Comments confession

I admit it, I have a problem. I keep on reading the comments. I know I shouldn't, but I do it anyway. Every single time. It's just so hard to resist, even though it almost invariably makes me sad. In general, I believe in people – I think, on the whole, people are smart, and capable of great kindness and tolerance. The comments section of almost any article seems to indicate I'm wrong on that one.

But then again, on the whole, smart, kind and tolerant people don't often comment on articles. So the people who do comment are those who feel particularly strongly about the subject matter (which doesn't always lead to the most tactful phrasing), or those who are too self-obsessed to realise that other people have valid feelings and opinions too. And trolls, of course. And naive people like me, who want to make the world a better place, and think they can help others to see the point that has been so spectacularly missed. But the comments section of almost any article seems to indicate I'm wrong on that one, too.

It seems like every time an article appears mentioning how breastfeeding is actually better than the alternatives, at least one person has to comment that that's all very well if you can do it, but some people can't, and some people choose not to, and how dare anyone suggest they should be shamed for this? Plus formula has never done THEM any harm, and they know a breastfed infant who's always sick....and so on and so forth.

Doesn't all this seem a bit, well, irrelevant, to anyone? I mean, imagine this...

Dear Water Fascist

I was appalled to read your judgemental article in 'Sporting Today' entitled “Swimming – it could be the sport for you!” There are so many things wrong with it, I hardly know where to start!

Most of us – shock horror – live on dry land. And if we want to cross a stretch of water, well, that's what aeroplanes and bridges are for! So your point about how 'it could save your life' is totally irrelevant in this country, and is really meant for people who send all their time on boats.

You completely ignore the fact that a lot of people find swimming really hard, and just can't do it. My lifeguard friend informs me that many people are not naturally buoyant, and are simply physically incapable of remaining afloat. Did you stop and think for even one minute how they might feel to read 'it's one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise out there, and it's fun too”? How insensitive! Way to make them feel guilty!

And then there are those who, like me, simply decided that swimming wasn't for them. That is MY CHOICE, and you have no right to force me into the water! I prefer not to show my body off in public pools, with their communal changing rooms and showers. Maybe I just have more modesty than these swimming crazies who love to flaunt their bodies and rub the noses of decent people in the stench of chlorine. How dare you shame me for making a different choice to you? I'll have you know that I am super fit, unlike my obese, diabetic cousin, who goes to the pool every weekend, and even went surfing in the sea last summer, where she nearly DIED, and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. And yet SOMEHOW I survived paddling in rock pools, despite my inability to do the breaststroke. It must be a miracle!

If someone actually wants to swim, more power to them. As long as they cover up properly – after all, if you wouldn't be comfortable wearing a bikini to go shopping, why would you think it's OK to dress like that just because you are going swimming? But, provided no one is forcing me to watch their prune-like, wrinkled behinds as they skinny dip, I'm happy to live and let live. Why oh why can't you people do the same?

Lucy - Landlocked, and Loving it!

Did I miss anything? (I couldn't manage to fit comparisons to sex/urinating in there, and besides, that little chestnut has it's own post brewing....)