Thanks for the article Marijam! I agree that it’s bizarre that you were banned from the group without notice.
From what you’ve told us, your criticism of the event doesn’t sound inappropriate at all. Regardless, if the tone or contents were deemed inappropriate then that should have been discussed with you.
However, I would like to offer some criticism in return:
> they are unable to step back and reflect on a bigger issue, instead just viewing it as a personal attack.
You say that people are too quick to see criticism as a personal attack, and that this is a rampant issue. I feel like you are not making an effort to improve this yourself, as you go on at length about how David W. Smith:
1) Has nothing to contribute to WIGJ
2) Is not a righteous supporter of gender equality
3) He couldn’t win any argument with you
Then you go so far as to go through his Twitter feed and post a tweet where he’s celebrating EWIGJ at a posh restaurant.
I disagree with how David W. Smith dealt with this entire situation, the same as you, but I think that you’re going out of your way to make this a personal attack against him. I feel like that distracts from the bigger issue at hand and will only encourage people to ‘pick a side’ and hunker down.
I implore you to be as critical of your own work as you are of other’s, because as you’ve said yourself: regarding criticism as a personal attack stifles discussion and only seeks to encumber meaningful progress.
Criticism aside, I think you wrote a meaningful and insightful article and I’m glad you wrote it.