Tonight’s highlight for our Gender Critical Month is reader Robbie Spence singing his own wonderful song, Masters of Woo.
“You got so offended whenever I spoke
Adult human female is a transphobic trope.”
Should be number 1 as far as I’m concerned 😎
Thanks, Robbie
Get your suggestions for great speeches, poems and songs to me please, dear readers.
I have two in the pipeline at the moment.
I was doubting that we would include any speeches from politicians? Whatever happened to the great political orators? What made me think of this was an interesting interview with surprise Democrat presidential candidate, Robert Kennedy Jnr by Jordan Peterson (it’s long, I warn you!):
This made me think of John F Kennedy (JFK) who was, of course, a very flawed president but you have to admit his speech in Berlin to a throng of thousands was amazing:
Hey, well done, Robbie, you knocked JFK off the top spot 😎
Times Round Up
Thanks as ever to my mate Fingers for the Times cuttings.
Kathleen Stock at Oxford
If you can access it the whole, long article by Janice Turner who accompanied Kathleen to the Oxford Union is great ( A battalion of police, three security guards, a tube of glue and a broom cupboard: My mad day at Oxford with Kathleen Stock 01 June).
Now I like Kathleen even more - the cover photo on the Times shows her wearing the same shoes I always wear - yellow stripe Doctor Martens 😎
Tom Witherow ( Professors ‘too scared’ to speak up for free speech 31 May) writes:
The author of the letter signed by just 40 of 1,300 Oxford academics in support of the Kathleen Stock event said most professors were “scared” to put their head above the parapet in defence of free speech.
John Maier, a PhD student in philosophy at Balliol College, said some professors chose not to sing the letter because they were afraid they would lose job opportunities, or be subject to “social censure.” Ultimately it was mostly senior professors, including Richard Dawkins, who signed because they were secure in their positions.
In a similar vein, Professor Arif Ahmed, the new Free Speech Tsar in a comment piece ( Seeking the truth is something worth fighting for 01 June) writes:
A university is not a club. It is not a political lobby. It is not a seminary. It is not a “brand.” It exists to seek and speak truth, whatever it costs and whoever it upsets. Therefore, without freedom to explore controversial or “offensive” ideas, a university is nothing.
These freedoms are worth fighting for, which is why I feel tremendously honoured to have been appointed director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England. There are urgent threats to free speech and academic freedom in our universities and colleges. We must use all means necessary to address them. Free speech matters beyond the campus. Barack Obama aid: “The purpose of …free speech is to make sure we are forced to use argument and reason and words in making our democracy work.”
I have high hopes for Professor Ahmed!
In a leader ( Stick with it 31 May) it is stated:
The choice of Nancy Sinatra’s song ‘These boots are made for walking’ was a crude threat. It blasted out of speakers deployed by extremist members of the trans lobby as Kathleen Stock entered the Oxford Union to take part in a debate yesterday. As admirers of the 1966 hit will recall, it promises: “And one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.”
In the event, a group of demonstrators who infiltrated the debate, one of them trying unsuccessfully to glue herself to the floor of the debating chamber in front of Dr Stock, did not walk all over the philosopher. Her appearance, which had been threatened with disruption by a hard core of Oxford students opposed to her presence on university premises, went ahead even as protestors outside in the street jeered. It was a victory for free speech in the face of intolerance and intimidation.
Dr Stock maintained her composure, as she has done throughout years of persecution by trans-rights extremists intent on silencing her for the crime of saying that the biological difference between men and women is immutable.
Hear, hear!
I posted the actual speech last night. I thought she did a great job especially in the face of some very irritating questions ( in my opinion) from the president of the Oxford Union, Matthew Dick (no, I am not going to say anything 😎). What did you all think? Let us know.
I am going to post next time re three other articles from the Times on German ID law, the (worrying) Online Safety Bill and sex education.
Thanks to my assistant for his help with this process ( he did the highlighting 🤣):
EDI Jester
Barry looks at the imposition of ‘woke policies’ by Black Rock and Vanguard - where the money is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTduAaJhMMU
In another ‘live chat premiere’ he moves on to left wing authoritarians and the Bolsheviks ( remember them?):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnBrwUm-4SM
Terf Talk Tuesday
Nice to see the return of TTT, interesting as ever despite the troll:
Oxfam
The wonderful JL on Glinner Update reports on more horror stories from Oxfam!!!!!
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/oxfam-when-misogyny-is-the-mission/comments
Stop Press
Just come across excellent documentary by ‘Reasoned’ called Terf Wars. I did see them at the Reformer’s Tree rally that is featured, which I was at, and thought they might be on the other side but it turns out they are not:
Top Two Genders
OMG, heavy duty as ever. I think we need the Top Two Genders from The Babylon Bee:
https://babylonbee.com/news/in-honor-of-pride-month-here-are-the-babylon-bees-top-2-genders
Excellent Robbie, very Dylanesque!
Thanks Dusty, your assistant is lovely.