Who to vote for as a feminist

www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2uez88/i_am_natalie_bennett_leader_of_the_green_party_of/

Natalie Bennett answers questions from the public on Reddit here. Unfortunately I didn't hear about this event until it had finished.

Forgive my ignorance but what's a "TERF" and why is the twitter comment by the Green spokesman so offensive?

Sauce, I don't think the Islington candidate - Charlie Kiss - is the sharpest knife in the drawer. Who the hell says that he's totally ok with abusing some women because others have it worse? He also said as a defence that Labour councillors say "TERF", too. Welp, in that case, carry on, Charlie!

And I totally dispute the "have it worse" thing anyway. Whenever I see the extremist trans activists claim that trans people have it worse, I do wonder if they have the faintest idea that the abuse they undoubtably suffer is old news to most women, who have had to deal with that same abuse for a very long time.

Sadly Archery, I think you're probably 100% correct. Ms Brown is a deeply violent person, judging by her tweets, and the Greens seem to want to be her pal, so screw women....

Yes Archery I agree with both your posts.

the Islington candidate was saying that TW are spat on which is why he hates "Terfs"

But spat at by whom? Feminists? I doubt it.

Beatrix Campbell of the Greens has been speaking out on twitter. I wonder if she'll be listened to.

Men are the real threat to transwomen - no mention of them by the Green Party. Much easier to attack feminists & also shut down any discussion about gender identity, socialisation.

I have seen other trans women (who are as angry about Green MRA Equality Officer as I am) speculating that one of the triggers for all this brouhaha - Sarah Brown - is that she lost her seat as a LibDem councillor, wants to return to politics, knows that the LibDems are a busted flush, so is trying to cosy up to the Greens.

What the hell is going on with the Greens? Seriously, it's a car crash. There was a candidate I'd been told was very good - a trans man standing for an Islington seat - but no, he's also totally fine with doling out the gendered slurs and cosying up to all the other assholes. Fucker.

But the equalities officer is really the one that takes the biscuit. He's a parody of himself, and just another Right On Man who uses SJ issues as just another way to bash women.

The equalities spokesperson said that!? Doesn't he realise how offensive (and inaccurate) that term is? Wow!

I will never vote Green now. The behaviour on twitter has been sanctimonious, ill informed & juvenile.

There's been more today, greens activists using some really nasty slurs about gay men, lesbians and feminists.

However, some of the twitter accounts which have been making the more illiberal comments are now locked and ones that aren't have deleted most of their TERF comments... homophobic ones are still there though.

He's apparently their "equalities" spokesman.

It's this guy here:

twitter.com/GreenBenali/status/561480660129705985

and how the Greens reacted in general.

No, I think another party member put a comments on Twitter about how that whole thing had lead to 'TERFs' not voting Green, and that it was 'no loss'.

I thinK, not had a chance to catch up on it properly as am away.

No, you're right, their equalities officer is a bloody joke.... and has finally, once and for all lost them my vote.

(I hasn't read the thread when I posted that - just came here to vent as I am SO ANGRY and SO DISAPPOINTED and not a bit frightened at where "progressives" are going. Will read the rest of the thread now!)

Not the fucking Greens, if the last couple of days are anything to go by.

I'm so fucking disappointed. I expect the Tories to be awful (there are some great Tory women, though I disagree with them on almost every policy point), and I expect UKIP to be beyond awful, and I expect Labour to disappoint me (though there are some fantastic Labour women, and they did introduce some good stuff), and I no longer expect anything at all of the Lib Dems, they are so fucking useless - but I expected much, much more of the Greens. More fool me.

Their "equalities officer" is a joke.

I think I'd prefer a safe seat even if it were for a party I don't want. I'm in a seat which was Lib Dem but went to SNP.

If it were a safe SNP seat I could vote for my preferred non SNP candidate and retain my principles. But as it's not a safe SNP I will have to work out who has the best chance of beating the SNP and probably get it wrong.

It doesn't really matter who I vote for. I live in a safe Tory seat so I am doomed to be forever represented by a double-barrelled middle aged white male backbencher who I've written to twice and who hasn't bothered to reply. I look forward to European elections (I know I'm in the minority here) because in these my vote actually counts for something.

The greens are a bunch of fruitcakes. They have no credible economic strategy. They are in la la land.

I will vote Conservative. I like Theresa May who is our MP.

Yes taxes will increase, but the top will be taxed relatively for their income which is more than it is now. I think I saw that a full breakdown and costings will be in their March manifesto. I think their policies are very detailed and therefore in reality won't all be put into practice if they got in, but they have seemingly thought through things in far more detail than other parties. If they can show a proper budget for their main policies then they will be worth a look IMO. I'm still open for someone to change my mind though, but so far I haven't seen any posts on here from the other parties pledging anything for women or families.

That list of Green employment policies is nuts.

I spent a very difficult pregnancy once effectively doing two jobs, as another woman flounced off on maternity leave leaving no proper arrangements in place, for no other reason than she couldn't really be bothered, and then after extended maternity leave, during which time several other pregnant people and young parents had kept the ship afloat, she marched back, arranged to go part time quoting her 'rights', then demanded 200 other people fit around her child's part-time nursery place to save herself money, again quoting her 'rights', even though it would have meant extra expense and chaos for all the other parents working with her, and expressed genuine surprise when the rest of us politely told her to feck off and read a book on team playing. I mean, there's flexibility, and there's asking people to bend over and take it up the arse.

I fear if the Greens get in this will become par for the course and we will end up with employment chaos and nothing getting done.

All men here where I am. None of them have mentioned women or any issues relating to family in any discussions to date. Saving fields and historic architecture or building more student housing, yes. Labour candidate has been classed as 'extremist' and the Lib Dem and Greens seem to be very similar. It's been a conservative seat for around 30 years. I'm disenchanted with all of them if I am honest. Where I live is a very student dense area, which can be great but also means the housing market here is very hard for families - every family home has been split up into separate rooms to enable students to rent. 1 in 5 people here is a student and it does feel as though the town has been taken over with little regard to families who want to live and work here.