Category: Notes and Comment Blog

Mr Menno reports:

Well worth reading and watching the whole thing.

Tomorrow’s Times:

(It is just barely tomorrow in London but only just.)

The health secretary has ordered NHS bodies to review their membership of Stonewall and stop hiring diversity officers.

Steve Barclay wrote to ten leading national health organisations, including NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency and the Care Quality Commission, asking them to question whether their “diversity and inclusion memberships” provided good value.

Good value for money, he goes on to say.

I don’t think that’s the best way to put it, because Stonewall’s ideas of “diversity and inclusion” are bad ideas, even if Stonewall gives them away for free. But governments do have to think about the money.

Several organisations and institutions such as the BBC, Channel 4 and the House of Lords have pulled out of the Stonewall programme, which aims to promote workplace equality and inclusion.

That is, Stonewall aims to promote Stonewall’s idea of “equality and inclusion,” which leaves out equality and inclusion for a very few people such as for example women. Stonewall is all about the trans, and it’s not worth any money at all.

March 27 update: the LA Times reports more accurately:

WACO, Texas —  

Facing a potential indictment, former President Trump took a defiant stance at a rally Saturday in Waco, disparaging the prosecutors investigating him and predicting his vindication as he rallied supporters in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.

With a hand over his heart, Trump stood at attention when his rally opened with a song called “Justice for All,” performed by a choir of people imprisoned for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Some video from the attack was shown on big screens displayed at the rally site as the choir sang the national anthem and a recording played of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

End of update.

It’s pretty damn creepy to watch/listen to.

Is there any truth in what Billy Bragg said here?

Is it true that women’s rights were won at the expense of men? Is it true that a loss of rights for one set of people is what must happen for an excluded group to win their human rights?

I don’t think so.

There may be some truth in it in the case of women, because of the role of childbearing, which brings with it some physical needs (or lacks, if you want to put it that way) and some responsibilities that can’t be shared. There may be some truth in the claim that men have to give up or dial back some of their advantages and freedoms if women are to have equal rights. If men just walk away from the children they half-created then the women who bear the children lose a lot of freedoms, aka rights.

But other than that, I don’t think it is true. Exploiting the labor of groups of people deemed subordinate is not a right in the first place. Abusing them, shunning them, forcing them to accept bad housing in neglected neighborhoods – none of that is a right.

But maybe I’m overlooking something…

Former SNP Glasgow City Councillor has a wee laugh.

Hur hur har har hahahaha it’s so funny when women get soup thrown over them and punched in the face and terrorized by a screaming mob.

But he has never condoned violence against women, he says. Giggled about it, yes, but condoned it, no. The two are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

NPR is pathetic.

World Athletics Council, the governing body for international track and field, will bar transgender women athletes from elite competitions for women.

The council’s policy, which will be in effect starting March 31, largely targets athletes who transitioned from male to female after going through puberty as a male. It will also tighten rules for athletes with disorders of sexual development, cutting in half the level of testosterone athletes can have in order to compete in women’s events.

The policy “targets” male athletes ffs – as if it were pure meaningless cruelty to keep men out of women’s sports. Also calling male athletes “athletes who transitioned from male to female” is ridiculous, because there is no such thing. You can’t “transition” from male to female any more than you can “transition” from human to chimpanzee.

The council said they ultimately decided to prioritize “fairness and the integrity” of the female competition over inclusion.

That too is a stupid and nudgy way to put it. Why would “inclusion” even be on the table? NPR doesn’t burble about “inclusion” of adults in children’s sports, so why does it burble about “inclusion” of men in women’s sports?

At the center of the issue is whether transgender women [male athletes] have a physical advantage over other female competitors, even after lowering their testosterone levels. But there is limited scientific research involving elite transgender athletes — which the council also acknowledged.

And we just don’t know, do we, we have no clue – who is stronger, women or men? Oh gosh I just have no idea, nobody does, it’s like asking what kind of flowers bloom on the far side of the moon.

Alarmist subhead:

The ban is part of a growing resistance against transgender women and girls in female sports

That is, a growing resistance to men destroying women’s sports.

Meanwhile in the U.S., 19 states have so far banned transgender athletes from playing on girls or women’s sports teams. In statehouses across the country this year, there are dozens of more new and proposed laws that further curb transgender rights.

Men don’t have a right to destroy women’s sports. That’s not a right.

There was violence.

