Barry Wall’s grift

It would appear that your view is that he is, by definition, grifting simply because (you allege) he has gone from making money out of trans activism, to the reverse.

I would counter that firstly by suggesting that making money out of training [people and/or companies] is fine, and changing the content of what you teach as you learn new things, consider things differently and have a change of opinion is perfectly fine. I think there are a lot of people (incl. on this board) who did not start out as fully GC.

I do not know his full work history or precisely what he has taught in the past. I do not know if he was ever "running a trans activist organisation", but he seems to have - at a minimum - worked on projects that are "pro trans". If you are able to evidence his precise role and precisely what he was advocating I would love to see it.

From what I can make out he has a background in teaching / education. He has done a lot of work in and around EDI, which means that broadly speaking until 2015 he would not have needed to be doing much trans related stuff at all. By around 2018 he was moving out of the EDI field because of the conflict between trans rights and LGB / women's rights, and because the original purpose of EDI - to ensure meritocracy by ensuring underprivileged minorities were not overlooked - was being replaced by equity (quotas for minorities, potentially illegal, to ensure diversity, but not diversity of thought).

As far as I can see the potential legitimate criticisms relate to what he might have been doing 2015-2018 (when loads of us had not spotted the dangers of TQ+ ideology, and bearing in mind I have no evidence he was ever pushing for trans privileges such as men in women's spaces or that gay men should be open to dating TIFs). I suspect / believe that the whole reason he is doing what he is doing now is because he is a teacher by trade, he needs to earn a living, and he was forced out of his previous role because he could not support the way trans/EDI was going. I KNOW that he 100% believes that sex is real and matters and TQ+ ideology is incredibly dangerous.

I don’t know much about this particular situation but on the whole I tend to agree while also having mixed thoughts sometimes.

I think people need to be able to financially support themselves and thereby their activism. If the product/service they’re offering is priced fairly and is useful to the buyer then I don’t see a huge issue. No-one should be made to feel compelled to spend money on every request for funding.

I am also cognisant that some people in the past have treated the GC movement as a source of funding and have made one too many trips to the well for my comfort.

But at the same time, we’re all adults and if the people seeking funding are above board and honest with why they want support and what they will give in return for your donation then we have to allow people to make adult choices as to whether or not to participate.

Also a lot of the people seeking donations or monthly subscriptions have put their heads above the parapet and been made unemployed as a result. The almost patron-artist type relationship might be the only option for them.

It’s all, as usual, complicated and I would hope that people could spot a genuine grift over accusations of grifting made in bad faith.

Running a business is not a grift. Nobody is forcing you to buy from it. Only people who have never been self-employed or run a business come out with this sort of nonsense.

100%.

If anyone has evidence of poor opinions or conduct then evidence it. If anyone has evidence of "grifting" then evidence it. Do not conflate the two.

I think he is doing good work and trying to earn an honest living. I am not aware of anyone who has signed up having an issue with the way he runs the Winning Mindset / Warrior Teacher programme... either a problem with his business practices or content. Given you can cancel any time, it hardly seems likely that anyone who had signed up would have a big problem. Worst case is you cancel the automated payment and leave the course!

I'm not really comfortable with this tactic of accusing someone of "grifting" when you have an issue with other things they have said. Same accusation is levelled against KJK for selling merch by people who don't like things that she has said.

Thank you for answering my questions @JamieCannister

This is really interesting - thanks @JamieCannister I follow his SubStack & YouTube, but don't pay so I see a very limited version of his position. (My principle is to pay for women's content, so I subscribe to Julie Bindel).

The tricky bit is to balance meritocracy with accounting for the deep & structural disadvantages suffered by women and (some) people of colour.

One really interesting approach is by the Australian sociologist (whose name escapes me, argh!!) who argues we should focus on male advantage, rather than female disadvantage. It's an interesting mind switch.

I might be wrong, but I get the impression that the stages are...

