Yes, precisely, and that is why the repeated, "But why won't you explain?" that happens online and offline is so aggravating. I mean, yes, I explained it to Nick because he's my friend, but it was still immensely tiresome even though he was really, really grateful after and we were better friends for it--I rarely do Feminism 101 or anything like that for a random stranger. Because chances are they won't get it, and then you'll have gone through all that for nothing.

And the only time I don't get flustered is when I've gone past that and straight into complete fury. Which is what happened here. And then I got a day to cool down and think very carefully about what I wanted out of this exchange. Ideal circumstances--and I was still so tired afterward.