So a man dresses up as a woman

and sets out to kill people and this is part of a plot for a book and the book is then condemned...

Oh yes, I am sure dear reader you know the book I am talking about. The author has been widely condemned for other comments as well.

I will say nothing apart from the fact that I do not wish to read the book. It is not an argument in which I wish to get involved.

What it does however do is raise another question in my mind. My local federal MP was being stalked during the last election campaign. The "GetUp" organisation denied any responsibility for this but they should have been held accountable. Even if the stalker was not a member of their organisation he was a supporter of it. He knew full well what he was doing. He went far enough to be cautioned by the police but he was never taken to court. He has since died so perhaps no more should be said about his behaviour.

The whole thing was raised again with me  yesterday - because it was in the news. Apparently  the MP should "learn to live with it because it is part of public life" and "if you put yourself in that position then you have to put up with that sort of thing".

Really? I know that a local federal Senator on the other side of the political fence would be demanding a great deal more action if the same sort of thing had happened to her. She would have plenty of support too.

"CetUp" was very evident around here in the last election campaign. They called at the house and they stopped me more than once in the street. Their campaign amounted to harassment, especially when one of them positioned themselves in such a way that I was unable to ride on until he had finished haranguing me about a letter I had written to the state newspaper.

"You need to take responsibility for your actions," I was told at the time, "Do you know how much harm you are doing?"

I cannot even remember what the  letter was about now. Perhaps it was supportive of the candidate but it is more likely it was condemning the tactics of GetUp. 

That may be where the real problem lies. People get passionate about presumed attitudes and presumed slights and how much harm they do. They then do a great deal more harm by their own actions. It is not intentional.  They actually believe they are doing the right thing. The man from GetUP took the view that he was right and I was and am wrong. We couldn't discuss it. There was no room to negotiate and no attempt to understand the point of view of another person. 

We need to learn to listen - even if we continue to disagree.