The thin veneer

A new post at Butterflies & Wheels features DNLee's story of a recent email exchange with someone named Ofek who's a blog editor at a biology web site.*

I'm sharing it to amplify the signal, and to add my voice to those expressing sympathy for Lee.

As I said at B&W, what was maybe most disturbing aspect of the exchange to me was the suddenness with which this Ofek's attitude transformed. It appears the professional politeness of his first two emails was just a thin veneer, ready to crack at the first sign of rejection or opposition (here in the form of politely declining a request to work for free) to reveal the contempt and hostility just beneath. It makes me think of others who've accepted the offer to write for the site completely unaware of what might have happened had they declined.

*I adore her response, though I could live without the use of "butt-hurt" and the comparisons to nonhuman animals.