Artemis and Athena are not impressed
This crap again. A conference called PantheaCon, meaning I assume AllthegoddessesCon, explains why after inviting the well-known scholar Max Dashu to speak it then told her to stay away. It explains, of course, by pouring abuse on Max and licking the bums of people it claims would be terrified by her presence.
To the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming members of the PantheaCon community:
It was a mistake to include Max Dashu in the program and I want to personally apologize to each of you. I have communicated with many of you directly and have read every letter sent personally. I want to apologize for my part in causing the fear, pain, and sense of exclusion that many of you felt. Providing a safe and inclusive space is of primary importance to me and the convention staff. In order to provide that safe space, all trans-exclusionary advocates and those in close association with them will not be presenting at PantheaCon for the foreseeable future. I hope we can have healthy debates about our many societal issues at this and future Cons.
That basically amounts to saying Max is a bad bad scary dangerous bad person, and that they did a bad bad thing inviting her to speak in the first place. And yet – you’ll not be surprised to learn – Max is not a bad bad scary dangerous bad person, and it’s disgusting to behold these people who invited her to speak now flinging shit at her in public.
To all our PantheaCon community:
I also apologize to the whole PantheaCon community for the chaos and confusion caused by our dis-inviting both Max Dashu and Witchdoctor Utu after they had been accepted in our program. Please be assured that this will not happen again. In the future, we will make every effort to more carefully verify presenter credentials and check a variety of sources in our background research. We will also consider the social and political impact of each presenter and presentation in making decisions going forward. If a presenter seems too controversial or divisive to community members, we hope to determine that before the program is published.
Look at that. There’s not even any substance to it. “Too controversial or divisive to community members” – what on earth does that mean? Controversial on what subject or subjects?
The only hint is the recipient list – “the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming members of the PantheaCon community.” So trans people have an automatic and sweeping veto over all speakers who seem too controversial or divisive? But given how touchy the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming community is, that would be almost everyone – except fellow members of the the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming community.
These people, I swear. They’ll kill off intellectual life if we let them.
And they can assure that by disinviting anyone who says things a particular group doesn’t like. in other words, we’ll sit and discuss how awful TERFs are, but not let them have any say in the matter. And TERF is very broadly defined.
So why’s it not been renamed Transnonbinnoncon(othergoddessesneednotapply)thea?
Fear! Pain! Exclusion! Chaos! Confusion!
Jesus fucking christ, give a rest.
This is not grownup behavior.
#4
Taking fright at the mere presence of a person they don’t like the look of, it’s very reminiscent of toddler behaviour.
The only debate they seem to want is preaching to the choir.
Of course it is toddler behaviour. Toddlerhood is the period of our lives when we are still as solipsistic as we could not help but be when we were babies, but have language and some power over our own bodies. Most people outgrow that worldview over the next few years, but a sizeable minority never do. I know that women in particular are either trained or have some instinct to cope with toddler behaviour by soothing and indulging where safe to do so; what is amazing is that so few people have recognised that these people aren’t toddlers.
“But given how touchy the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming community is, that would be almost everyone – except fellow members of the the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming community.”
At least those members who agree to behave abominably. The ones who don’t toe the line also need not apply n