Laurie Penny's latest book received scathing reviews from the likes of Julie Bindel, and Sarah Ditum in the Times. Poor Penny was so upset that she claimed she now had PTSD, and put it all down to nasty people being nasty – "Some transphobes and angry faux-liberals in the British press went on the attack in a coordinated, vicious way that took everyone by surprise and basically destroyed the release"…"Wildly hateful reviews and straight-up personal attacks were placed prominently in a number of major broadsheets. The focus was almost wholly on my sexuality, my gender identity and sexual history.." [No it wasn't].
It all came to something of a head when Julie Bindel joked that she had PTSD after a man on her train started eating Cheesy Wotsits, and JK Rowling replied, "Thoughts and prayers, Julie." Penny jumped right in: "Hi Joanne. I’ve loved so much of your writing over the years. I’m the person whose mental health history is being mocked in this tweet, along with everyone else who has experienced CPTSD- including a lot of your readers. I hope you don’t think it’s ok to shame people like this."
As recounted at Glinner's, Rowling replied:
She went on:
I have the self-awareness to know that however upsetting the death and rape threats your fellow activists throw at me are, there are literally billions of people suffering more than I am. You claim to be suffering PTSD because of *bad book reviews*
Bad reviews are part and parcel of being a writer. If they cause you equivalent trauma to being bombed out of your house or witnessing the murder of loved ones, maybe find a job where dishing it out, but not being able to take it, is a key requirement.
Moral: never get into an argument with JK Rowling. She's rather good with words….
Mick Hartley 
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