Rabble Rousing and Babble Boycotting
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The popular left leaning Canadian website Rabble.ca fired babble.ca moderator Audra Trower Williams this week through an email after she failed to meet the requirements of her job.
Audra, a resident of Halifax, has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the site. Her job termination has lead to a boycott and strike of the babble.ca forum by some of the sites frequent contributors.
This might sound cold but, boycotting a strong left wing movement because of a dispute between employer/employee is not justified. Rabble came forward with a statement on the situation suggesting there had been further discussions prior the email. But of course, some details are still unclear.
I would agree that there are certainly more respectable ways to have removed Audra as moderator of babble.ca. (An email?! How very grade-six of them.) But if she wasn't meeting her job requirements then her removal in and of itself is justified.
To be honest this reminds me of the CAW.
Unions should not be boycotting the NDP because of a dispute between the party and an individual member. Who is going to fight for the labour cause and how can the party continue on as a beloved social democratic alternative without the support of one of it's founding constituents?
Nor should individuals be boycotting Rabble on the same premise.
The quality and quantity of progressive intellectual left wing discussion and ideas that Rabble offers are hard to be found in the same popular Canadian context elsewhere. Admittedly so are the moderating skills of Audra Trower Williams who commanded respect within the forums from everyone. And while it is disappointing to see her go (the same can't be said for Buzz Hargrove though) I have no intentions of letting minor disputes hinder the left wing movement.
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