Shahrar Ali Blows Whistle on Greens malpractice wrt ‘transphobia’

[BeanBagLady]

Check @ShahrarAli Twitter feed for his formal letter under the whistle blowing policy about the misuse of the Greens complaints procedure to discipline party members for ‘transphobia’.

[Popchyk]

"Either we have managed to foster a culture of transphobia in our Party of epidemic proportions; or the complaints process is being abused and subverted to silence those who wish to debate our policies in an area of great complexity".

He's right.

So which is it to be, Greens?

Do you have a huge problem with transphobia or are certain individuals (who are allowed to remain anonymous) using the Greens complaints process to pursue their own agenda?

[BeanBagLady]

And maybe the Labour Party needs to watch with interest.

[Fizzingwithdisbelief]

Wow!

[Mumfun]

Lib Dems need to study closely too!

[FermatsTheorem]

Thinking of which, Green Party, how's that investigation coming along?

The one where one of your members acted as membership secretary for the local branch (i.e. having access to member's names and addresses) while maintaining a "block list" of twitter users, all while awaiting trial for the crime of rape, false imprisonment and torture of a child. Oh, and acting as an election agent (admittedly for someone who claims not to have known of the allegations, despite living in the same house, having a mother also at the same address whose facebook seemed entirely devoted to "my husband is innocent", and being one of the trustees of Coventry Pride, a body who suspended David Challenor on discovering he was facing these charges - but somehow the young Green in question still didn't know when they later appointed David Challenor their election agent). Oh - yeah - in case anyone didn't know, David Challenor was found guilty.

So, Greens. How's that enquiry coming along? And Lib Dems, how's your new member shaping up? The one who knew nothing, saw nothing, was entirely blameless.

[uglyandlovingit]

How embarrassing. I'm glad this bloke is speaking up. A woman never could, sadly.

[BeanBagLady]

Reading his letter it seems that once he raised an issue with the way cimplaints over the Challoner scandal were being handled, he was immediately then himself the target of a complaint. But that he was not allowed to know who had made the complaint!

How has the cry “transphobia “ made people drop all due process and behave as if they are in an extreme dictatorship?

He is getting a lot of support, and it needs to build.

[PennyMordauntsLadyBrain]

Saw this last night.

The responses to his tweet were very supportive and encouraging, which was a stark comparison to the reaction he got when he first came out and spoke about this issue immediately after Challenor ‘resigned’.

Hopefully the tide is turning.

[BeanBagLady]

I’m not a Green, but wtf is going on within the party if they are all ‘disciplining ‘ each other against anonymous complaints about transphobia when they should be dealing with Brexit and Climate Change? It makes me wonder whether the whole TRA movement is driven by Russian Troll Farms, so successful has it been in distracting and de-focussing so many political parties.

[Needmoresleep]

Shahrar Ali seems sensible with an impressive CV. What a pity he did not win the last Green leadership election, as there are plenty of people who are both concerned about climate change and the environment, and are looking for someone to vote for.

[AngryAttackKittens]

So is the party conference all them just sitting around in a circle pointing fingers at each other and screeching "j'accuse"?

[Freespeecher]

Pretty much. It's a shame that our ecological party, through its small stature, is ripe for infiltration either by those for whom the Labour Party wasn't left wing enough or with a single-issue axe to grind, in this case the trans debate.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

So, Greens. How's that enquiry coming along?

According to this:

www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2018/09/01/green-party-announces-details-of-independent-investigation/

The investigation was meant to conclude in November, so I'd hope we will see something soon.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Just found this on Twitter:

Thank you for contacting Verita. When the report is finalised we will pass it to the Green Party. Decisions on publication will be up to them.

What's the betting that the contents of the report are never released...

[EverardDigby]

There are lots of Greens against all this and wanting to get on with the important stuff, I think it will work it's way through eventually. No idea what's happened to the report though, not surprised if it's taking longer than planned, these things always do.

[AnyOtherPerson]

"Either we have managed to foster a culture of transphobia in our Party of epidemic proportions; or the complaints process is being abused and subverted to silence those who wish to debate our policies in an area of great complexity".

This is so true, not just with regard to UK politics, but in the wider population. There’s a sudden, unexplained ‘transphobia’ epidemic, where previously rational people have turned into raging bigots. It’s astonishing that there are still so many people who don’t look at the situation and wonder whether there might be some more logical explanation.

