In ugly scenes
How the New Zealand Herald reported it:
More than 2000 counter-protesters – including one armed with a bottle of tomato soup – have seen British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull aborting her central Auckland rally.
How it should have reported it:
More than 2000 counter-protesters made so much noise and were so violent that women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was forced to cancel her central Auckland rally.
It does a little better in para 3:
In ugly scenes Keen-Minshull – who was in the country as part of her Let Women Speak tour aimed to support women’s rights – was drowned out by protesters galvanised by the LGBTQIA+ community.
As she was standing on the rotunda stage at Albert Park preparing to speak, one counter-protester rushed towards her and poured a bottle of soup over her head.
The protester then sprayed more on one of Keen-Minshull’s security guards.
Skirmishes broke out with pushing and shoving between the counter-protest group and Keen-Minshull’s much smaller entourage.
A barrier erected to try and keep the two factions apart was pushed down.
The soup-hurling protester was removed by security but Keen-Minshull’s attempts to speak were drowned out by drums, chants of “go home” and, at one point, a Whitney Houston song playing over the loudspeakers.
So in short they will never let women speak, unless we say what they tell us to say. If we try to say what we want to say they will rough us up.
Keen-Minshull arrived at Auckland Airport last night after a last-ditch court case to block her entry to NZ failed. When asked if she felt safe, Keen-Minshull said she felt New Zealand was “insane”.
She said she expected trans rights activists to be at her event and claimed “men [trans women] would come out. They’ve already threatened to be aggressive.”
Even when they’re assaulting her, the Herald has to correct her “men” to “trans women.” Funnily enough, their correction is not persuasive.
Keen-Minshull’s controversial tour has seen her face criticism from politicians and other social commentators for her assertion people cannot change their sex.
Ok Herald, what about it? Can people change their sex? We all realize they can get breasts or penises cut off, but can they change their sex?
She argues she is campaigning for women’s rights – but opponents say her transphobic rhetoric is a threat to trans people’s rights and safety.
I notice you always give “opponents” the last word. Why is that, Herald? Do you really think women saying men are not women are both wrong and evil?
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) announced earlier this week, after a review of whether Keen-Minshull should be allowed in, that she did not meet the high threshold to be considered an excluded person under Section 16 of the Immigration Act 2009.
The INZ assessment took into account the events in Melbourne, where her speaking event drew a crowd, including people who were seen giving Nazi salutes and shouting slurs, Minister for Immigration Michael Wood said earlier this week.
“Like many New Zealanders I would prefer it if Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull never set foot in New Zealand. I find many of her views repugnant, and am concerned by the way in which she courts some of the most vile people and groups around, including white supremacists,” Wood has said.
Yes it’s so repugnant to say that men are not women.
I don’t know. Right now I feel like identifying as a tiger and growling.
I was identifying as an ocelot today. I wore a shirt with an ocelot on it, and figured that was enough to make me an ocelot.
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.
The views which they hold and dare to express are:
That free speech applies just as much to women as men; and
That women and children need to be protected from violent men, no-one can possibly know which men are dangerous, so all men must stay out of certain places; and
That inflicting iatrogenic harm on children is indefensible.
The fact is that they are well aware that the vast majority of people express those exact same views when given the opportunity to say what they believe, which is why both women are such targets of hate. The cult claim to be anti-fascist, but when given the opportunity to stand up to actual Neo-Nazis, the fact that they chose to attack a group of ordinary women instead gives the lie to that particular assertion.
KJK’s genius is that she does nothing but let them show who they really are.
I hadn’t realised when the event was starting. I had a message from my friend who said she was heading to the event, but I was tired and didn’t even think about working out the time difference or looking up the start time.
Then, as I was about to go and do some training before bed, I saw a tweet from someone I follow but didn’t recognise, reading “wtf just happened.”
And I just instantly knew pretty much exactly what had probably happened.
Like me, just about everyone I know here in the UK was too upset by this to sleep.
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.
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