Some People's Feelings Are More Equal Than Others
By JL
Nobody likes getting their feelings hurt. But it’s a fact of life that sometimes they will be and this is rarely the concern of the media or the responsibility of the law.
Unless you’re one of the ‘Most Oppressed’, of course...
A teenager with autism was convicted of a ‘hate crime’ for asking a question
Earlier this year a 19 year old man with Asperger’s was convicted of a hate crime and hit with a substantial fine for asking about the sex of a transgender police officer.
Police community support officer, Connor Freel, was born female but identifies as a man. In October 2019 Freel was on foot patrol in Mold town centre and heard Declan Armstrong shout, "Is it a boy or a girl?".
Armstrong was subsequently convicted of using abusive or insulting words to cause harassment. He was placed under a night-time curfew and ordered to pay £590, including a payment of £200 in compensation to PCSO Freel.
The Crown Prosecution Service described the incident as a ‘hate crime’ and claimed that Armstrong had ‘abused’ Freel. The District Judge said that due to the ‘transphobic element’ of the crime, Armstrong's sentence had been uplifted from a low level to a medium level community order.
Two support groups, AXIA-ASD and Action for Asperger’s, spoke out to condemn Armstrong’s prosecution.
Action for Asperger’s CEO, Elaine Nicholson, said, “This young man is being punished for his condition; having a communication disorder is what Asperger’s is all about…Police officers dealing with the public need to be aware of neurodiversity and the different ways people communicate. It’s not fair to punish someone with Asperger’s for communicating honestly and directly – it’s part of who they are.”
Linda Buchan, consultant clinical psychologist and a director of AXIA-ASD, explained, “Autistic people are involuntarily very honest… If someone asks a question they probably just want to know what the answer is… The police should have enough understanding to see people’s communication style in the context of their autism.”
The court had been made aware of Armstrong’s situation. But who cares about a vulnerable teenager with autism when trans feelings are being hurt?
Surely most police officers hear far worse things during the course of their duties? And can you imagine the police and court resources required to deal with all the “Abusive or insulting words to cause harassment” women constantly endure? If we started reporting every “Give us a smile”, “Nice tits, love” and “Fuck you, bitch” how far would we get? Especially as misogyny is NOT a hate crime, unlike ‘transphobia’, of course, which is.
Fancy a pint, kid? Just tell ‘em you’re trans!
A teenager tried to buy a drink in a Glasgow city centre pub. The pub’s staff didn’t believe he was old enough to be purchasing alcohol and when he produced his ID, he looked nothing like the photo on it. Consequently, as the law demands, the pub’s manager refused to serve him. Hardly a story that warrants press interest. However, the teenager in question identifies as transgender so the BBC reported this incident as if it was a human rights violation.
The Mirror and The Glasgow Times, also reported the incident and described how ‘upset’ and ‘embarrassed’ Savanna Galloway felt and how he’d left the premises ‘in tears’. Maybe he should ensure that the ID he chooses to carry and use contains a recognisable photograph?
Weatherspoons has since “Apologised wholeheartedly for any distress caused”. A spokesperson for the pub chain said, "The incident has shown that providing ID for transgender customers may present difficulties and we will review our processes in the area."
According to the Licencing Act 2003, those operating licenced premises must ask for photographic ID from anyone who appears to be under 25 in order to prove that those buying or consuming alcohol are over 18. The manager of the pub was simply upholding the law.
Galloway is not the first teenager with a dodgy looking ID to be refused a drink in a pub. But, because he identifies as trans, the pub chain has been forced to apologise and is now reviewing its policy about asking transgender customers for identification. Sounds like trans drinkers will be given a free pass as pub staff will be too scared of the repercussions to challenge them.
So, 16 and 17 year old kids who fancy a pint on a Saturday night now no longer need to worry about being ID’d - just tell em you’re trans and the hooch is all yours.
Student dress-up fun is banned in case it offends trans people
Aberystwyth University Student Union is banning events known as ‘drag socials’ in case they cause offence to transgender people.
SU officials defended banning these nights out saying that such events are, "Usually about members of random groups dressing up as the opposite gender in a general way that has the intention of being as funny as possible”. Sounds like fun, to be honest.
AberPride, the university's LGBTQ+ group was involved in the decision to ban these ‘drag socials’. A spokesperson for the group said, “We feel that most societies who have drag socials do so in a mockery of trans women and the trans femme experience”.
(Hang on… they’re saying that men in dresses are offensive to transwomen. Isn’t that transphobic?)
For years feminists have protested that males performing in drag, a sexualised or infatilized parody of womanhood, is insulting and degrading. Such complaints always fall on deaf ears. Who cares if drag is sexist?
But students having a laugh in fancy dress must be banned in case of upsetting transgender sensibilities.
A female journalist was fined $10,000 for liking Facebook posts that a trans identified male didn’t like her liking
Beth Rep, a Canberra radio broadcaster, has been fine $10,000 for ‘liking’ social media comments which transgender activist, Bridget Clinch, found offensive.
The situation began back in March 2018 when Clinch filed an anti-discrimination complaint against feminist and broadcaster, Beth Rep. (It was one of four separate suits filed by Clinch at that time.) Clinch, a former soldier who used to be called Matthew and has fathered three children, accused Rep of misgendering, following comments she made on social media.
The dispute appeared before the ACT Human Rights Commission in July 2018 and resulted in Rep having to post an apology on her Facebook page and pay Clinch $700. However, Rep’s Facebook post attracted over 300 comments supporting her and using the hashtag #istandwithbeth.
Because Beth Rep ‘liked’ some of these Facebook comments, including one that said “Bridget Clinch is a male bully”, Clinch took legal action against her, initiating proceedings for damages under the Discrimination Act and alleging unlawful vilification and victimisation based on gender identity.
The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that, by ‘liking’ the Facebook comments, Beth Rep had breached the Discrimination Act. She was ordered to pay Clinch AUS $10,000 (about £5,500) in compensation.
Furthermore, the tribunal instructed Ms Rep to delete "All posts, statements, information, suggestions or implications" regarding this issue and to refrain from making the same or similar posts in future.
If you would like to contribute to Beth Rep’s legal costs, you can chip in via her fundraising page here.
Liking a few Facebook posts can see you facing a hefty financial penalty and an Orwellian-style curtailment to your free speech if they’re deemed offensive by a trans activist.
Some feelings are more equal than others.
Punishing a disabled person for asking a reasonable question, since they can, despite their neurological disability, correctly sex other humans just like every human on the planet (as well as dogs) is simply outrageous. I don’t know how the judges in this case, who disregarded one protected characteristic (disability) in favour of another (gender reassignment) sleep at night.
How is that person fit to be a police officer if they are so damn fragile they can’t cope with being accidentally misgendered - can you imagine the actual abuse police officers put up with in the course of their jobs? Also, do police officers not get any training in dealing with people with additional needs? Even if they don’t, surely most people have some understanding of ASD nowadays.
My 14 yr daughter has a learning disability and is virtually non verbal (so at least she can’t say the wrong thing, I suppose) but is very friendly and often approaches strangers to try to ask them questions about their pets and families. People often look a bit surprised, but are nearly always kind and understanding, even other children who you might expect to be a bit fazed.
But this twat-in-a-hat could only think about his own bloody feelings, and then the judge, hearing the magic word ‘trans’, took his side over a vulnerable teen. I can’t even tell you how angry this makes me. 🤬