[HestiaParthenos]

there are plenty of people who are both concerned about climate change and the environment, and are looking for someone to vote for.

Exactly my thoughts.

It is very stupid of the Green party to alienate their female voters (and I suspect a majority of people who would vote for them are female) over this "transphobia" nonsense, especially considering that only a miniscule percentage of voters identify as trans, and an even tinier percentage would have considered themselves transsexual and opted for surgery twenty or thirty years ago.

I usually vote Green, but increasingly I find I have to choose between women's rights and environment, and since I think male supremacy contributes to the destruction of the planet, it gets less and less likely that I would prioritise environmental issues over women's rights.

[BlytheSpiritsSpirit]

When the Green party told me I was a non-man, that was the end of my interest in their politics.

[DeRigueurMortis]

I follow him on twitter and he seems a very level headed individual whose deeply concerned about the way the party has been manipulated (my word not his) into promoting a pro TRA stance at all costs and shutting down reasonable debate.

What he seems to be finding out - as many of us have - is that you might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

Asking careful questions whilst being supportive of trans rights still puts you on the naughty step and once on that step they keep pushing you higher - until you reach the base of the mountain and think "bugger this" I'm getting out my crampons, climbing rope and if required oxygen supplies and climbing on my own terms now to that summit because I'm sick of you poking me in the back whilst I was trying to be kind.

It's part of what peaked me. It's very much repeat the mantra or you're against us.

The fact that is perfectly possible to agree that people suffering from gender dysphoria deserve to live free from prejudice, yet question Self ID and impact on women's rights, be skeptical (indeed reject) of the notion of gender, refusal to believe you can change sex, worry about the policy of affirmation on vulnerable children, fundamentally disagreeing that cross dressing and declarations of being non binary doesn't make someone trans or a woman/man on a Monday somehow means you "hate" people with gender dysphoria.

[theOtherPamAyres]

I think that this started at the Green Party Conference, when the police were called to disperse (yeah, I know) the women handing out Fairplay for Women leaflets. This was the same conference where Baroness Jenny Jones had her crowdfunding appeal stall vandalised with the words 'terf'.

Sian Berry, one of the joint leaders, added her voice to the TRAs to persuade security and police that the women were creating an unsafe environment. Shahrar Ali made his feelings known - that Berry's intervention was inflammatory and emboldened TRAs who were behaving disgacefully. He was targeted by TRAs with verbal abuse and insults, followed by official complaints of transphobia.

It looks to me as though he is being denied 'due process': he is not being given information about the substance of the complaints against him. He is in limbo and under a cloud because of the complaints, but the party seems slow to progress matters.

Shahrar Ali is pointing to a wider issue with the Green Party: the role of Chief Executives, Chairs of the Executive Committee, local parties and party leaders in encouraging TRAs, overlooking the need for due process and finding people guilty of summarily. He is highly critical of the party's immediate and continuing response to the Challenor affair.

Incidentally, top TRA Sian Berry is to be the Green Candidate for London Mayor. Just saying......

[arranbubonicplague]

Earlier this year I admired Ali’s ethical stance as more and more disturbing information came to light in re: the malign impact of the lack of due process within sections of the Green Party. It was brave of him to support the widening of the remit of investigation for Verita.

Ali has consistently shown ethical leadership on this point, unlike Caroline Lucas and the duo who won the leadership election.

Unsurprisingly, the Greens resemble other political parties in being run like fiefdoms at local level.

[OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon]

Josiah Mortimer
@josiahmortimer
Update from Verita on the Aimee Challenor Green Party investigation

"The report is in draft [form] and going through the Maxwellisation process [allowing those criticised to respond]. When it is complete we will send it to the Green Party who will make decisions on publication"

The original timetable was for publication in mid-November... (link: www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2018/09/01/green-party-announces-details-of-independent-investigation/ )

Statement from Verita on Aimee Challenor investigation suggests the party could decide not to publish, which would cause an outcry. No word from Green Party yet as to a proposed publication date

Further update: Verita expected to send final investigation report to Green Party in the 'next two weeks' (making publication unlikely pre-Christmas)

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Interesting that it has taken so much longer than anticipated. I don't think the Greens can get away with not publishing it - there really would be questions asked then.

[Popchyk]

"The report is in draft [form] and going through the Maxwellisation process [allowing those criticised to respond]".

So clearly the reports makes criticism of certain individuals in the Greens.

[Terfing]

But surely if Verita uncover anything illegal, they will have to report it to the police?