Um, what? So you think an “unwillingness to empathise” should not be stated, but you are OK with the graphic details of the authors sexual experiences with her father being stated in this article?! So it is freedom of expression for some but not for others?! That’s completely wrong. Stop commenting, since you clearly…

You have hit the nail on the head! It’s projection: blaming others for what we ourselves are guilty of.

Like who? All I can see is comments from people like me who think *your* comments were inappropriate. You are guilty yourself of what you accuse others of: diminishing someone else’s suffering. But you can’t see it.

It was your initial comment that provoked the hostility: it was unsympathetic, snide and totally unnecessary. Your comments have been worse than “I have zero interest in trying to understand this”, but you can’t see it, too much up your self-righteous ass.

Very well said! I agree. I suspect Rudebarb just gets off on feeling “superior” to people by calling them out on their “inappropriate” comments. No real empathy at all.

You are a very heartless kind of person. You have expressed no empathy at all for hellagrossedoutwtfman’s history of abuse, only criticised her for having trouble empathising with the author’s experience. “Please keep reminding me that you are a victim” : what a nasty thing to say! I really think you should stop…

“Doesn’t help anyone”??? How do you know? Maybe someone else will read those comments and feel relieved that they are also unable to empathise with the author’s experience! Frankly, it is *your* comments that are not helping anyone; why can’t you just live and let live? Don’t you think that the author took into…

Very well said! That is what I was thinking too. Rudebarb’s comments are very judgmental and insensitive.

I can understand your reaction totally. Sorry to hear what you went through. You have as much right to comment honestly as anyone else does. It’s obvious to me as well that you do not have an issue with the author. Ignore the self-righteous trolls chastising you just for expressing your opinion.

It sounds to me that you are the one who has a problem with empathy in general, since you are being so judgmental towards someone who has suffered from being abused by her stepfather for so many years. Hence her reaction to this piece: why is she not allowed to express her frank disgust? Doesn’t she have just as much…