The recent very public stoush between Bob Ellis and John Birmingham has provided for some compelling reading. It’s always risky for an author to respond to public criticism. The background: Bob Ellis wrote an opinion piece about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair, asking if feminism had gone too far. John Birmingham replied with a polemic of his own, asking if Bob Ellis had gone too far. Bob Ellis left a comment below Birmingham’s piece (at 2:49pm on 6 July). Birmingham replied. Then Ellis had another go. Then another. Then another…
It was a heated exchange, and others joined in too. Then it degenerated into a bit of a brawl, with 325 comments, not all of which, it must be said, were complimentary to the human capacity for rational thought. But we’ve seen worse: here’s the textbook example of how an author should not reply to criticism.