That's all I said. "You love it don't you?" It was a short Twitter message in response to @InsidertheM60 - the author of an earlier message reporting what protestors on Market Street in Manchester were doing yesterday:
"Starting to get a little lively chanting and one very small brick thrown at Vodophone window."
The typos aren't mine, I am being very careful and quoting accurately.
Here is the response:
1. "What is your problem?"
2. "yes we do because unlike many news organisations we welcome all opinions and views"
3. "we are standing up for the ordinary person you are trying to defend the people who got us into this mess in the first place"
4. "love it if you actually started to care about the real people of mcr instead of the fortune few who think they run the city"
Honestly, how do you respond to a stream like that? Part of me is tempted to laugh and get on with my Sunday. Another part of me thinks I may have brought this on myself and should just apologise for all the trouble I must cause in the world. I'm a Catholic, I confess my sins, this doesn't worry me unduly.
But no. First of all Inside the M60 is "a news site for the people of Manchester".
So here are my responses.
1. I don't have a problem. But, as you can gather, I was rather irritated by the protest. I don't see the point in reporting on 40 protestors basically harrassing Saturday kids at Top Shop, Vodafone and Boots.
2. In the light of the rather hysterical response to my five word tweet, I doubt very much that Inside the M60 "welcomes" any view other than a left wing one. I doubt such a chippy and blow by blow account of the protest by the English Defence League would appear. So, that is a silly argument.
3. I don't know where to start with this one. When was it the job of a "news organisation" even a two-person band, to "stand up for" the "ordinary person"? And in what way is a small protest of a handful of people an example of that? And in what way, any way, have I defended "the people who got us into this mess"? Where? Anywhere, show me where I have done that? I'm baffled. That's even before we begin a debate about what "got us into" this mess. Public sector profligacy? Poor regulation? Consumerism? Easy credit? Who wanted that? The millions of ordinary people who spend borrowed money in Manchester city centre.
4. "The fortune few?" I'm wasting my time, aren't I? This is such a nasty and personal attack I rather think whoever made it needs to stop and consider who I am, what I do and how little they actually know about me and what I care about. But although it assumes a lot about me, all of it wrong, I think it actually says ever so much about Inside the M60, doesn't it?
2 comments:
"That's all I said."
If only that were true, Michael. You left out the abusive, rude tweets you sent to Inside the M60 after that first one.
In the interests of accuracy, here is the full exchange:
InsidetheM60: Heading to Piccadilly Gardens for the start of the @mancanticuts demo
InsidetheM60: RT @paulcockerton #ukuncut protests, Top Man, Market St has 1 door open with security; Top Shop Arndale + Boots Cross St open normally.
InsidetheM60: Token police prescence in Picc Gardens ,4 officers but no real sign of any protesters #ukuncut
InsidetheM60: #ukuncut protest is moving down Market street there are about 50 marchers
InsidetheM60: Protesters have stopped outside Barclays Bank in Market street #ukuncut it's all very peaceful so far
InsidetheM60: Protest has now moved down Market street and are now outside Vodophone #ukuncuts
InsidetheM60: Starting to get a little lively chanting and one very small brick thrown at Vodophone window #ukuncut
MarpleLeaf: @InsidetheM60 you love it don't you?
InsidetheM60: @MarpleLeaf yes we do because unlike many news organisations we welcome all opinions and views
InsidetheM60: Have to say very good work by the police to calm that little incident down #ukuncut-just adkedme to explain the intricacies of tax avoidance
InsidetheM60: Protest has now moved to the front of Boots #ukuncut http://twitpic.com/3cv39r
InsidetheM60: Quite apt as the busier outside Boots is playing "The Times they are a changing" #ukuncut
InsidetheM60: @MarpleLeaf what is your problem?
MarpleLeaf: @InsidetheM60 my problem is that you seem to take a puerile delight in violent mob protests
mancunium :Steve Turner
@InsidetheM60 and @MarpleLeaf calm down!!!
MarpleLeaf: @mancunium @insidethem60 I'm very calm. I've been with my family baking and sledging, not vandalising shops
MarpleLeaf: @InsidetheM60 I have been unable to respond to your abusive and personal direct message, but I will do so by other means
(this last was in response to my colleague’s two DMs to you, which you have quoted.)
Doesn't have quite the same ring now, does it? A hysterical response? My colleague was merely reporting live and you decided to be abusive. And attacking someone for their typos when they are a) reporting on the hoof and b) dyslexic is cheap and nasty.
I'm not going to comment on the two private DMs he sent you but I'd agree with him that you do seem to have a problem with us and I don't know why. We do see it as part of our remit to report on what's happening on the streets of Manchester. Yesterday's peaceful demo (no arrests) was part of a nationwide protest and other Manchester media - the BBC and MEN - were there too. Are you going to have a go at them too for their doing job and reporting on a demonstration? If not, why not? Or rather, why pick on us?
We do actually welcome all views - we publish all comments we receive from our readers, as long as they are not defamatory, whether we agree with them or not.
If you don't like Inside the M60, that's fine. We don't expect everyone to read us. I don't care either way if you read us or not. And if you're irritated by our tweets, then stop following us.
I wonder if you'll publish this? If not, I'll know I've been censored and I'll publish it on my blog. In the interests of accuracy so everyone can see that you published only selected tweets to support your attack on us, instead of the whole exchange, which casts you in a rather different light.
Of course I'll publish it, why wouldn't I? Even if I had to rescue it from the Spam box on blogger - you might want to check that out.
I don't see how what I said changes anything at all. Nor did I publish selected tweets, did I? That barrage came after the "You love it don't you?"
I think I was quiet restrained and I've only made the same points again.
Because you don't follow me I couldn't send a DM to you or whoever. You don't have to, by the way.
You see "attack" and "problem" and "censored" everywhere. Chill out, please. I didn't attack anyone for their typos, I just wanted to make it clear they were yours and not mine.
We've had one debate on here about some dismal row on someone's blog that did you no credit either.
Problems? Hardly.
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