The Manchester Students’ Union has updated its statement about its no-platforming of Julie Bindel.
They’ve withdrawn the no-platform and apologized?!
No.
The pre-update portion:
Last week we received a visiting speaker request form for Julie Bindel to be invited to speak at a society event.
As per our external speaker processes, it was flagged as potentially in breach of our safe space policy.
After reviewing the request in more detail, the Students’ Union has decided to deny this request based on Bindel’s views and comments towards trans people, which we believe could incite hatred towards and exclusion of our trans students.
You can read the full safe space policy here.
The post-update portion:
Updated 07.10.2015
Further to our previous decision to ban Julie Bindel from speaking on campus, we are extending this decision to Milo Yiannopoulos.
We have been made aware of various comments lambasting rape survivors and trans* people, and as such we are concerned for the safety of our students on the topic of this event. He is a rape apologist and has repeatedly used derogatory and debasing ableist language when describing members of the trans* community.
As such, this undermines the principles of liberation enshrined in the Students’ Union, as outlined in the Safe Space policy. We believe these views could incite hatred against both trans* people and women who have experienced sexual violence. As we believe it is probable these views would be aired in this discussion should he be allowed to speak on campus, we have no choice but to ban him
As we made clear to the society, this means that this event with the proposed speakers will not be going ahead under the banner of the Students’ Union, with our support or using our resources.
Something jumps out at me.
As we believe it is probable these views would be aired in this discussion should he be allowed to speak on campus
You know what jumps out? They never said that about Julie Bindel.
You know what else? It’s probably true about Milo Yiannopoulos. That’s what he does. I’ve watched him do it. It’s probably not true about Julie Bindel. Yiannopoulos makes a point of insulting people in person; Bindel does not.
Yet Yiannopoulos was no-platformed as an afterthought. He’s a genuinely mean, combative, insulting character, a shock jock, a dirty fighter – yet it’s Bindel who was treated as Most Dangerous.
Something’s wrong with this picture.
Comments
6 responses to “They have been made aware”
I wonder if it has something to do with Milo having a penis.
That’s unpossible.
I don’t remember needing others to decide I should be protected from speakers back when I was at university. Certainly there were speakers who were controversial and caused ire and disruption. The whole fucking point of going to Uni is to learn to think critically for yourself though. That involves being forced to defend and develop your own views, while being exposed to the views of others, just as much as academic work.
Does the language about “the safety of our students” refer to their physical safety? Is it that they’re worried that there would be riots if certain speakers were permitted to speak? Are they worried about actual (that is, physical) violence?
Or are they worried about students being exposed to unpleasant (or maybe even vicious) ideas or opinions?
I don’t know. I think maybe it’s “it means whichever you want it to mean – or both, if you prefer that.”
Well, they didn’t have any troop of zealots buzzing in their ear about Milo. So they defaulted to welcoming him, on the strength of NOT having been ‘made aware’ of just what kind of asshole he is?
Having a ‘no platform’ policy requires someone being responsible for vetting EVERY single speaker who might appear. Too much work?