Controversial pro-woman and anti-transgender campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull said she thought she was going to die after she was attacked with tomato sauce and mobbed, forcing to cut her planned rally short.

…

Footage shows the controversial activist struggling to get through the crowd to escape the crushing mob with her security.

The crowd quickly became violent with supporters and protesters pushing against each other, while a metal barrier was pushed down by screaming counter-protesters.

One of them punched a woman in the face.

This wasn’t just noise, this was physical violence.

Co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw, issued a statement following the violent rally, saying the party stands with trans and non-binary whānau.

“Aotearoa should be a place where everyone can live their lives without fear of hate or discrimination,” he said.

Except women of course. All they can do is get punched in the face.

There it is. I saw mentions of it yesterday but not the action shot.

The visual of Trump’s insurrectiony fascist rally. Not the play-fascist kind the gender crazies rant about but the real thing – the actual murderous violent racist woman-hating wannabe Leader who had power once and could get it again. Trump’s insurrectiony fascist rally celebrating his attempted overthrow of the government.

He plays footage of his attempted coup at his rally.

He is beyond dangerous.

Marginalized communities!!

“The only good Nazi is a dead one, so just go kill yourselves.”

Trump hails the apocalypse in Waco.

Donald Trump, the former US president, continued to invoke retribution and violence on Saturday when he used the first rally of his 2024 election campaign to rail against prosecutors weighing a criminal charge against him.

Efforts by Trump’s team to steer a more conventional, disciplined candidacy have wilted in recent days as the 76-year-old unleashed words and images that – even by his provocative standards – are unusually dehumanising, menacing and dangerous.

He opened the rally by playing a song, “Justice for All”, that features a choir of men imprisoned for their role in the January 6 insurrection singing the national anthem intercut with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Insurrectionists singing “the national anthem” – it would be funny if they weren’t so insurrectiony.

Trump falsely predicted his own arrest on Tuesday last week and called for protests without adding that they should be peaceful. On his Truth Social platform he warned of “potential death & destruction” if he is eventually charged.

He also used increasingly racist rhetoric as he launched ever more personal attacks against Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, raising fears that supporters could try to lash out on his behalf. Trump even shared an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of Bragg.

Oh ffs. He has the brain of a pea yet he could ruin everything.

The 45th president repeated his false claim that the the 2020 presidential election was “rigged”, praised the rioters of January 6 and raged against the “weaponization of law enforcement”, branding the prosecutors overseeing multiple investigations into his conduct as “absolute human scum”.

Wearing a dark jacket, white shirt and no tie, he said: “I got bad publicity and my poll numbers have gone through the roof – would you explain this to me … It gets so much publicity that the case actually gets adjudicated in the press and people see it’s bullshit.”

Trump claim that his personal life “has been turned upside down” because of “prosecutorial misconduct by radical left maniacs” and framed the various investigations as political attacks coordinated by Democrats in Washington.

He said: “You will be vindicated and proud. The thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”

The thug and criminal is the one inside your jacket, Don.

Billy Bragg announces his pleasure at seeing mass violence against a woman.

Oh good, a man telling lesbians how to lesbian.

Who’s “we” Kemosabe?

What is The Dyke Project?

Not a dyke project.

What do “trans lesbians” and “queers of all persuasions” have to do with a dyke project?

Well there’s one thing about the Auckland disgrace – Kellie-Jay’s goal is to show what trans activism is all about, and by god the “activists” helped her with that.

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on In ugly scenes.

So KJK and JKR both dare to hold and express terrible views.

Funny how absolutely no-one ever spells out exactly what the views are which they find repugnant, nor can they even point to a tweet, or a video, in which either woman expresses any views which incite violence towards anyone.

If their views were so evil and so clearly expressed, trans activists would be able to quote them directly. They’d be retweeting videos of these genocidal statements 24/7. If they had this evidence, they wouldn’t fail to use it. But they don’t. They only have homeopathically diluted innuendo and alleged “dog whistles” , but mostly just flat-out lies. Can’t let facts get in the way of a good straw (wo)man. Letting Rowling and Keen be heard would put the lie to the accusations against them. Can’t have that. Can’t let people hear the calm expression of things that most people know and believe themselves. Instead, that potential for connection, agreement, and solidarity must be short-circuited and hijacked by imputing hatred and bigotry to the messengers, lest the majority find each other, their strength, and their voice, before the trans’ capture of law and institutions is complete. The coup is not yet fully consolidated. The public slandering of these women is intended as a clear warning to any and all who would dare say “No.” This use of fear and social atomization is how a smaller, weaker, but more ruthless group extracts and enforces compliance from a larger one.

