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

the very people complaining about these protesters would probably support the ( sometimes violent ) protests around UKIP or other ( completely lawful ) political parties they didn’t agree with.

Nope. I am fine with non-violent protest obviously. But I can assure you that I unequivocally condemn both the repellent behaviour shown in this video and any other violent protesters, regardless of what they are protesting against.

Now can we give it a rest with the Donald Trump style 'both sides are as bad as each other thing'.

When you're borrowing rhetorical points from the Donald, it's possible that you are not completely in the right.

Because the thing is, the very people complaining about these protesters would probably support the ( sometimes violent ) protests around UKIP or other ( completely lawful ) political parties they didn’t agree with.

What? This sounds like more utter shite to me. I don't know a single gender critical feminist who supports violence. You are making things up.

they are out and out misogynists AsAProfessionalFekko. This gives them the opportunity to intimidate women, which I would guess makes them feel pretty good. That's why they're there.

I think they are just angry arses getting all whipped up by other arses.

In another place they'd be looking for a foreign war to fight (if they weren't such wusses).

Bristol isn't such a big place - they will be recognised won't they (even with their faces covered)? I hope they are proud of their actions then. People get sacked over things like that.

Bunch of fucking cowards.

It is shocking that any group of people, men, women, trans, costumed, masked or not, can be allowed to intimidate and block entry to a lawful meeting. What on earth were the police doing as surely the protesters should have been moved back from the entrance.

The police didn't need to take sides, they needed to do their JOB!

If a member of the public suffers harassment, as this clearly is, by masked men they clearly have a responsibility to make arrests and to protect her.

I hope the papers are giving this some serious air time.

Am I right in thinking that a few years back these same people would be running around on may day breaking bank windows and yelling about class war?

Yes. Posh kids on the latest bandwagon.

And when their behaviour causes the inevitable backlash, they will drop their special pronouns and NB/genderqueer identities and fade back into their nice posh lives with social networks that get them cushy jobs and a mortgage via deposit provided by mater and pater.

They won't feel any of the effects of the trail of disaster they leave behind them.

I wonder if anarchists feel the same stabbing head pain when these idiots call themselves anarchists that I do when they call themselves feminists.

Stupid posh students playing at being activists. Can't confront men though, that would be scary and they might rip your mask off! So much more fun bullying older women.

Julie Bindel is awesome.

"Stay away from me posh boy".

She has unintentionally summed up much of the situation here. Which is; privileged men attempting to mask their identities, in more ways than one, in order to harass women.

Are they men? Look like prepubescent boys to me.

One of the friends of these people was in court just last week, found guilty of assaulting a 60 yr old women trying to attend the same event.

He* was on social media that very morning telling these people to mask up.

Of course it was fucking intimidating. How dare you say it's not.

I am calling Tanis Wolf / Tara Wood he as a political statement as he what he did was male violence against a woman because he didn't like her views. I believe calling violent men she obscures the threat of male violence and puts women at risk. I will not do it. I call him Tanis because AFAIK that's the name he was tried under in court.

When male violence ceases to be a real threat to women, I will be happy to call men she out of politeness if they like. Before then, no.

Am I right in thinking that a few years back these same people would be running around on may day breaking bank windows and yelling about class war?

Yes, Ian Bone, a prominent Class War person was spotted with the TRAs at court.

I think covering faces is SOP for these protests. Certainly at the one outside the Department of Health on International Women's Day, the protestors had scarves around the bottom half of their faces. They also physically blocked both the front and (once they discovered it) the back entrance to the building.

This is unusual. Protests in Whitehall, IME, are not 'hard pickets' and the protestors do not cover their faces. The usual approach is placards, leaflets, shouting and singing.

The combination of tone of voice, words, height (note they were stood on stairs to appear taller - they could have blocked the door way but didn't choose to do this), masks and being part of a large group makes these people intimidating. As someone who has been the victim of male violence on a daily basis from the ages of 6 - 16 and then on several occasions after due to violent relationships, I can assure you I would have felt intimidated by these people, as was their intention.
Intimidation to me is violence, aggression to me is violence. If these people can say that to misuse pronouns is literal violence and that is so easily believed, then why is it so difficult to believe that these women feel that the protesters behaviour is violent?
Also, whilst I don't think masks are ALWAYS frightening, when accomponied by other factors (including an aggressive and intimidating atmosphere) they absolutely are. If I were talking to a large number of surgeons with their masks on I wouldn't feel frightened, if those surgeons were preventing me from accessing my place of work and and were acting in a way I found to be threatening/intimidating then the masks would, at least to me, add a sinister twist to what they were doing.

