I wrote this while I was living in Shetland, as a response to the furore over the campaign to allow women to participate equally in Lerwick's winter fire festival 'Up Helly Aa'.

The problem for me is not really that there is a powerful and entrenched lobby against this happening that's embarrassing for Shetland, obviously but what really bothered me was that a good number of the people arguing for the status quo almost immediately resorted to insulting the appearance of their adversaries. I remember looking up and thinking, this place isn't that big... I have to know some of these bullies, or they're my neighbours or friends of friends!

It's hard to live in a small community knowing that every time you interact with someone you don't know well there's the possibility that they're hiding a vicious little hate Troll behind the affable smile.

Oh, also, I really do have a pal whose Granddad was born 40 years before UHA started. K


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