(1) I support Equality Diversity and Inclusion because that is how we ensure that the best people get the job even if they are women or LGB or black
(2) I support Equity Diversity and Inclusion because I supported Equality Diversity and Inclusion and I don;t really know how equity differs from equality.
(3) I have just learnt what equity is. I hate Equity Diversity and Inclusion, which means I hate all "EDI" because the E refers to equity now.
(4) Meritocracy is everything.
(5) Back to (1)

I am tempted to say that Barry might be at stage (4), and he will only revert to stage (1) when he is certain that modern EDI is 100% anti-woke, anti-TQ+ ideology, and anti "equity".

I am back at stage (1).

Barry might argue that it is too soon to go back to stage (1), or that the final stage is "meritocracy is everything (and obviously we have to make sure LGB and women are not discriminated against in order to have meritocracy. But that does not mean we need EDI of any description".

I hope that others can correct me if they feel I am misrepresenting him or the course.

I believe it is actually called "the Winning Mindset" and the "Warrior Teacher" name came more from people on the course than from Barry himself.

I signed up on a bit of a whim, in response to speaking to a "TWAW, why do you care about this absolute non issue?" friend. I didn't entirely know what I was signing up to, or why, and 3 or 4 months in I was enjoyng it and learning but still a bit like "why am I doing this? what is this all about?" It is so wide-ranging in some respects.

To try to explain - I'm not opposed to proper thoughtful equality & diversity. These are good things! But they shouldn't be imposed to the exclusion of rationality & common sense. And they need to be taken seriously, and be evidence-based.

• There's still a sex-based pay gap
• Women & girls are still subject to sexual assault & harassment as "normal"
• 2.3 women/girls murdered every week for being female

And all these things can be much worse for women/girls of colour or in ethnic minorities (in the UK context).

So I think that Barry Wall tends to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Yes I've watched a couple of his YouTube vids. It's clear he charges.

I find him quite the Tory. He's a gay man opposed to gender ideology, but he's also opposed to quite a lot of other stuff like - well, women's rights ...

Warrior Teacher refers to people becoming educators (or rather helping people see the light) in their day to day lives, not the job of "teacher". However teachers who signed up might find that they can take a lot of what they learn into their day jobs.

Wow - I assumed it was aimed specifically at teachers - what an odd name for the programme if it’s aimed at everyone.

At least he’s not trying to teach marketing skills, I guess.

I have heard him describe the EDIJester as a character. If I were to offer him feedback (and I may well have done so already) I would perhaps argue that he should try to make the EDI Jester character a bit less annoying, and he should try to separate himself from the character. I think the character is probably a bit of a twist on one side of his personality, and that he blurs the boundary between the character and the real him... which makes it harder for him to become a "respectable TQ+ commentator" than if the EDI Jester character had never existed.

Are you finding it useful and good value for money?

First thing to say is that £60 per month is not a sum I have to worry about, so bear that in mind. One could argue that £30 per hour is a lot for a group session... but then again I have had one session that ended up being a one on one, and I am often in a group of 3 or 4. I think it is fairly good value for money. I have had my reservations (not least that it seems a bit all over the place at the start and I have struggled a bit wondering why I am doing it!) But it is starting to fall into place for me more.

I would say it is "interesting" more than "useful", but I think that it is likely to be useful for anyone who wishes to try to counter TQ+ ideology or wokeism in their household, workplace or wider society. It covers so much stuff that I think you need to spend at least 3 or 4 hours a week - and maybe much more time - doing the homework and delving deeper into the topics covered to really get it all. I believe that it is likely to become more useful as the course progresses. I believe that some people who have done the course before me have found it INCREDIBLY useful (in terms of believing that they have got essential tangible results in the real world that they would not have got had they not done the course).

So many teachers have swallowed EDI as a whole, without thinking as a 'good thing'. Do you think that the programme will help with pushing back against the more extreme elements of EDI?

Warrior Teacher refers to people becoming educators (or rather helping people see the light) in their day to day lives, not the job of "teacher". However teachers who signed up might find that they can take a lot of what they learn into their day jobs.

I am still - six months in - somewhat unsure of why I signed up or what the point is - or is it just dead simple? It is about learning how (and why!) to counter wokism / TQ+. But it is fascinating, and people who work in or around EDI and who sign up will, if they buy into what Barry says, learn why so much modern EDI is dangerous, and start becoming better equipped to fight back.

