LWS Birmingham 14/05

Yikes! I've got such terrible second hand embarrassment I need a doctor

West Midlands Constabulary has a Labour Party Police & Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster. Up for election next year. He's a lawyer, apparently.

Anyone who was there (and thank you one and all) who wants to express concern at the policing can contact him via the website, using the 'Contact' form.

For complaints about specific officers, there's a 'Complaints' page.

The stewards were amazing. I am disgusted with the lack of police presence at first.

The first event I have taken my daughter to and I was so horrified at the lack of police presence that I sent my daughter shopping with her Gran. It did not feel safe and the lack of police felt deliberate. Thankfully my daughter got to see the end, got to see the wonderful stewards dancing and got to go to the pub with all the wonderful women. My mum even said how amazing it was to be in a group of so many women. I am so grateful to all the stewards - they did the police’s job for them - very brave women.

@cheshirecatssmile i was there and your speech was amazing. I held back a violent TRA who tried to rush in at the beginning- then squeezed for police when he had to finally retreat. Strangely the police then suddenly turned up for hulking great men. There are lots of complaints going to WMP and I urge others to complain if they were there and saw how awful the police presence was to protect women.

Thank you

@cheshirecatssmile lol well I didn't say much.

You were awesome. x

Lovely to meet you and great speech

I spoke so bloody nervous but found my voice

That talk by the transman was so weird, I'd really like to know what is going on in their head. I wonder what sex they thought the audience would think they are? For me, when they came up I thought that they were either a gay teenage boy (the voice and mannerisms seemed quite camp, and they are quite short so perhaps not fully grown) or a woman who had taken cross sex hormones to make their voice deeper. But not a straight or adult man by any stretch of the imagination. When they said they were a detransitioner I thought 'OK, that makes sense', a woman with an oddly lowered, but not quite masculine voice and of short stature. Did this person think they looked like a man and the audience would think so too? They then went on to make a speech that didn't fit with the kind of speeches normally given at the LWS events. First of all the 'hey ladies' - is not the usual way these crowds are addressed, which to me shows this person thinks of the crowd as an 'other' and in restrictive, gender stereotyped terms. They then go on to use TRA language and rhetoric, 'the other side' 'trying to silence us and kill us' 'people want me dead' - again, this kind of simplistic, hyperbolic black and white language is not what you normally hear at these events, it is more women sharing the stories of their lives and how this ideology has affected them or pissed them off. They then do the big reveal 'I am a transman and all of you are fucking terfs' then try to unscrew the mic. It was all very anti-climatic. Nobody threw anything, reacted with violence, or even made any noise, if anything there was only pity that seemed to come across from the crowd for this poor kid caught up in a cult. What KJK said to follow up was spot on, about the compassion we all feel for those caught up in this.

https://twitter.com/CptElara/status/1657731953125126144?s=20

Yes, just saw that. Silly wee numpty.

bum, if I’d known I would’ve gone.

TRA pretending to be a detransitioner spoke and then tried to break the equipment!

Hope everyone is OK. Just seen on Twitter that it took the West Midlands Police a long time to show up. Also a tweet from an hour or two ago saying the TRAs were being escorted by police towards the LWS contingent. Usual pictures of young white males wearing masks, hoods up, vs happy, relaxed women of all ages, various ethnicities.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u0GqS3-1N88

Is there a live stream? Can't find it on KJ's YouTube channel

I'm going!!
I'm meeting women there.
Very excited as it's my first time and I so want to speak
Will also be giving out post card's regarding annex B
Nhs has gone to shite
If anyone getting the 10:49 from Macclesfield?

So, anyone up for a coffee or something beforehand?

There's a tram you can catch from New Street Station to Centenary Square.

Can't do much about the middle aged meanie mummy look though!

How about the praeternaturally haggard deranged spinster look? I also get some people who think I'm secretly a man.

I know loads of women who are going. To stay safe you can ensure any obvious signs you are a terf like a woman definition t shirt are covered up. Can't do much about the middle aged meanie mummy look though!
We won't know how safe it will be until we see the policing. Hopefully they will keep the partying protesters far enough away that we can hear.

If at any time you feel unsafe there will be lots of women to support you. The stewards are brilliant.

Centenary Square is about a 15 min walk from the train station. No doubt you will bump into fellow women along the way.

See you there!

@stealtheatingtunnocks Apparently it's in Centenary Square. That's really easy to find.

@DecommissionedVag I'd be happy to have a coffee or something before.

I will be there I think if I can sum up the courage. It will be my first one. Not sure why I worry about it but I’m only just finding my voice. I’m aware I sound a bit pathetic!

@JOD74 I'm sure everyone listening would be supportive. And of course, you don't have to say anything yourself if you don't want to. I'm not intending to, just coming along to have a listen to others.

i don’t know Birmingham very well. Do we know where in the city it is? I need to arrange accommodation

I'm considering going to this, but I'm a bit nervous as I've not been to anything like this before.
Do any mumsnetters plan on meeting up beforehand? If so, I'd love to join you.

'fascist' = respectable friendly mother who is concerned about and speaks up about child safeguarding these days.