Handford Parish Council debacle

I think it is a HUGE victory for feminism, and I’m absolutely delighted that many, many, many people have seen this. Hopefully council meetings will be fairer, kinder, better as a result.

@Kit19 I found it one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched, and I’m absolutely not ashamed to say that. Yes - there is horrible misogyny, but Jackie Weaver has the victory - and you laugh at the outrageous behaviour. There is a very subtle difference in comedy. Little Britain I always found awful because you laughed directly at the unfortunate character. Nighty Night/Alan Partridge/The Office - you laugh at the IDIOCY of the character, the idiocy of misogyny. And that’s why it is INCREDIBLY funny.

napody

Very interesting. Will you tag me when you write a post?

No problem. Would you mind asking me via PM? I may forget otherwise

I do have sympathy with your concern about the ultra-individualistic side of new age-type thought. These types are often quite vocal in such movements but it doesn't follow that they steer them.

You may be correct, however there does seem to be a significant influx of new agers into political and community movements promoting political decentralisation. It may be a conincidence and related to the new age movement's significant involvement in green politics and sutainable development.

Overall I think widening participation of local politics is a good thing.

Absolutely, but when you get sinister new age cults involved in political movements there are likely to be hidden hands at play.

I think that the challenge is to try to take back control from the power crazed bullies wihtout it falling into the hands of the yoni massagers and plastic shame-ons

Very interesting. Will you tag me when you write a post?

On a practical, here-and-now level, I've seen young and middle aged women feel able to 'crack into' a world dominated (as we see in Handforth PC) by older, conservative men. Women who are left wing, practical etc.
I do have sympathy with your concern about the ultra-individualistic side of new age-type thought. These types are often quite vocal in such movements but it doesn't follow that they steer them. Overall I think widening participation of local politics is a good thing.

napody

I have a huge amount of screen shots and other data that I have reflected on but not yet had time to write up properly

I will post on MN when I have it in a suitablly structured form

I am interested in political campaigning groups that campaign for decentralisation simply because they are an intermediary stage between say Brexit and Scottish / Welsh / NI / other parts of the UK independence and the sovereign citizen / freemen on the land movement, in which each person considers themself to be a sovereign nation.

You can take it ieven further of course and have non-binary people and people with multiple gender identities and also, of course, people with dissociative identity disorder who claim to be living ass a "system" of multiple entities.

Given how batshit insane things have become I think it is only a matter of time before non-binary identifying people and people with DID demand voting rights for each of their identities / alters.

So my particular interest become intensified when political movements campaigning for decentralisation have network connections to other networks of interest to me.

Sincere apologies - all I have time for now

Is there a link to the planning meeting. I can’t find it.

*Change FROM a

Have you watched the meeting immediately before this one? It's on YouTube too. Basically it kicked off in the planning meeting, the same people left the meeting and this was the full council meeting that immediately followed. So it didn't really start at the start Iyswim.

ListeningQuietly

I have spent a lot of time researching networks linked to the Flatpack Democracy website and people, transition towns are also interesting

In this age of Brexit and various parts of the UK possibly becoming independent it is fascinating to reflect upon political movements supporting decentralisation and also their involvement in and connections to various CICs charities and other movements, including the human potential movement, community theatre groups, the New Thought movment and various controversial spiritual movements. Oh, and of course permaculture, green and sustainable development projects.

This is weeks of work and I'm still working on it

But it's definitely something worthy of scrutiny and reflection.

I don't think most of them covered themselves in glory but Jackie was just a lot clever at hiding it.

Apparently theres a huge back story chatting to my friend who works for a council and the've all being discussing it.

There opion was because Jackie was in charge of zoom she thought she was in charge of the meeting.

If you listen to the opening bit the man ask a question she talks over him refuses to listen and say's she'll removing him then continues to talk over him.

She refused to listen
Talked over him
Tried to elect new chairman
Removed people not up to her to do that that but because she had control of zoom just did it
As the situation escalated she couldn't of been more inflammatory if she tried .
The mans attitude was a disgrace he play right into her hands .

I think they were as bad as each other but she just lit the fuse and watched him explode

hooda
I heard Mel Usher speak at an event
Its a method that will not work in all areas
but should be tried in far more.

I did find it funny and have hugely enjoyed the various memes and parodies today. I'm laughing at those men behaving like absolute idiots. I completely get that they are bullies and their behaviour is unacceptable.
You can find something funny but still understand that it's sexist and wrong. I definitely don't think this is how people should behave in meetings and know it could be really distressing, I also know that it's very undemocratic and is indicative of how a lot of committees work in practice. I still laughed at the pathetic men and cheered for the super cool Jackie who took none of their shit.
I think most people are taking that perspective on it really.

I have to hold my hand up and say that I found the meeting to be absolutely hilarious.

I thought that Jackie Weaver came across very well and the bullies demonstrated very clearly that they are bullies and I hope they feel ashamed of themselves.

I have attended no end of meetings like this in community organisations, statutory organisations and charities.

I once attended a community radio meeting where it ended up in a scuffle that could have arguably been called violent.

Sometimes, very often in fact, power goes to people's heads

The 'Flatpack Democracy' movement is trying to change this... have a look, it's very interesting.

The Flatpack Democary organisation is indeed very interesting although my interest in it and perspecttive on it is likely to be very different to yours

I think we're all familiar with those discussion-blocking techniques.

Oh yes!

The chair was trying to derail the meeting before it even began - going on about it being called unlawfully and nit-picking about when a 'point of order' could be raised and by whom

I think we're all familiar with those discussion-blocking techniques.

@napody - I thought the same - it was such a missed opportunity! It was the straw the broke the camels back for me - I used to love WH, but recently I've just not found it as interesting, informative or engaging..., so I've now unsubscribed from the podcast

The KEY POINT
is that we can change this
- by going out and challenging them in May

If you want to stand against them as a councillor you need to register as a candidate now. If nobody stands against them there won’t be an election, they’ll just be elected by default.

The chair was trying to derail the meeting before it even began - going on about it being called unlawfully and nit-picking about when a 'point of order' could be raised and by whom. All Jackie Weaver wanted to do was start the meeting and she wasn't even allowed to do that.

The chair however just seemed to be being assertive to me

He wasn't, he was being completely contemptuous of Jackie, as was the young one, and that other guy she kicked into the waiting room.

But it doesn't matter if Jackie was right or wrong. That is a distraction. The men's behaviour was unacceptable and they alone are responsible for that behaviour.

Yes I agree.

Agreed. I made a comment on FB saying the same thing. It's not funny

@RavingAnnie I have ASD (Aspergers). I saw it as inappropriate behaviour and I thought she was right to remove him but a) I've been in meetings like that before as a councillor and have a good idea of likely code of conduct / rules etc. and b) had numerous similar work meetings where it's been explained to me afterwards that that behaviour isn't okay. Maybe it needs to be modelled and explained first before you'd see it? I've learned there's a distinction between shouting and being assertive. I also perceived it as a misogynistic thing, but that's more to do with how all the men behaved vs how all the women did (the men who didn't shout didn't stand up for JW). Tb fair I have also seen men behave like that to men, frequently (I work in a male dominated industry).

Jackie Weaver clearly followed the advice from the phrase 'don't argue with an idiot, because people won't know who the idiot is'.