I certainly don't agree with him on everything, but basically he is a very good man, fighting for the sex based rights of women and LGB, and against child sterilisation and authoritarianism (TQ+ / woke is incredibly authoritarian)

Are you finding it useful and good value for money?

So many teachers have swallowed EDI as a whole, without thinking as a 'good thing'. Do you think that the programme will help with pushing back against the more extreme elements of EDI?

The Jester has been shining the light for a few years, as a gay man he finds the whole genderwang stuff offensive, and he's not afraid to call out the crap when he comes across it.
The Warrior Teacher programme is not new, and it's no secret you have to pay for it.

As for the Warrior Teacher Programme, I believe that he runs it for two reasons - he genuinely wants to ensure authoritarianism, wokism, TQ+ and CSJ loses its influence, by helping people fight it. And he needs to earn a living.

I believe the Programme is onto it's third year. It is really not the sort of thing I normally do, but I signed up 6 months or so back, so I am a good two years behind the first cohort. Most people on the course are women, but not all. You pay £60 per month, you can quit any time, and the only "rule" is that if you quit mid-year and want to rejoin you have to start the year again from scratch. As far as I am aware no-one in my cohort has quit so far. The basics of the course are a two hour online seminar per month, hand-outs, suggested reading and suggested watching. Plus whatsapp group for chatting.

AMA

There are two aspects to this story.

First, Barry Wall's background. I am not sure the full story, but from what I can make out he is someone who supported the idea of EDI as a way of ensuring that the best people got the jobs and to ensure that companies were not homophobic or sexist etc. He supported "trans rights" as part of his work in EDI, before being forced to quit (as a consultant) because he did not support the trans destruction of the rights of others. He peaked 7 years ago (2 years before me), I think.

He is now completely opposed to all things trans or EDI, because he thinks EDI is not capable of being saved and it should be all about meritocracy.

I don't think working in EDI is automatically "grifting", and the fact that he left that work on principle suggests principles mean more to him than the cash.

Maybe Barry - or someone who knows better than me - can correct or confirm that.

Secondly, the video he made that apparently mentions Venice... I will search for it. I cannot really comment in full til I watch it.

Yes, I didn't know the background. Thanks @Shedmistress .

That is a very disappointing over reaction from him. Thanks for filling in the gaps.

Barry's behaviour at the weekend was astonishing to be honest and I've been a fan for years.

Venice stated that going straight to the EHRC with a complain about the 'I kissed a boy' TV show was not the best approach. Her angle was that the BBC is covered by Ofcom not the EHRC who might have rather more important things to be worried about. And the threat from girls who pretend to be men is on a tiny scale compared to the threat from men who pretend to be women.

Barry then made a video misrepresenting Venice, didn't tell her about it or let her have a right of reply. Posted it on X not YT where he posts everything else.

Then when she said 'hang on a minute, you misrepresented me' went on a victim crusade making out that she was some sort of evil witch. Full of 'you are wrong love' patronising and, well, astonishing.

Then said 'I've blocked her' as if she was the one doing the bullying. Talk about gaslighting.

Honestly, it was shameful bullying by Barry and completely unnecessary. I have no idea why he decided to carry on the way he did.

In amongst all this, people pointed out that he actually started his company in order to promote EDI for trans people. And posted links and screenshots of his 2019 work which was full on TRA.

The reason they posted these is because he was saying back in 2019 that the biggest risk to gay men was straight women. And he was well in with Adrian Harrop. Venice on the other hand has been in this game for many years before we'd even heard of Harrop.

That's why they were posting the back story, for the full context.

He could you know, say 'sorry I misrepresented you, did a video about you, didn't give you a right of reply and behaved like a twat', but no.

Yeah, I don't know where the idea that he only noticed that genderism was bad recently has come from. Anyone can look back through his old videos and see that he has been discussing this for a while.

Barry's been at this for a long time now, it's not that he changed his mind last year!

The number of people charging for stupid counselling classes who have zero qualifications is quite high.

I saw an add yesterday when looking for a place to get a massage that does a kind of program that involves "conscious evolution." All a load of balls.