The right side of history
Meta meta – the Times reporting on JKR’s response to the Times report on the bullied student who had to leave her school.
JK Rowling has condemned the “utterly shameful” treatment of a teenage girl who felt forced to leave her school after pupils hounded her for challenging the views of a visiting speaker.
…
Writing on Twitter to her 14 million followers, Rowling shared the Times article and described her treatment as “utterly shameful”. “Add this to the tottering pile of evidence that people in education and academia who’ve supposed to have a duty of care towards the young have succumbed to an outbreak of quasi-religious fanaticism,” she added. “The girl’s crime? Saying ‘sex exists’.”
Rowling has repeatedly come under fire for defending public figures against accusations of transphobia. On Sunday she criticised balaclava-wearing activists involved in a stand-off around the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in St Peter’s Square, Manchester.
She said: “I never expected the right side of history to include so many people in masks intimidating and assaulting women, did you?”
Now the girl is under even more stress.
Owen Jones is a horror.
Trial by social media, someone called it on Twitter; spot on. If he wanted to find out more about what happened, he could be a journalist and investigate, but no, he’d rather cast aspersions on Twitter.
Holy teeth I’m glad that I’m not a teenager today. Well, at all, but growing up in this social-media world must be hideous.
There’s someone not blocked by OJ?
A teacher from the school has written an article about the incident and its aftermath. Really good article. Maybe Owen Jones should read it.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10838801/The-sixth-form-girl-bullied-school-saying-biological-sex-real.html
Julie Bindel has recently posted a full account of the episode, based on an interview with the student.