Thanks for participating peacefully
Where they make a desert and call it peace (ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appelant – Tacitus).
Riley Gaines
hit out at[sharply criticized] San Francisco State University (SFSU) after an email was sent to all students thanking those who “participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event” when demonstrators stormed a talk being held by Gaines and allegedly physically assaulted her.
Hey students thanks for not murdering Riley Gaines. Nice one.
A video posted on social media showed Gaines being escorted to safety by police after dozens of protestors got inside the venue, with the ex-college athlete claiming she was “physically hit twice by a man,” and trapped in an empty classroom for three hours.
Ya see that’s participating peacefully. She’s not dead or anything, so peace, man.
An email was sent to SFSU students by Jamillah Moore, the university’s vice president for student affairs, discussing Thursday’s events.
Moore thanked those students who “participated peacefully in Thursday’s event”, whilst making no mention of the disruption or alleged assault on Gaines.
Yes thanks a lot students. The one who kept screaming “Fuckyoubitch!!”? Thank her especially; really good work.
She added: “Diversity promotes critical discussions, new understandings and enriches the academic experience. But we may also find ourselves exposed to divergent views and even views we find personally abhorrent.
“These encounters have sometimes led to discord, anger, confrontation and fear. We must meet this moment and unite with a shared value of learning.”
The email directed students to the university counselling service, and its “equality and community inclusion” initiative, as “you reflect, process and begin to heal.”
Aw the poor kids, I hope they can heal quckly and thoroughly so that they can go scream at more women who don’t want to be cheated out of wins or scholarships or prizes by men.
I was initially inclined to think the VP was trying to thank the subset of students who protested peacefully, while pointedly not addressing the ones who were disruptive and violent. She did say, explicitly, that she was “proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions”, implying there were other moments of which she was not proud. But now that I’ve read the whole letter, nah, I think she’s ignoring the violence entirely, referring only to “discord, anger, confrontation, and fear”.
Please describe in detail how the fact (or even the idea) that men can’t be women is “personally abhorrent.” Please explain how this is no more than a “divergent view” that must be shouted down. Does not the truth of this simple statement have any bearing at all on the discussion? The reality of sex is no more a “divergent view” than the existence of rain and sunshine. See how far you get protesting them. I can see how someone heavily invested in the belief that men can be women might find the reality of sex inconvenient, but that inconvenience, however passionately (or violently) expressed, does nothing at all to change the facts of the matter. If this factuality is irrelevent, please let us all know when you’ll be congratulating peacefull protests against gravity and the inability of two solid objects occupying the same space simultaneously. For some, these facts could very well be as personally abhorent (there are more people injured in falls than there are trans identified people, and it sure would be handy not to run into walls and trees), though you’re less likely to get a crowd of people gathering to bully others into agreeing that they aren’t just the consequences of the laws of material reality. Please explain how the intractibly binary nature and immutability of sex, is any different than gravitation and the impenetrability of matter. I’ll be right here, wishing I could float through walls.
I notice that one of their slogans is: “Trans rights are human rights.”
What they really mean is: “Trans rights are fascist rights.”
To all lefties inclined to support these bastards I can only say, ‘you lie down with dogs; you get up with fleas.’
[…] a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Thanks for participating […]
I’ve been driving a lot this weekend so have binge listened to Savage Minds episodes. I’ve just finished the 27 July 22 interview with Az Hakeem. He referred to one type of typical trans person as prone to autistic fury. When an internalised set of rules that the autistic person relies on is broken they break into an uncontrolled rage. The examples he gave were an autistic child who would rage because their peas were touching their carrots or in the case of the autistic trans person that they have internalised that if you have long hair, a dress, and makeup, then you’re a woman. Problem is that some people will refuse to see you as a woman and so autistic fury breaks out. He described this manifesting as trans protesters screaming slogans and obscenity to try and silence speakers at events. As I was listening all I could see was that Riley Gaines video. He also talked about the class of TRA that tries to ruin the lives and careers of anyone who speaks out, describing them as trans terrorists rather than trans activists. I think the phrase he used was them being like the Taliban but with an access all areas pass. Good interview.
Has she stopped with the anti-vax shit? Ever since she brought on that “mass formation psychosis” weirdo I found her unlistenable…
Who?
BKiSA, back in early 2022 I listened to a couple of her covid focussed episodes and like you found them unlistenable and stopped completely. over the last few weeks I’ve been working through the back catalogue and just delete any where the topic is covid related. based on our experience in NZ I think she’s wrong.
That said, a couple of the episodes I listened to over the weekend that were focussed on women’s issues diverged briefly into covid. Three things really stood out:
– The acknowledgement that the state of knowledge at the time was very much a moving feast and so some of her arguments might have a point, but not others.
– Without a doubt lockdowns did have a negative mental health and financial health effect on many people, but then so did them, family or friends catching covid. So yes, she has a point, but it’s not a straightforward just don’t lockdown and carry on either.
– She outright said in one episode that as most of those who died were in their 80’s or older, we should have just let that happen because their time was up anyway. I couldn’t disagree more.
I suspect she leans into the eat healthy and take the right supplements and your immune system will take care of things – and tough luck for the old and sick.
NZ had several strict lockdowns, restrictions on borders and at times movement between regions, mask mandates, and some occupations were required to vaccinate. most tolerated it grudgingly, some hatred it, some have gone full on mental over it. NZ is one of I think two countries in the world whose average lifespan actually increased during the pandemic.
The other bone I would pick with her is that she is very much anti-war and therefore does not support western involvement in Ukraine. I couldn’t disagree with her more. I don’t believe in appeasing bullies and aggressors.
Ophelia, Julian Vigo
Ohhh. She’s a bad apple. She started a conversation with me via DM on Facebook and almost immediately lapsed into abuse. I backed away and have avoided her ever since. (It was years ago.) Not a reasonable interlocutor.
Interesting. I found the Savage Minds podcast from here, maybe from a comment? I can’t recall. I certainly find a lot of her and her guests discussions around women’s issues and the whole trans thing interesting (potential for confirmation bias of course). Her anti-covid management critique is I think really weak and problematic, as with her stance on the Ukraine war. I do sympathise with her distaste for Monsanto and their corporate behaviour. I think the case against glyphosate per se is overstated, but the way it links into Monsanto’s behaviour more generally is valid. I have no idea what she’s like as a person (I’ll bow to your direct knowledge). My impression from the podcast is that she’s intelligent and can be interesting, but extremely prickly, volatile and prone to fringy beliefs at times.
There is a really good interview with Dennis Kavanagh on 5/5/22 talking about the Alison Bailey case btw.
I’m sure they are interesting! She is indeed very intelligent. I didn’t mean to imply you shouldn’t listen to her or anything. Just saying she’s…erm…volatile.
The anti-vaxx, anti Covid mitigation measures attitudes among some of the more prominent voices against gender ideology is one reason it is so hard getting people on the left to listen to and think about gender critical ideas. I have found myself really questioning whether I’m right about gender ideology when I see some of the conspiracy theory adjacent things people I follow on Twitter say about Covid.
Eava, I feel that same unease, but I remember that a stopped clock is right twice a day (not very original, I know, but that’s me this morning…no originality from lack of sleep). And I find the anti-vax, anti-science views on the left equally annoying – maybe more. In their case, it’s all about Big Pharma and chemicals, when you could be using supplements and homeopathic remedies (at least they’re not pushing Clorox). Add to that the gender-woo, and I find myself without a home on the left, and unwilling to even consider moving into the sewer on the right.