The prairie dog brew-ha-ha

And the summer’s “Raising the Tenor of Online Debate” award goes to…

Stephen Whitworth, editor of the usually excellent Regina alt bi-weekly, prairie dog.

It all started as a genuine disagreement over whether or not an ad featuring a three-breasted woman and the slogan “better than beer” is sexist, and what responsibility struggling independent media outlets have to censor their advertising (prairie dog is a left-leaning workers’ cooperative that, like many other alt weeklies, is distributed for free and therefore entirely reliant on advertising dollars).

But it very quickly descended into name-calling and ad hominem attacks.

Be warned: reading this exchange is a lot like watching a slow-motion film of a man repeatedly banging his own head against a wall, as Whitworth’s utter lack of tact, apparent persecution complex, and piss-poor gender analysis leave him lashing out in every direction.

Ouch.