Hi,
It’s been a busy week here at Chez Jones. A bit of a clear out as the new furniture we ordered is due next week. Like a small repair, a bit of gardening, or I’ll-just-try-this-new-make-uo-technique; it soon spirals into needing to do B through to Z until you can start A.
Or maybe I’m very disorganised?
Or easily distracted?
Or both 😁
Playground Nonsense
I wasn’t sure I wanted to write about this, but I think I’ve settled on something that’ll end upbeat.
First, we may need to catch the ugly stench of divisive, ignorant statements from the Nasty Party.
Yeah, I doubt I’ll be on their Christmas card list…. even if I’ll be on another list, if their hateful nonsense could be pushed into law.
Hint: It can’t. Not without some very serious changes to the Equality Act and other rulings.
Eugh. Let’s open a proverbial window, let the air come in, and give the room a spritz with something pleasant.
How about, hope?
I read the other day, over on Pink News, that the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported a significant rise in people identifying as somewhere in the LGBTQ+ community:
Statistics published on Wednesday (27 September 2023) revealed that the number of Britons living openly as members of the LGBTQ+ community shot up by 50 per cent between 2017 and 2022.
The increase is especially prominent for Brits aged between 16 and 24, with almost one in 10, on average, identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Pink News
As much as it’s frankly horrible to read the lies spoken about the Trans community, if I try to settle my emotions and look back to the 80s: it’s the same old sh**, just new faces and a new target.
Perhaps the difference here – other than a greater saturation of nonsense on-line and in the media – is that more people know someone who’s LGBTQ+. Perhaps in their family, in their circle of friends, their child, or at work.
IMO, this everyday quality helps bust the lies told about us.
I think, dare I say, rolling the dice on the politics of hate, may keep the faithful in, but it’ll drive away many more.
So, I am hopeful. Hopeful that as more people come out and live as they need to be, that we can leave this toxic hate behind us, and move on.
L x
The British do have some merits: one is that they support the underdog (look at Britain’s current support for Ukraine) and another is that they tend to point out when authorities are overstepping their powers unjustly, whether at home or abroad. Both those are in our favour when the public assesses this toxic government’s activity and legacy. Of course, everyone now knows several ‘out’ LGBT people and will know that they are just relatives, colleagues, neighbours and so forth like any other, and that provides some protection against persecution. I remain hopeful that this rage against trans people by a tiny minority of vocal nasties will fade away. Sue x
Thanks Sue. I think cases where people are trying to seek clarity on improvements or if they are concerned (but not hostile to) changes, that’s one thing. However, I also think there’s a group of people who are exploiting the situation for political gain. That may be for distraction, to promote a us versus them, or the politics of fear (“those type of people are coming for your rights/children/jobs, etc). I might go so far as to say that some more hostile forces are using this to gain traction to push back rights for women and/or LGBTQ+ folk in general. I know that seems a bit ‘tin foil hat’ yet we’ve seen their actions at protests and through funding.
There are many interesting issues with the law and the trans community some right and some very wrong.
The latest one that GB news and the Daily fail are banging on about is the right to declare your self to be female. Is that right or wrong?
Well it seems that the charge of rape is defined as an act between a man and a woman, so some people accused of rape have been self declaring to avoid the charge. I happen to think something should be done against this abuse. BUT I don’t want the law changed in such a way that it can be used against the Trans community which is something that some of the chinless wonders at Westminster might be tempted to do.
Anything in the Fail or Gbeebies needs a thorough check from reputable sources, IMO. A good place to start might be Snopes, Channel 4 News, or similar. I believe the BBC also does radio programmes that go into the research or evidence behind the headlines.
I had to have a look at the definition of the crime via the Crown Prosecution Service and a few other sources. I have no legal training or experience in such laws, so I can only go the very small amount I’ve read just now. To my inexpert eye, looking at the definition around how someone might be assaulted, I’m not sure how someone claiming not to be a particular sex or gender changes the nature of the crime. I don’t want to go into the graphic nature of the description for fear of triggering or upsetting anyone.
What I will say is as a society (legally, socially, and in education) we need to do more about protecting people from sexual assault, reduce/stop harassment, and improve how those who report sexual violence are treated. There’s a lot wrong with the current system – lack of belief, the “but you were dressed like…” nonsense, “why are you reporting this week’s/months/years later”, victim blaming, etc – which results in a poor rate of reporting, criminal investigation, and/or following into prosecution. Not good enough!
I agree that anything the fail or Gbeeries publishes needs to be checked out. But to make up total fiction and report it as news is illegal. There must be some basis for the tripe that they publish, they may misreport some facts that could be described as spin/slant etc.
I did find this
[ website redacted ]
Please note the last thing I want to do is offended anybody, life is tough enough as with me being seen to stir things up.
Fact checking news is going to be complex. Reporting a person’s opinion is news, but we’re into a debate around fact checking and complexity around freedoms of the press, self expression, and libel. Of that, perhaps only the latter is illegal, but more informed folk would know better than I.
As to the link you posted, I’m afraid that I’ve removed it. I would rather not engage with the views expressed within it. Hope that’s okay 🙂