To be shocked that this is happening in Britain in 2018?

[Spending2muchtimeonMN]

Masked men try to prevent women from attending a lawful, public meeting to discuss the impact of proposed changes to the law on women's rights:

www.facebook.com/julie.bindel/videos/pcb.10160135970780316/10160135907955316

I found it very aggressive and there was obviously the threat of violence and some attempt to hit phones out of the way. Very concerned for Magdelen Berns who is apparently very unwell.
You can see how shaken H B-E was on the video of her speech.

@BertrandRussell I agree. I feel that calling this violence is an insult and minimises the REAL violence that others have experienced.
It may have been intimidating but not violent. Intimidation is subjective, violence is not.

Just reposting the link to watch the recording of the meeting as posted earlier on in the thread I watched it, very very good and calm by the reasonable people in the meeting, shame the ones outside are too stupid to participate in a calm and measured discussion.

I don't. The anonymity I was talking about is discussed on the feminism board where some prominent and self-declared TERFs had their IPs made public by an ex-MN staffer

As far as i know 3 people had their IP addresses published

I cant swear for two of them but one was certainly not a prominent and self declared terf

Yes - that's the thing - to exercise their democratic right to go to the meeting, they would have had to push past. God knows what would have happened then.
I don't know how they eventually got in.

Does anyone else keep hearing Terry Jones shouting "He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!" ...

OK ... Analogy.

Man says to woman 'you do what you're told bitch or I'll punch your fucking lights out'.

Woman complies.

She doesn't get punched. This time.

Woman doesn't comply. She gets her teeth punched out.

I didn't watch that video to the end, but my question is, if Julie and the other women had defied Mr 'I've got a dick so I've got the power' (the main spokesman) and gone up the stairs do you think they would have been allowed to pass? Or do you think they would have been punched? My point is that the only reason that no women got hurt was that they did as the men said (I"m glad that they did get in eventually) because years and years of conditioning as well as reading about what happens to women who disobey men teaches us to comply with their demands. These are the demands that they feel entitled to because they are men with penises who see us, as women, without penises as subservient. We also know what happens to women who do disobey and who get their teeth punched or kicked in - they are blamed for provoking or disobeying. I do think that what happened was an instance of violence and I also think the only reason there waa not blood or bruising was the women did what the men wanted. They ensured there were no injuries by complying to the men's demands.

I think that the people who are determined to discuss the meaning of the word 'violence' are missing the point. The point is simple. This is outrageous intimidating and threatening behaviour.

Freedom of speech isn't the issue here. If a group of protestors had stood outside the venue, calmly and without intimidation indicating that they thought the GRA was fine and objections are alarmist, fine. But that's not what happened. They attempted to prevent people attending the meeting by physically blocking their path on a narrow stairwell inside the venue, with their faces masked. Can't you see the difference?

Exactly, Yet. The whole point of that sort of intimidation is that the people being blocked have no way of knowing whether or not the people blocking them will escalate to physical violence if they don't get what they want. And many women have a whole lifetime of experience telling them that some men will.

If they had pushed past they would have been accused of being violent.

Great post, YetAnotherSpartacus.

Another reason for restraint, of course, was that we all know that any attempt by women to push through would have been treated as unprovoked violence by the TRAs and would have been all over Twitter in no time. As it is they are claiming that somebody was manhandled, which presumably refers to the actions of the venue staff/security/police in finally getting them out so the meeting could get started.

another clip hope this works - woman surrounded by TRAs
twitter.com/twitter/statuses/988003582250291201

Also the idea that I'm allowed to film you but you're not allowed to film me is clearly nonsense. So no, not OK to smash the camera out of someone's hand in that situation.

Completely agree @YetAnotherSpartacus

That's a shocking clip MsMcWoodle If that isn't perceived as an act of violence I don't know what would be. It's like 'real rape victims' all over again.

I'm still confused by the idea that those men are "effeminate" and therefore no threat. Does this person think that a man has to look like a rugby played to be a threat to women? Because even lanky men whose only form of exercise is lifting a pint glass are still stronger than the average woman.

@Woshambo

I feel that calling this violence is an insult and minimises the REAL violence that others have experienced.

Can you explain to me what REAL violence is?

"She? You fucking cunt! My pronouns are they!"

Says it all really.

As to how they got in eventually (posted on Julie Bindel's FB):

me and two women friends were the first ones in and we did force our way in - there was around 15-20 of them - 2 on each step sat down in climbed up the stairs they grabbed my arms and grabbed me round the waist from behind. To be honest they were quite feeble but it was scary cos we were on a staircase I didn't fancy being dragged down.. they will have to assault me to stop me passing and I can assure them now they will regret it if they do! And Im not the only person who feels like this..also tried to tell them that the only women their tactics would work on are the women who have been bullied and victimised or raped and that that was pretty ironic given that they did this to us under the banner of being 'sisters uncut' - a grassroots organisation that was supposed to be about fighting cuts to women's services like domestic violence refuges! What a fucking liberty to appropriate our struggles the majority of them on the stairs were men 'sisters' my arse

I hope she presses charges

I have some grave concerns that it will take something very serious indeed to happen before the authorities have the courage to take this on and stamp it out.

Maybe the goggles are finally coming off, but there is much more work to do to get those whom make laws and run this country to understand what is actually happening here.

The number of transgender people is absolutely tiny in terms of percentage of society, and yet they have the loudest and most demanding platform. What about the rights of half the entire population?

This kind of footage does nothing at all for the support of transgender issues. My support has certainly fallen away since their demands have been increasingly irresponsible and damaging, and their hostile anti- women aggression has reached new levels.

Before I respected those that choose their own gender, and happy to go along with calling them whatever, but not in such a way that damages girls and women. That is where the line is for me.

This whole ugly new side of masked men trampling over women simply going to a meeting is utterly revolting, and I am sure many people will be distancing themselves now. Indeed the damage to their own campaign will be considerable and why they are not able to simple express themselves with intelligence and conviction is beyond me (and certainly them clearly)

Fucking hell, it gets worse!

orchid

Did you call the police? If you didn't, next time please do, intimidation and harassment is a crime in this country and you do not deserve to be put at risk on a staircase with masked men again.

I have the biggest respect for you - truly you are in my view the new suffragettes and maybe we ought to be organising far more meetings.
for you and my thanks

A few people have asked what the meeting was about.

It was about these proposed changes to the Law, some of which are preemptively happening already;

sages.org.uk/publications/sages-factsheet.html