@flippyfloppyflower

"again your logic is flawed. You have judged me on one criteria - a speedily and angrily typed post on a dodgy phone on a public forum. And intelligent ones do not do that."

No. Firstly, it has nothing to do with logic (trust me, I know logic). Secondly, you deny it's human to judge based on available data. Have you seriously made no judgements about me. I bet you have. Intelligent people change their ideas when presented with new data. They still make tentative judgements or working hypothesis (for want of a better term) with a paucity of data.

I enjoy my anonymity here. I suspect you do too. I've asked why these protesters keeping thiers is bad but you've completely ignored it.

@FormerlyFrikadela01 - their being dangerous people is clearly up for debate but yes, exactly the kind of malicious doxing you describe.

@ReluctantCamper - most people have said the protesters were men.

I don't think that antagonistic misgendering is an especially good use of sophistry. I thought it was a simplistic and true argument as opposed to clever and false.

@felicitythemangyfox

"Slapping a phone out of someone's hand is assault".

Is it? I suspect you know more about the law than me, but are you sure? I can't for a second believe it would be in the public interest to prosecute (I know not a benchmark for legality) and whilst a quick google suggests it could be assault, if someone told me they'd been assaulted and I found out they'd had someone knock their phone (not out of their hand) while they filmed a charged situation, I'd feel like they misrepresented what had happened.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

"You are the only dissenting voice on this thread"

Yes.

Would you rather that only those who agree with you are allowed to post? In real life, apathy and pro-self-ID are the majority.

@madvixen

"The easiest way to shout down non correct thinking is for them to label it phobic."

Couldn't agree more.

We have MRA for anyone who thinks there should be advocacy for men's rights.

TRA for anyone who thinks there should be advocacy for trans rights.

When you add the over-use of 'misogyny' it's a sad state of affairs.

Make no mistake - this group of people are anti women, they are particularly anti middle aged and older women.

Three of their ilk has already assaulted a woman on camera at Hyde park - only 9ne stood trial.

The hatred towards womem online is growing.

We cannot stand back and let this happen. We cannot tolerate masked men intimidate older women. This is not protest, it's thuggery. The police handled it wrong, the organisers should complain.

The fact that some women might not have felt intimidated doesn't mean that the intent wasn't to intimidate. It clearly was. Don't piss on our legs and tell us it's raining.

The academic clearly stated in her talk that she was fearful for her safety.

Yes, it was fucking intimidating, by intent and in effect.

I really wanted to attend this event but I guessed there would be masked protestors there and, as a lone woman, I was too scared to go. As the OP says, how sad that this kind of behaviour is still going on in 2018

That might be the hormones rubyroot...

But yeah most of them seem rather young. When they are older and settled into naice lives and jobs they will be able to reminise fondly about their glorious youth fighting for male privilege by intimidating women gathering peacefully to talk about women's rights.

antagonistic misgendering

sentMai. I am attending a Women's Place meeting next week. I think you're saying that if I find my way barred by a 6 foot tall thick set individual in a mask I should enquire about their preferred pronouns before asking them to get out of my way. If I assume they are male it would be legitimate for them to call me a cunt. Is this what you're saying?

And I have no problem at all with dissenting voices, hate being in an echo chamber and am very much enjoying talking to you .

I enjoy my anonymity here. I suspect you do too. I've asked why these protesters keeping thiers is bad

I, too, enjoy my anonymity here. However I say nothing OL that I wouldn't be willing to say in RL. I make no threats, I intimidate nobody.

I enjoy my anonymity here. I suspect you do too. I've asked why these protesters keeping thiers is bad

cor blimey. I think using anonymity to gather advice about your DH's enlarged testicle (disclaimer, my DH does not have an enlarged testicle) is a bit different to using anonymity to intimidate people looking to attend a peaceful and legal meeting.

Crikey, let's dwell in the real world for a moment shall we?