We have been told, over and over, that the women’s sex-based rights campaign needs to be more nuanced, more polite, and more sympathetic to those opposing sex-based rights.
We have been told we should use the language and the parameters of debate those who oppose us dictate. We have been told we should listen to their wishes, and include those in our plans.
Let’s take our inspiration from those masters of gentle diplomacy in the trade unions. Here are some videos from famous trade union gentlemen’s respectful, nuanced campaigns that always include a sympathetic adherence to the opposition’s wishes and dutiful use of the language of their opponents.
Click the titles to study the techniques. You only need listen to the first minute or two of each one to get the idea…
Never interrupt the interviewer
Don’t make accusations against the opposition
Be reasonable and give some ground to the opposition
That’s the way you build a movement. Quiet, polite, nuanced, taking instructions from the other side…
Speaking truth to power
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a lefty, and I agree with just about everything those guys holler but really, why are the women getting all the instructions on how to behave? Is it because people are still convinced we’re trying to oppose trans people? We’re really not you know.
Organisations that stick around after their original campaigns have been won get rich, then they hire professional grant farmers, then they become bullies on behalf of the biggest sponsors. The women’s campaign’s opponents are corporate lobby groups and politicians who cherry pick their virtue-signalling issues according to where the biggest donations pots are. They are who we are opposing.
We are speaking truth to power
While you’re thinking about that, take a look at those activists who oppose us on behalf of those corporate sponsored lobby groups. In their defence, I don’t think they know they are campaigning against women’s right to organise as a sex-class, they didn’t bother to ask. Someone just points them at women’s meetings, and says “hate group” and off they go.
Click on the links to see the techniques at work.
Muster a shouty crowd as a meeting gathers, to try and scare attendees away.
Yell and bang on the windows to try and drown out meetings.
Get some friendly police officers to stand by and watch you try to wreck community rooms.
Use your megaphone directly into the opposition’s face
Hounding women out of their jobs and trade unions, trying to sabotage their careers…
(These are the ones that hit the news. We don’t know how to be sure, but it’s clear hundreds of women have lost work and/or political posts.)
A constant barrage of unbelievable bile on Twitter
And in the street wherever women campaigners gather…
Have you seen any women’s sex-based rights campaigners mustering a crowd to drown out or scare off attendees at other people’s meetings? Have you seen women’s sex-based rights campaigners shouting abuse in the street? Have you seen women’s sex-based rights campaigners using obscene and threatening sexualised language and imagery?
So why is everyone telling the women to be more polite?
(Oh I am so very sorry, got a bit shouty there for a minute)
Thing is, we tried very quietly and politely going to the government and saying “excuse me, you’ve just accepted Stonewall’s bid to remove our legal rights for the supposed benefit of another group without even letting most women know it’s happening, let alone doing any impact studies.” Maria Miller MP, who was chairing the relevant committee noted the interjection from the representatives of a variety of women’s groups and merely said “there was no opposition except from a few people purporting to be feminists.”
So I think we’d better stick to just telling it how it is, with the occasional militant outbreak of ribbon-threading, cupcake making, pink hat knitting, banner embroidering, leafleting and so on (but avoid stickering. According to Newport Police, stickering is a danger to life and limb if women do it.)
What I’d really like to know is this: is anyone, anywhere, telling those activists who try to sabotage women’s meetings by lying about us to venues, trying to scare off women with threats of violence, rape and occasionally bomb hoaxes, then when none of that works, turning up to disrupt women’s meetings – is ANYONE telling them they should perhaps be a little more polite?
***UPDATE 29th April***
I am delighted to note that hardly had this blog post made its way out into the world when one of the leftier groups currently active did precisely that….
***UPDATE ENDS***
Onward women! No sexism here, oh no! Congratulations on a remarkably calm, polite, communicative, courageous campaign achieving breakthrough against enormous odds.
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Cheers,
Kay
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Kay Green 