happen anywhere.

[jtrockville]

6. Not just teabaggers... criminals too. Doesn't Yoo still work there?

[The Doctor.]

7. The brainwashing is powerful.

It works on my parents, and they're pretty bright people.

[femrap]

11. I find this

very discomforting. I still like to imagine Berkeley as a haven for progressives. Alas. Stupidity and ignorance have infiltrated even there.

No place is safe.

Maybe another planet far away in another galaxy....one that is unisex would be nice. I'm going to make my reservation now. lol.

[onethatcares]

8. have you given any thought

to the replies and emails being sent by corporations employing multiple identities?

I've seen the same thing on a few forums where the sentiment was the same expressed with few differences.

not that the koch bros would do anything like that:shrug:

[The Doctor.]

9. I guess I really shouldn't be amazed at how many stupid people

are also climate change deniers.

What amazes me is the handful of smart people that are.

[Overseas]

10. Shows how intense right wing propaganda can be, stirring up such hatred

that they can get hundreds of readers to send vicious mail to a columnist.

[L0oniX]

12. "quite a few don't seem to know the precise location of Sydney"

[alphafemale]

13. The RightWing Dead Brains will still deny there is climate change when an F5 tornado plows LA.

The devastating tornadoes. The unbelievable snow kalumps of the past few years.

Welcome to the new normal.

Right Wingers see nothing amiss.

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever." T Jefferson

I got spat on for having that on a sign at an anti-war pre-Iraq invasion protest once.