A path to open communication
Why did The Righteous People bully Christian Henson out? Because he “caused upset.” Oh dear. That’s very bad.
Christian Henson, the co-founder of British software brand Spitfire Audio, has taken to Twitter to share the news that he will no longer remain involved in Spitfire Audio, Pianobook and LABS operations. The announcement follows accusations of Henson espousing allegedly transphobic views.
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Henson’s departure comes in light of a video essay posted by producer and content creator Jeremy Blake of Red Means Recording. In the video, titled ‘Spitfire Audio has a Transphobia Problem,’ Blake claims that Henson’s comments on transgender rights have caused upset among the music production community and Spitfire customer base. Spitfire collaborators Venus Theory and Skyscape Paradise reportedly terminated their partnership with the brand following the revelation.
The revelation? Or the claim, or the accusations? Which is it?
The initial dispute arose when Henson voiced support for author JK Rowling and former comedy writer Graham Linehan – specifically on their views on transgender rights, which have sparked controversy and backlash.
And why is that? Because any dissent from the new and stupid ideology that says people can change sex with their brains is BLASPHEMY and must be driven from the village with fire and sharpened axes.
Updating to add a screenshot of the oh-so-horrifying tweet [h/t NightCrow]:
Jeremy Blake has issued a response to MusicTech regarding Henson’s announcement, saying: “I am saddened and disappointed [that] the efforts of the community to redeem a beloved company have ended in Christian’s departure. I tried very hard in my video to offer a path to open communication and clearing of the air, and we have gotten none of that.”
Blake tried very hard in his video to spell out exactly what Henson had to do to appease the people Blake had just summoned to bully him. The gall of these people. “Hey, man, I did a video explicitly telling you what you had to do to get us to stop throwing huge rocks at you, what’s the holdup? Do what you’re told! Jump!”
“The fact of the matter is, Christian hasn’t apologized or explained his stance on the matter addressed. Nobody has. It’s still there, looming like it always was.
“What worries me here is that the beliefs shared in the original tweet are so deeply entrenched that instead of coming around to seeing why they are harmful, Christian has decided to martyr himself and step down from his operations at Spitfire.”
How dare he think what he thinks instead of what I tell him to think?!
Isn’t Henson’s belief that you can’t change your sex a protected one in the U.K., after the Forstater ruling? Isn’t the accusation of transphobia also libel there then? I don’t know any details here but I’m wondering whether this was done because Spitfire Audio et. al. do business in the U.S. film industry and don’t want to lose that.
Is there some place where this Blake fellow has apologized, or explained his stance on why he thinks it’s okay to mutilate and sterilize children, and allow men to enter women’s single-sex spaces? Don’t these practices cause “upset”?
Whether Henson has explained his stance or not, there are many, many sites that have explained the GC stance. All Blake has to do is educate himself. ;-)
That is bullshit. He made his position perfectly clear. A screenshot of the tweet that roused the mob is accessible on Twitter. Christian said:
He concluded with a link to one of Graham Linehan’s YouTube videos.
He seems to have deleted this tweet on the following morning, but the responses he received at the time can still be found: some abusive, but others sympathetic and supportive.
So, to sum up: Christian Henson is the father of a young child, or children; he has been, understandably, shocked and alarmed by the pressure to ‘trans’ non-conforming kids and has spoken up to alert other parents. For this he has been harassed to the point where he has stepped down to protect the successful company of which he is co-founder.
So, I wonder what it was that “upset” Lucia Everblack? Mentioning JKR or Glinner at all, or not condemning them in the very next tweet? I wouldn’t trust that it had anything to do with content, but by guilt through association. TERFitude is like radioactivity that can spread without contact or proximity. All it takes is a few keystrokes and you’re condemned for life. Truly, we live in an age of magic.
I hadn’t seen the name “Lucia Everblack” before, so I looked, and apparently he is a TIM who called for people to stop using Spitfire Audio because one of their employees holds unacceptable opinions in an area of no relevance whatsoever to the work of the company (“is a TERF”). I would guess it’s the “full support of” and the missing “unequivocal condemnation of” that’s the problem.
If I may expand the issue slightly, I find it infuriating that people find it not only acceptable but required that a company be boycotted over an employee having opinions they don’t like, even if that employee cannot be shown to have acted badly toward anyone, even if those opinions are completely irrelevant to the job this person does or to the business in which the company is engaged. This situation with Henson is a combination of misrepresentation of Henson’s position and draconian action in response.
I don’t know anything about ‘Glinner’, so I Googled him.
I think the stuff that shows up at the top of Google can be fairly called ‘poisoning the well’.