Canadian librarian - absolute shero

Who is the interviewer - I won’t say journalist as that an insult to journalists.

twitter.com/cbcasithappens/status/1184963624537853954?s=21

Looking at the replies to CBC's tweet, it seems the majority support the library.

I emailed Vickery Bowles to express my admiration. The address seems to be [email protected], in case anyone else wants to.

I'm sorry the second bolded bit above should have been this question from the interview not Kittens quote twice.

How do you think a trans person ... would feel sitting in the room with this panel discussion? Do you think that they would feel safe?

Wow, the interviewer sounds absolutely demented. That is not a journalistic tone at all.

That's what I thought - I started fearing for Ms Bowles towards the end f that 'interview' it was getting a little preachy and manipulative at the end there. It ended with several questions which amounted to 'what about the trans' asked in slightly different ways.

Wow, the interviewer sounds absolutely demented. That is not a journalistic tone at all.

FFS this crap again. It is a talk, words can hurt yes, but they are NOT violence - no body is UNSAFE. I'm sick to death of hearing 'safe' used in this context. It is used all the time against this board, used about social media and now a talk at a library. Seriously if you feel so 'unsafe' around words don't attend, get off social media don't read and go and see someone because feeling 'unsafe' because someone disagrees with you is YOUR issue not everyone else's and you need help.

How do you think a trans person ... would feel sitting in the room with this panel discussion? Do you think that they would feel safe?

Chilling.

The cold condemnation in that interviewer's voice was quite something. A woman expressing open disgust with another woman for enabling women to talk about legislation affecting their own human rights. In 2019. In a 'liberal' country.

We should all be afraid.

Well Carol Off came across as incredibly bigoted.

You do have to wonder if it's ever occurred to that "journalist" that their own ability to do their job effectively relies upon freedom of speech being both enshrined in law and respected by society.

Christ. That wasn't an interview: that was an imposed struggle session.

She was fantastic.

Vckery Bowles: "I will NOT back down."

Brave woman. Good on her.

The interviewer actually sounded quite sinister "Are you going to reconsider?" - it was almost threatening.

Crazy times.

Christ, what an overbearing bigoted nasty example of misogyny was that?!
(Not from the librarian, obviously).

She is exceptional. That 'interview' was an interrogation. I could practically see the bright light they were shining in her eyes and feel the cuffs around her wrists.

Comparing GC views to nazism...trans people will feel unsafe because you're denying them their rights (and obviously it's the GC feminists committing all of those acts of violence)...how is denying the rights of others a 'side'....you knew she is a horrible transphobe and you still give her a platform?

Bingo, bingo, bingo, bingo!

That is one creepy interview.

The interviewers specific criticisms of Meghan Murphy are as follows.

She thinks trans identified people should have services and programs specific for them.

She thinks that people who identify as transwomen aren't female.
That she thinks it's not possible for people to change their biological sex.

Oh the horror, the absolute horror.

I was listening to the interview and DH's face was - as he said, of course TW are not women, how is it hate speech to say that. Interviews like that are really useful to peak people, particularly people who think feminists have been exaggerating the problems.

I only read the interview before, now I have gone back and listened.

Demented is the right word, Kittens.

”the room rental purpose was to have an educational and open discussion on the concept of gender identity and its legislation ramifications on women in Canada.”

The librarian said this, and it sounded so rational, I was almost cheering, then the next comment from the interviewer flat out accuses the librarian of lying. It isn’t even a question.

Fuck, is this where the world is going? This is one of these terrifying moments for me. So self-ID is in place, but that isn’t enough. Now women are not even allowed to gather together to discuss the impacts of that law? The pressure that woman is under is incredible.

And hats off again to Megan Murphy for persevering. Listening to that, I think it sounds perfectly possible she will end up in prison.

Wow.

What was up with that interviewer. No alternative thought process at all. No recognition that equally talking about reproductive rights or womens bodies have been also considered hate speech and women have been banned and doxxed

Hate speak only ever goes one way.and its not ours

That interview was truly amazing... I would absolutely go to this event if it was on a weekend as Toronto is not too far away... Tuesday evening is hardly a convenient time sadly.

Press coverage after wards, I predict, will be entirely about general outrage about transphobia with zero specifics about what was said.

What a shocking interview! But Vickery absolutely nailed it.

Woke Canadians are a little aggressive aren't they?

I wonder if they get so excised on behalf of the rights of Native Canadians, in particular native women, who face real oppression, not the pretendy kind when someone recognises what sex you are.

That “journalist” is a disgrace. But a round of applause for Vickery Bowles. Strong, calm and rational in the face of persistent baiting and accusation.

I lost count of how many times the interviewer tried a “gotcha” in that “interview”. And every time Vickery had a calm, rational response.

As an aside, I’m so sick of people saying they feel “unsafe” because someone doesn’t agree with them. Where is their resilience?

Also, in what kind of fucked up world do we live when someone, in this instance a librarian, has to defend the right to free speech from a journalist? Do they not understand what they have with freedom of the press and how those rights are being suppressed worldwide?

rsf.org/en

Wouldn’t be drawn on expressing any opinion other than retaining free speech.

That's what I found so wonderful. I think many of us here would have been tempted to get into a "what about women's rights" discussion. She kept it absolutely about free speech, not about content. Truly admirable.

What an amazing woman. She remained calm and replied succinctly to such obviously biased questioning. Wouldn’t be drawn on expressing any opinion other than retaining free speech.

No one expects the Canadian Inquisition!

(I lie. Everyone does nowadays.)