The Author, Séamas O'Reilly: So, this has been extremely strange. Yesterday I published this column about my son's thin grasp on the merits of Father's Day. It was - I thought - a fairly sweet piece, and initial reaction from readers was very positive. And then things got weird... www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

So, this has been extremely strange. Yesterday I published this column about my son's thin grasp on the merits of Father's Day. It was - I thought - a fairly sweet piece, and initial reaction from readers was very positive. And then things got weird... www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

My son is suspicious of the idea of Father’s Day. Why would he want to celebrate the lesser of his two parents? | Seamas O'Reillywww.theguardian.com I’m aware of sounding a bit desperate as I explain the concept to him

Then, it got picked up by Men's Rights accounts on - this might shock you - Twitter, who saw it as a clear case of misandry because of the term "lesser parent" - a reference that is clearly couched in ironic terms even in the headline, but which is perfectly well explained in the article itself.

It eventually became clear that the original account thought I was a woman which, doubtless, accelerated their ire. But soon I was getting mania in my mentions, and a fairly revealing glance at an ecosystem of angry men primed to take offence at the misandry they see everywhere.

This guy went back into my timeline to grab a photo of me with my son when he was a baby, and come out with this racist mess. This also forced me to explain that the immaculate conception refers to Mary being conceived without sin herself, not the subsequent virgin birth of Christ, which was a pain.

I tried to defuse things by replying this to the biggest account involved, but it wasn't working???

In more patient moments, I explained that I write from personal experience, that the headline is clearly a joke, and that said joke is amply explained by the article itself- but this was pointless, because these people needed to be angry, and any explanation would spoil that.

As others were kind enough to point out, I've written about fatherhood's joys and triumphs more than just about anyone else they could possibly target. The headline they were angry about is the latest in six years' worth of weekly columns about fatherhood. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

The Séamas O’Reilly column | The Guardianwww.theguardian.com Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

This made me laugh out loud

Can’t imagine why that didn’t work…

😂 I'm sorry you're dealing with an avalanche of Angry Man Grievance™️, but this reply made my morning.

THEY NEVER GET THE IMMACULATE BIT RIGHT

I once won a prize (a holy card) at a Late Night Catechism performance because I was the only person *in a room full of Catholics* who knew what the Immaculate Conception was!

It was this one, specifically. I still have it!

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i desperately need to know what the holy card is, i am imagining building the most blessed deck for poker here

MRAs remain undefeated as some of the weirdest dudes out there

WTF

Also, that photo is adorable

Jesus Christ I’m very sorry

why would you do a thing like that? it is insane. something, something, pearl before swine

“specialist working with abused males” HUH hmmm that’s a fun new way to say “incel whisperer”

It's actually very masculine to have a hissy fit over tangentially perceived online slights

The way people can so easily rationalise a narrative into an absolute fact without any need for confirmation will never cease to amaze me.

my Men Are Human username has people asking questions already answered by my username

ah I’m sure there was a nuanced and fruitful debate

MRAs: dudes who have lost custody, and when you interact with them you’ll understand why

We confer life, then a man’s job is done. Work smarter, not harder. Amirite?

Since I’m not insane and have of course experienced both my kids (6 & 4 years old) whine “I want mama!” when I’ve tried to soothe them as I assume every dad does, I can promise you it was a funny column if you’re not a right-wing dipshit.

May their hate warm the tins they eat their dinners directly from in their drafty flats where the phones never ring on Fathers’ Day.

Perfectly put.

Phil Mitchell: Specialist Working with Abused Males

It's a lovely piece that had me laughing from the first sentence. I bought two copies of your book. Gave the other one to my mom who has mild dementia. She's read it several times and always calls to tell me how delightful it is. Thank you for the joy you bring. Ignore the eedjits.

This is so lovely to hear, thank you both so much for reading!!

p.s. I can relate to your son's birthday timing disgruntlement. I am my Dad's first kid and my birthday (tomorrow) is within a week of Father's Day every year. But Dad is 90 and I'm glad now we've been able to share this specialness together all my life.

Well, please accept my early birthday greetings!!

Thank you. Please give yourself and your little guy a hug from me. Wishing him a lovely birthday and you an immensely wonderful Father's Day now and forever!

What a lovely thing

She is also from a large family and lost both her parents at a young age so she could relate to so many of the things Séamas wrote about. And she loves to read, so having books she can relate to and laugh along with is priceless for her.

Are you trying to make me cry? Hahaha

Oh, no! I just wanted Séamas to know how deeply his novel has touched folks because the men going after him are not just deeply weird, they are fucking toxic and outside of what humanity should be (which is something much more like him, and us).

I think we're both deeply touched, and I appreciate it greatly!

Your joke indicated a level of security that the men replying and having meltdowns over have experienced. They're fragile and your joke triggered their fears over being disposable.

I thought this was the sweetest Father’s Day thing I’ve read!

This sounds exhausting. I'm so sorry.

Oh Twitter. If there’s one thing that certain, it’s that what children want in a father figure is someone who’ll spend the entire day on the internet angrily defending himself against something he misunderstood as an attack on his unearned integrity. You know, good old dad.

Lovely wee piece. And I'd not have got around to reading it if the loons hadn't moaned about it & making you repost it, so all's well that ends well!

If you can put out a quality column that also pisses off a rabble of grievance-concocting chucklefucks, I'd call that a good day. So...you had a good day

It *is* a sweet piece. These people are so insecure (and clearly only read the headline)

Ah, I'm sorry this happened to you. It's really shitty. Fwiw I read the whole thing out loud to my partner on the day it was published and we were in stitches (at, you know, the JOKE)

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