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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

The first of those columns was itself about Father's Day, from my dad's perspective, and his experience of raising me and my ten siblings by himself after my mum died. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Dad raised 11 kids alone. How will I cope with one? | Séamas O'Reillywww.theguardian.com Séamas O’Reilly’s father brought up a huge brood of children on his own. He also built their house and filled it with love, laughter and DIY catalogues. So how does that make Séamas feel now that he’s...

I even wrote an entire book about my childhood - which I'm forced to remind you is excellent, award-winning and very cool - that is in fact such a love letter to the honour and wonder of fatherhood, that it's given my dad a pretty big head about it all. geni.us/DidYeHearMam...

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?geni.us Pre-order now:

I take fatherhood seriously. More seriously, I'd wager, than the people screaming at me because they can't puzzle out a headline, let alone an article. Men weaponising their lack of reading comprehension so they can maintain the anger that lends structure to their grievances.

There is a meta-narrative to be had about how much Twitter has created the perfect petri dish for these people to thrive, but tbh I can't be arsed to describe something that every single normal person on that site has known since Elon took over: that place is fucking cooked.

But, for every guy in my mentions talking like the Zodiac killer representing himself in divorce court, there were about 20 being funny, kind and savage in my defence. If nothing else, it was a very timely reminder that sound people are not outnumbered, by a long shot. I won't lose hope just yet.

Glad to hear that.

I find it depressing that any of us feel the need to respond to these people considering they don't even live here. Here, meaning Earth, of course.

glad you took it all in good spirits. it is a real shame the internet elevates as many people as it does who seem to want to misrepresent you, but it is good to know those dinguses' bad faith nonsense was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the support

Sorry about the rabid weirdos. It's a nice piece and made me smile.

I thought it was a cute article. Sorry people are weird.

begging them to internalise the madness and step away from the screen