Stephen Fry should resign from being President of MIND (warning about sexual abuse)

[EnthusiasmDisturbed]

According to Stephen Fry from an interviews he gave in the US

There are many great plays which contain rapes, and the word rape now is even considered a rape,” he said. “If you say: ‘you can’t watch this play, you can’t watch Titus Andronicus, or you can’t read it in a Shakespeare class, or you can’t read Macbeth because it’s got children being killed in it, it might trigger something when you were young that upset you once, because uncle touched you in a nasty place’, well I’m sorry. It’s a great shame and we’re all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place, you get some of my sympathy, but your self-pity gets none of my sympathy because self-pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity.

“Get rid of it, because no one’s going to like you if you feel sorry for yourself. The irony is we’ll feel sorry for you, if you stop feeling sorry for yourself. Just grow up.”

How can he keep his position with such an attitude. Everyone who works in MH knows of the horrendous impact that sexual abuse can have on someone's life for some it's a life long struggle.

Maybe it's his own feelings that he is fighting against, this is not the first time he has been shown to lack empathy but to have such opinions

I hope he steps down

[MuddhaOfSuburbia]

If you say: ‘you can’t watch this play, you can’t watch Titus Andronicus, or you can’t read it in a Shakespeare class, or you can’t read Macbeth because it’s got children being killed in it, it might trigger something

Does this actually happen?

My kids saw Macbeth in y5

As far as self pity goes I'd say SF wrote the book

He's all ego and doesn't give a fuck about anyone else imo

[Alisvolatpropiis]

For one so inclined towards self pity he rather lacks empathy.

[OurBlanche]

There is a small difference, his self pity is part of his MH issues and he usually apologises, publicly, for being a twat, when his mental health status steadies. I doubt he woudl ever claim not be a self pitying twat at times, which is probably why he said what he did, how he did... personal experience plus self awareness!

Yes, he is all ego, that is who he is, like him or loathe him! But that he is president of MIND and does a lot of work for them, suggests that he does, in real life, give a fuck!

[Kennington]

He has a good point about art and the censorship of it, in case it offends.
He also has a point about people wallowing in self pity.
However I don't think he should be unpleasant and accuse those victims of sexual abuse of this. If I had to walk a mile in their shoes I may not want to watch a play about rape, nor be particularly cool about the abuse. I think he has mixed up issues.

[BlueJug]

Don't like him BTW. But he does say stuff that gets listened to

[BlueJug]

And agree he mixes up issues

[AugustaFinkNottle]

As usual, the press, particularly the likes of the Mail, are quoting very selectively to put him in a bad light, and frankly OP's post has fallen straight into their trap.

[Waltermittythesequel]

He knew exactly what he was doing when he said it the way he did.

He's supposed to be quite intelligent, isn't he?

Is censorship because of self-pity even an issue?

He's just a sad old car crash who kind of used to be somebody, clinging desperately to an ever fading media spotlight like the attention whore he so clearly is.

[EnthusiasmDisturbed]

For some self pitying is part of their process of healing, they can feel sorry for the child they were and it can allow you to really be in touch with the most difficult feelings how you felt at the time and it can help to understand how someones actions have shaped you and your life

It doesn't mean as he well knows that people go round trying to gain sympathy it can at times firmly put in place the blame and can allow shame to be let go of

he has spoken of his own experience of sexual abuse and he didn't find it that bigger deal. Good for him I hope that's how he really feels but that is so not the case for many many victims

No doubt he will come out with a statement along the lines of some are choosing to be offended

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

Your self-pity gets none of my sympathy because self-pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity

In't this a bit rich, given his own notoriously thin skin? After all, he doesn't always hold back on feeling pity for himself ...

[EnthusiasmDisturbed]

No not a DM quote

From the independent and the guardian. Also being discussed on the radio this morning

[ghostyslovesheep]

I'd love to see some evidence of art being censored because abuse survivors where upset - I didn't know we had such power

he needs to take a big fat look in the mirror if he wants to talk about wallowing in self pity though - or are his mental health problems different because he's a VIP?

[WaspsandBeesSting]

Well,I agree with the idea behind it - you can't make everything trigger free. But he certainly could have phrased it better

I kind of agree with this to an extent.

[georgiatraher]

Raininginspringtime I'm with you.

[AdrenalineFudge]

I read a good quote about him a few days ago:

"Stephen Fry is a stupid person's idea of what a clever person is."

Or something to that effect. He not only needs to step down but should also stop speaking publicly altogether.

[ghostyslovesheep]

we’re all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place but for that snotty trivialising comment alone he's a twat

[MamaLazarou]

Stephen Fry grows twattier by the day.

[Waltermittythesequel]

Do his opinions have any credibility anymore?

He's just someone who loves the sound of his own dreary, monotonous voice.

He's the type of person who when he walks into a room, you can nearly hear the eyeballs rolling.

I can't imagine worse fates than listening to him pontificate about some shite or other than either hasn't happened or is desperately uninteresting...like him.

[AugustaFinkNottle]

MadamDeathstare, he's talking about things like trigger warnings on plays like Macbeth and Titus Andronicus, which is apparently happening, at least in the US. And I think he's right.

[ghostyslovesheep]

but again - to those agreeing - can you post links to these things actually happening? and even more to them happening because of self pitying abuse 'victims' ?

What have survivors of abuse got to do with people being 'overly PC'?

[herstoryyes]

ghostylovesheep: we’re all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place but for that snotty trivialising comment alone he's a twat

YY to above. Although his comments can be debated, his reductive way of dealing with life-changing events such as rape and sexual abuse, is dismissive and undermines the impact of trauma like that.

[acasualobserver]

I think if you had actually been "touched in a nasty place" you might feel very angry about these comments.

[PalmerViolet]

Self pity... It also makes you hold onto things for longer, makes you a victim and means you lose more of your life to an event

That's a delightful little bit of victim blaming there. I'm fairly sure that what made you a victim was someone committing a crime against you, not your reaction to it.

The comments belittling survivors of CSA are vile.

The banning of arts due to people being triggered has only ever happened in his head.

I used to have a hell of a lot of respect for SF. Now, not so much.