Found this in the New Forest!

Let's be honest, if someone from here had encountered "twaw" written on a rock in the new forest, they would absolutely be here kicking off about how horrible and oppressed and unsafe it made them feel, and can't they even enjoy a nice walk in the forest without "gender ideology" being forced down their throat

I don't think they would say it made them feel unsafe, but I agree that the rest of what you say is a likely reaction; plus removing the stone and probably bolstered up with the points EarthSight has been making.

In many locations the countryside can't be an utterly, natural unspoilt wilderness as it's someone's workplace. Scotland has codified a right to roam, including over working farms, but that doesn't give anyone the right to make their own additions/ put up political slogans.

In wilder locations which aren't "workplaces" I agree it's jarring.

No, I'm not directing that to you personally, at all. I was thinking about the wider issue of how we divide up 'nature' and 'human' and see them as two separate things. It's a very common way of thinking, and I think it's fallacious.

I think the lives people often lead can make them feel quite distanced from nature rather than part of it.

Let's be honest, if someone from here had encountered "twaw" written on a rock in the new forest, they would absolutely be here kicking off about how horrible and oppressed and unsafe it made them feel,

I very much doubt anyone here would be saying words in the forest made them feel unsafe. Irritated yes. But seeing as how so many tra's rarely leave their mothers basements, particularly for a walk in the forest, I doubt they will be coming across women's words in the wilderness, or vice versa.

By 'we', I mean people in general. Not you.

I wonder if the idea of 'nature' as something separate and pure to be unsullied by humans might be at the root of some of our problems with poor ecological choices!

Also - wow. What a way to argue your point there. Linking my views to poor ecological choices. That is quite something.

I was born and still live rurally too @ArabellaScott . I was thinking of the enjoyment of people who live here, not visit here.

using the countryside or nice place where people go for a walk

Almost all of the land in the UK is used, affected, farmed, managed by humans. I wonder if the idea of 'nature' as something separate and pure to be unsullied by humans might be at the root of some of our problems with poor ecological choices!

We live here. We are nature, we aren't separate, we can't preserve 'nature' as something that isn't fundamentally intertwined with humans and humanity.

Having lived rurally most of my life, I find the idea that a not-urban space should be pristinely absolved of human traces so that townies can periodically visit and bask in its beauty impractical to say the least. Yes, green spaces and wild spaces are very important, but they are all also connected to our lives intimately and daily and always, and most often they are also workplaces and our homes.

Yes, there are lots of rocks out there with various messages on them. We have Jehovah's witness rocks, 'inspirational quotes' and lots and lots of 'NHS thanks' rocks around here. (I live rurally). I just cannot get worked up about it.

I do share concerns about littering & potential misplacement of materials, and I have always carefully considered the consequences of my actions.

Also, I would like to point out that I don't think of the slate as graffiti - it's a natural material and the message was written on that. The graffiti I was referring to was writing on stones and such.

What I would like to avoid is a situation where we're using the countryside or nice place where people go for a walk as somewhere else to go 'Hey - here's my opinion on this'.

I don't want to see it, even if I agree with the message. In national parks we already have problems with umpteen rock stacking showing up. One person does it, then another, then another, then another, then another, all wanting an Instagramable pic and and opportunity to say I WOZ 'ERE on somewhere beautiful before they return to urban settings.

In once small place I counted 50 - 70 of them. Things like that quickly add up and become an issue and a bloody eyesore. I do not want to see the same thing being done with political messages, however small, even if they are lovely or I agree with them.

I understand this may be an unpopular opinion and that people have decent-counter arguments to it, but I would like people to consider thinking about the matter differently or try to see where I'm coming from.

Sorry for the derail though :/

@NoNotMeNoSiree

Yes, but the act of writing on stones/slate as someone pointed out at the beginning of the thread could be seen as a kind of graffiti?

It was me who said that, and as I have also pointed out, my views on this extend to all political messaging, including trans activist graffiti.

Yes, but I don't think we should be using such places to fill with political messages. It's nice to go for a walk and have one place to forget about all of that.

I mean the slate, not the appalling t-shirt message.

A state of fact about what exactly feminism is and has always been about, is not in any way offensive.

Of course it's not, well unless you are the kind of person who thinks that women only exist for the validation of men and their feelings which is a contemptible way of regarding women, is misogynistic and inherently un-feminist. There is no other way you can read the objections to this slate from those who are objecting.

Siree and bluech have made this "about trans," somehow.

Quite, any sane person can tell that is disgusting.

A state of fact about what exactly feminism is and has always been about, is not in any way offensive.

It's not a competition though.

No, it's not.

There's really no comparison - one is a pretty, unobtrusive object with a message intended for women, which is appreciated by people like the OP who come across it.

The other is also a message for women... it serves no other purpose but to upset and intimidate. Not 'pro trans', but very specifically a male expression of contempt for women.

Oh, great you're back, NoNot. So can you specify what is 'offensive' about the slate?

Nobody's saying that isn't offensive, course it is, it's disgusting.
It's not a competition though.

Surely "suck my d.ck t.rfs" emblazoned across the street, where there's far more people walking, is more offensive than a tiny statement about the heart of feminism on a slate.

Anyway, yet another excellent thread demonstrating the misogyny of the genderist movement which seeks to prioritise male feelings over women's safety.