More solidarity with the theocratic fascists
And now the Goldsmiths LGBTQ+ Society has joined the reactionary Goldsmiths Feminist Society in solidarity not with the secular feminist human rights campaigner Maryam Namazie but with the people – the men – who tried to bully her into silence at her talk on Monday. Yes that’s right. Solidarity with the bullies who did their best to shout down a woman advocating religious freedom and human rights.
Following recent events on- and offline, we would like to state and show our solidarity with the sisters and brothers of our Goldsmiths ISOC
We condemn AHS and online supporters for their islamophobic remarks and attitudes. If they feel intimidated, we urge them to look at the underpinnings of their ideology. We find that personal and social harm enacted in the name of ‘free speech’ is foul, and detrimental to the wellbeing of students and staff on campus.
In our experiences, members of ISOC have been nothing but charming, patient, kind, and peaceful as individuals and as an organization.
We hope this series of events prompts reflection in all parties involved, but also onlookers. Allyship consists of apologies, bearing with and deconstructing discomfort, respecting the necessary privacy of safer spaces, and opening our hearts to humans unlike ourselves.
We can all stand to improve in this area- which ideally is a daily, humbling practice and not a label.
Friends tell me they (the LGBTQ+ Society) have been deleting comments ever since, no matter how polite. They left this comment on their own post ten hours after posting (and after deleting all comments to that point):
Goldsmiths LGBTQ+ SocietyWe stand by Isoc and our statement is not negotiable. We reserve the right to moderate the comments and all islamaphobic, racist or inflammatory comments will be removed. Attempts have been made to flood this page in order to silence us, and we will not allow it to continue nor back down from our position.
How heroic! They won’t back down from their courageous stance with the bullies and against the human rights activists.
H/t David and Rosie
Guess the LGBTQ+ society is afraid the ISOC fascists will jump on them next.
These people haven’t the IQ of a louse.
They support the adherents to a theocratic fascist ideology that calls for queers to be executed.
I guess they think that those videos of ISIS throwing gay men off of high buildings are mere American propaganda.
What happened to the queer/feminist alliances that used to so successfully push back against theocrats?
Charming, patient, kind, and peaceful misogynists. Of course.
John @2 – it looks like we still have a queer/feminist alliance – only now they are allied in support of virulent anti-gay, anti-woman forces. Makes perfect sense to me…huh?
Where is Orwell when we need him?
Sailor1031–
I don’t think so. Michel Foucault enthusiastically supported the Iranian revolution, and it certainly didn’t pose any threat to him personally. He actually thought they were on the same side, and I have no doubt that the clowns of Goldsmiths LBGTQ+ think the same thing.
The “underpinnings of my ideology”? People have rights, ideas do not.
As for the action of ISOC to disrupt the talk (with noise and shutting down a projector), one might reasonably defend it as an act of civil disobedience, arguably useful for the purpose of making a point but still deliberately provocative – hardly a “charming, patient, and kind” act .
Until recently, I would have thought that one of the purposes of a Feminist Society or an LBGTQ+ Society would have been to provide a place of support and refuge for a student of Muslim background who was having family or social problems because of their feminist and/or LGBTQ+ views and/or inclinations. But now they are proudly proclaiming that they stand in solidarity with the oppressors?
@Theo Bromine #6
Yes. That’s what it is: solidarity with the oppressors.
This is so painfully embarrassing and disheartening, especially cumulatively with all the other stupid, embarrassing announcements you’ve been alerting us to all week, Ophelia.
I need some pure escapism tonight, I think.
I know, it’s awful.
I definitely need pure escapism tonight.
At the moment all I can say is that western student politics is far beyond my understanding.
This particular onlooker remains deeply baffled. How will supporting those who tried to shout down Maryam contribute to “the wellbeing of students and staff on campus” – not the wellbeing of a particular group of Muslim students, mind you, but “students and staff” in general? Kill me, I have no idea.
The best I can see in what they wrote is that
Ah, alright, I truly love them for saying this. Admittedly, in the video the ISOC guys do not look “charming, patient, kind and peaceful” – not at all, no matter how I try. Nevertheless, I do feel some sympathy to the fellow Pollyannas who wrote the quoted words. God bless you, brothers and sisters in faith!
[By the way, does the word “fascist” function as a generic insult in Western progressive circles? Sorry, that’s probably a naive question. My quick check on the net produced very weird results. At the moment it seems to me that practically everything – yes, from Mussolini to Western democracies to homicidal communist regimes – has been called “fascist” by not a few from the left side of the political scene.]
They seem to be victims of black and white thinking. Criticizing a few members doesn’t mean you are condemning the whole of ISOC. They also don’t understand the nuances of free speech. Speaking out can be done without disrupting a speech and acting like thugs
Actually, Ariel, it is so generic an insult that it is being used probably equally as much by the right to describe the left (even weirder, since they usually insist on socialist fascist or some other oddly paradoxical epithet). The same with Nazi. You don’t like what someone says? They’re a Nazi. They’re a fascist. They’re a commie. They’re godless. Use any combination of the above to shut down debate on ideas you don’t like by labeling them with terms you don’t understand (or you think your audience won’t understand). It takes the place of nuanced thought. Grammarnazi for anyone who notices you just said something incoherent. Feminazi for anyone who suggests that women are people. And so on.