It’s a race between the frantic, desperate attempts of trans activists to keep the truth (and reality) buried, and the increasing awareness on the part of a hitherto uninvolved general public, who are beginning to see the outlines of something dangerous and repugnant which is unfolding amongst them, without their consent. Clear language, accurate information, and honest reporting are key in this battle. Trans activists must conceal the truth at all costs. Unfortunately, they have powerful allies helping them. That major media outlets are on the side of furthering lies, intimidation, and ignorance is shocking and disheartening in itself. It continues to amaze me how, on this issue, much of the media have betrayed the very trust and integrity upon which they, and democracy itself, depends. They are willing collaborators who should know better. It is hard to believe they don’t know better; it’s their job to probe, question and doubt, to not be taken in. And the facts are so easy to see, which makes their betrayal that much worse; they’re in on it. That this in itself will fuel a backlash by actual fascists and others who would further weaken or stifle press freedom seems to escape them completely, and may yet prove to be tragically ironic.

This clip is particularly horrible. The heaving churning sea of people trying to get at KJK, as if she were a mass murderer or something. It’s gruesome.

Who these people are:

Who they are not:

Jo Bartosch has new (to me at least) information about the presence of Nazis at last Saturday’s Let Women Speak.

Politicians from across the spectrum have rushed to tar Keen, a women’s rights activist, as a ‘Nazi’. This is because a group of extreme right-wing thugs from the National Socialist Network were spotted near one of Keen’s rallies in Melbourne, Victoria last weekend. The black-clad men, who had no identifying insignia, were led by police to the steps of Melbourne’s Parliament House, where they proceeded to give a Nazi salute. These fascists had nothing to do with Keen’s rally. As Victoria Police have since made clear, the neo-Nazis were one of six groups to be holding protests at the same time as Keen’s. ‘Officers were required to form many lines between the different groups to protect the safety of all involved, stop breaches of the peace and prevent any physical violence’, a police statement said.

Ah, it was a sort of farmer’s market of groups. That clarifies things.

One of those attending Keen’s rally was newly elected Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Incredibly, she is now facing a vote on whether she should be expelled from the Liberal Party for the crime of ‘organising, promoting and attending’ the rally in Melbourne. In a statement, Deeming, who is herself Māori, explained that Keen’s rally was attended by women of all political affiliations, backgrounds and faiths. She added that those in attendance were unaware the group of men were fascists until they raised ‘their hands in a Hitler salute’. Deeming explained that she, ‘along with the few others who were facing them from the front, were horrified’. She said that her fellow protesters then called on the police to have the neo-Nazis removed, but their calls went unheeded.

Yeah yeah yeah never mind all that, she still has to be expelled so that the people expelling her can get a little glow of righteousitude.

It seems other politicians also wanted to join in the Keen-bashing. On Thursday, Tasmanian Green Party senator Nick McKim referred to Keen ‘and her ilk’ as ‘trans-exclusionary right-wing dropkicks’. The phrase ‘dropkick and punt’ is Aussie rhyming slang for women’s genitalia. 

Oh, dropkick and punt. The one I saw the other day was just dropkick. No wonder it made no sense.

Perhaps the most bizarre attempt to smear Keen came from New Zealand television station Discovery. On Wednesday, producers honed-in on a still from a video of Keen where she momentarily joined her forefinger and thumb in what Discovery described as a ‘hand signal linked to white supremacists’. To prevent offence, or arguably scrutiny, her ‘gesture’ was blurred out. To a sane eye, she was clearly idly gesticulating.

It wasn’t even momentarily, it was for a split second, as part of general random gesticulating while talking. People have lost their damn minds.

Steven Shaviro, a professor of English at Wayne State University, has a modest proposal.

So here is what I think about free speech on campus. Although I do not advocate violating federal and state criminal codes, I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic, or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them down.

When right-wing groups invite such speakers to campus, it is precisely because they want to provoke an incident that discredits the left, and gives more publicity and validation to these reprehensible views than they could otherwise attain. The protesters get blamed instead of the bigoted speaker; the university administration finds a perfect excuse to side publicly with the racists or phobes; the national and international press has a field day saying that bigots are the ones being oppressed, rather than the people those bigots actually hate being the victims of oppression.

