Mary Beard.

[EastWestWhosBest]

Interesting tweet.

One more for the I love MB (and her fantastic hair) team!

I agree with reading both sides.

Funny though, I am old enough (as is Mary Beard, LOL) to remember when commentators/scholars/authors were far more balanced and the authors on the many sides I read cited works, gave direct quotes and did everything they could to accurately explain what they were commenting on/opposing/warning about. Often within a few books that would cover a subject, I could get a pretty solid idea of the arguments pro and con.

Nowadays one just shouts as loudly as they can and cry 'nazi' as they excise any evidence/commentary/philosophy that doesn't serve their insular worldview.

I don't think she is GC. She's in the 'be kind' camp more than TWAW, I think, from what she's said previously, but she's certainly sensible enough not to be told who she's allowed to associate with.

Oh I suspect she quietly p*ed at some point and is keeping a watchful eye on developments.

I think that the twitter stasi who police who you follow are doing it using a tool developed by the lovely Aimee Challenor and her delightful and not at all sinister fiance and father.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

It's a ridiculous thing to say. I follow hundreds of GC people on twitter, I also follow hundreds of TRAs (and am blocked by some on both sides). I am willing to accept that my GC views might be wrong and I deliberately follow the TRA argument as well so I can "educate myself".

People who don't understand that you might want to expose yourself to all views exist in a self-validating bubble which is kind of sad.

This!

And Mary B is a historian, and an academic, and so will understand (better than I ever could) exactly that: that you need to read and understand widely, even from authors you might expect to disagree with, to come to the most rounded understanding of a subject.

Let’s compare to following people on Twitter to my bookshelf.

I have the Koran, the Bible and several Buddhist texts on my bookshelf. What does that make me?

I have both The Communist Manifesto and the Wealth of Nations. What does that make me? Which one should I not have read?

I have On Leadership by Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s lawyer as well as The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. If I could vote in US elections, who do you think I would be a republican or a democrat?

I have books on renaissance art and Impressionism. Do I have to choose just one?

I could go on but anyone with a half a brain should be able to see where this is going.

I could go on but anyone with a half a brain should be able to see where this is going.

Despite the many typos. Also, I do know how to use commas. Really.

What did the Romans do for us? Gave us Mary Beard.

‘I could go on but anyone with a half a brain should be able to see where this is going.’

Too late, your Rudy Giuliani book has condemned you irretrievably! Your Barack Obama won’t save you! The only thing you can do now is to report some other women and then perhaps we will consider not arresting your entire family.

I think that sounds like a pretty suspicious collection of books, Difficult. You're going to need to burn some, publically, while self flagellating. Be sure to choose the right ones, now, you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of history, would you?

I'm sure Mary Beard recognises the Wrong Side of History - it's always blindingly obvious and everyone who studies history quickly learns to sort everyone into Goodies and Baddies, it's part of the undergraduate course.

Mary Beard is a hero. A woman with a gigantic brain, a sense of humour and terrific trainers.

How does anyone learn or challenge anything.
How indeed. It's almost as if the people behind this want to shut down all alternative views and prevent all challenge.

I'm sure Mary Beard recognises the Wrong Side of History - it's always blindingly obvious and everyone who studies history quickly learns to sort everyone into Goodies and Baddies, it's part of the undergraduate course.

Rats anus helmets.

Interestingly MB has commented that "last time" she was piled on it was the feminists. I don't remember exactly what that was about, but possibly for not being GC enough?

She also said she likes to think cancel culture is a myth. Will see if she finds the purity police are stronger on one side than the other, now, I guess.

It will be a myth for her, she’s too big to cancel.

That, and there isn't a shred of evidence. So now it's being claimed that failing to condemn transphobia means conclusions can be drawn about her wrongthink.

@SecondRow

Interestingly MB has commented that "last time" she was piled on it was the feminists. I don't remember exactly what that was about, but possibly for not being GC enough?

She also said she likes to think cancel culture is a myth. Will see if she finds the purity police are stronger on one side than the other, now, I guess.

I saw that (I think) - it was someone who I won't name who was being rude. I don't think she realised it was the real Mary Beard for a while, but even when she did, it wasn't very graceful.

I've loved her for a long time, knew she was a good un!

@MrsTerryPratchett

I'm sure Mary Beard recognises the Wrong Side of History - it's always blindingly obvious and everyone who studies history quickly learns to sort everyone into Goodies and Baddies, it's part of the undergraduate course.

Rats anus helmets.

[considers googling]

It's Mitchell and Webb to stop Googling down a very dark hole!

Thank you!

@DifficultBloodyWoman

Let’s compare to following people on Twitter to my bookshelf.

I have the Koran, the Bible and several Buddhist texts on my bookshelf. What does that make me?

I have both The Communist Manifesto and the Wealth of Nations. What does that make me? Which one should I not have read?

I have On Leadership by Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s lawyer as well as The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. If I could vote in US elections, who do you think I would be a republican or a democrat?

I have books on renaissance art and Impressionism. Do I have to choose just one?

I could go on but anyone with a half a brain should be able to see where this is going.

I think that's where you're going wrong.

Half a brain is twice as much as some of these people seem to be utilising.

I wonder if that means they're going to start trawling through her followers as well? They'll find an awful lot of people who, like me, follows accounts for different reasons not related to gender politics - one of mine is a trans person who happens to watch a particular programme I like and their tweets are funny; the only mention of their gender identity is in their profile blurb, so I have no problem with following them. If you like gardening or listening to The Archers, you'll get conservatives and brexit fans as often as woolly bearded lefties. There are Vegan food writers and very much non Vegan ones, religious ones/Atheist ones and disabled rights activists who I don't agree with as much as ones I do because they also post useful information - or because I might not have thought about something that way before. I may decide 'nah, don't agree with that' or 'ugh, no', but I like being challenged to think about why somebody else might have a particular point of view.

My only 'fuck that, block' is racism/Tommy Robinson is a victim/misogynistic in terms of making sexual comments or inappropriate images; the rest are on a tweet by tweet basis (or if they can't leave their phone alone for more than five minutes without feeling the need to live tweet their bowel issues or start a pile on to somebody else.

It's got me blocked by one Guardian journalist. Probably through some automated thing going on, rather than anything I've ever said - unless they have a particular hatred of anybody saying it's a waste to dig up Tulips and chuck them away after one flowering - but that's hardly the end of the world, is it?

And if somebody got shitty about it, well, I'd either lock my account or open up another because I've got that luxury from being an anonymous and unidentifiable random online.

@MrsTerryPratchett

When I was at university, a thousand years ago, we were encouraged to read widely. This included primary texts from leaders of the IRA, right wing and fascist organisations, the IMF and World Bank, Central American dictators. All sorts. Because perspective is important. Understanding other people is important.

Is it not important to know things anymore, even if you don't agree with them? I cannot fathom the idea that we should all read and follow within a tiny bubble. How does anyone learn or challenge anything.

As a historian I think MB probably knows that.

That sums it all up.

I think #nodebate often means 'I have neither the intelligence nor the facts to debate but if I shout loudly enough no one will notice'.

It's fucking depressing.