It's not often I'm surprised by the Daily Mail these days, over time you almost grow accustomed to their bile as it turns into white noise in the distance but their treatment of Charlotte Proudman is something that has taken me by surprise as they sink to new lows in a bid to publicly shame someone who harmlessly stood up to misogyny.
A 'Feminazi' the Mail called Charlotte on the front page of their paper this week. To be fair, if anyone knows a Nazi when they see one, it's The Daily Mail.
The Feminazi Vs The Leering Lawyer they're calling it. It has to be said, The Mail seem to have actually confused themselves on this one.
Who is right and who is wrong? Does a Leerer outdo a Nazi? Are you a Feminazi for standing up to Leering? Is a Feminazi actually a good thing? Have we had Nazi's wrong this whole time? Who knows? I don't think the Daily Mail does.
And now, in a sudden twist of fate - dramatic music - the Feminazi has become the leerer *Gasp!* And, wait for it, Leerer has now become some kind of incestuous monster!!
This has to be Andrew Lloyd Webber's worst play to date.
Suddenly this pantomime being played out in public is losing all of its meaning and the real issues are being lost in the mist.
The reality is, if a man, whether 30 years Charlottes senior or not, would have walked up to Charlotte in the street and complimented her on her face, she'd be right to be a bit fucking freaked out. And she would've been right to tweet about it and everyone would agree how weird it was, favouriting her tweet and asking if she was OK Hun?
But because it's a private message, because she's a lawyer, because it was 'just a compliment' she should just take it on the chin and be grateful?
Charlotte didn't make the story front page worthy, Charlotte didn't call national news stations and ask them to do a feature. Charlotte didn't choose to be called a Feminazi by the Daily Mail, although if she did as a way of Trolling the Daily Mail then fair play.
The only thing Charlotte has done, her only crime, was to speak out about being made to feel uncomfortable by a man making an unnecessary comment.
What Charlotte has done is to make an example of what many women have to deal with every single day. What Charlotte has done is to use her position and the platform she has been given to use her voice to speak for other women who have to deal with misogyny every single day - women who might not have the courage or voice, or indeed the platform to stand up against it.
The fact Charlotte is now being turned into some kind of Martyr for having the audacity to stand up to a creepy message shows how the point is being completely missed by most.
Whether or not the story is worthy of the national attention is a different argument for a different time (yes it is) but while it is of national interest can we at least make sure we are discussing the right thing? Can we all just double check that we are on the same page and not missing the point all together?
Just to clarify, the story is about a man sending a woman a private message about her looks. The story is not about the woman sharing the message.
While we have the story in the national news we should at least use it as an opportunity to look at the abuse and every day sexism woman face every single day. What we should not do is demonise Charlotte for speaking out and completely undermine the actual point in hand and the women who are made to feel uncomfortable by men every single day.