In short, every time protestors shout down a racist or transphobic speaker, they are indulging their own moral sense of validity at the expense of actually strengthening the very bigots against whom they are protesting.

The exemplary historical figure in this regard is Sholem Schwarzbard, who assassinated the anti-Semitic butcher Symon Petliura, rather than trying to shout him down. Remember that Schwarzbard was acquitted by a jury, which found his action justified.

Minor point first – funny kind of professor of English who writes “they are indulging their own moral sense of validity at the expense of actually strengthening the very bigots.” He means at the price of or the cost of; “at the expense of” doesn’t mean at the cost of, it means to the detriment or neglect of. “She went for a walk at the expense of doing her homework.”

Major point of course is cool cool cool, academic says it’s admirable to kill people with unapproved views, and lumps women who know what men are in with racists and genociders.

Meanwhile, at the Arts Council…

The Arts Council England created a “toxic” culture of “fear” for staff who dared to question transgender views, a senior grant officer has said as she accuses the charity of harassment and victimisation.

Denise Fahmy claims Britain’s biggest arts quango risked “closing down free speech” after a grant was withdrawn from a charity that campaigns exclusively for lesbian, gay and bisexual rights.

Ms Fahmy, 54, who has worked for 15 years as an Arts Council England (ACE) grant officer, says she was targeted after she questioned why £9,000 of funding was withdrawn from LGB Alliance.

That’s not just transgender views, it’s actions. Homophobic actions at that.

She’s quit but she’s taking them to court for harassing her for being gender critical.

In April last year, LGB Alliance was awarded the grant to make a film for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to celebrate how the lives of gay men had improved under the monarch’s reign.

However, the money was withdrawn amid claims the alliance was transphobic, an allegation the charity denies.

At an ACE staff meeting held a few days before the cash was pulled, Simon Mellor, ACE’s deputy chief executive, accused LGB Alliance of being “a divisive organisation with a history of anti-trans exclusionary activity”.

What is “divisive” supposed to mean? All organizations are “divisive” in the sense of being for some particular purpose as opposed to all purposes. Trans is not the same as lesbian/gay, so why are all LG organizations required to be inclooosive of trans people or be slapped with “divisive” and “anti-trans activity”? Also where the hell are the adults?

At that meeting, Ms Fahmy spoke saying she was “shocked” by Mr Mellor’s remarks, which she felt demonstrated ”worrying “bias” that threatened to affect funding of the arts.

Good. Well done.

However, a petition was set up accusing LGB Alliance of being a “cultural parasite and a glorified hate group” whose supporters were “neo-Nazis, homophobes and Islamophobes”. One of around 100 signatories to the petition, which appeared on the Art Council’s staff intranet, even said the group was similar to the Ku Klux Klan.

Is the whole world run by the people who comment at Pharyngula?

Speaking publicly for the first time, Ms Fahmy told the Sunday Telegraph she was “sad” to be leaving the “really hard working organisation” in which she had “never seen bias in grant-making before”.

However, she said she felt she had to speak out about the harassment she said she experienced because of so-called “gender wars”.

It’s funny how many women have felt exactly the same thing.

“I have seen too many people’s careers and their mental health ruined by spurious allegations of transphobia, especially in the wider arts community.

…

Ms Fahmy is now using a crowdfunding website called “Fighting bias at the top of the Arts Council” to raise £50,000 for her legal team to fight her case at an employment tribunal hearing in May.

She claims that if she wins she will prevent the public sector from “bullying staff” or deprive funds from organisations which question whether it is possible to change sex or are gender critical.

Let’s hope she does win.

Originally a comment by latsot on Not letting women speak.

I know some women who were there, I was seriously worried. They are safe, though! My friend spotted there was going to be violence and managed to take her group away from the crowd before it happened.

One of her friends was beaten, though. I found myself typing “thankfully it was not serious” and while I’m indeed thankful it’s not serious, it appals me that that’s the sort of thing I have to be thankful for.

She reports:

A 70 year old woman being punched in the face.

A child being pushed over so that a trans rights activist could scream more closely in another woman’s face

Two women or one woman and a girl lying on the ground in the middle of the crush as KJK was helped away from the crowd

No police manning the barriers

No police anywhere in the crowd, only a few on the periphery.

A TIM repeatedly flashing his moobs at a young lesbian and seeming to move to occupy the women’s toilets

All of this and more has been corroborated.

And this is what one woman saw with her own eyes.