Mass sexual assaults in Cologne on New Years Eve Part II

[Pinkchampchoccies]

Just in case people want to continue discussing this.

Flowers at the station. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3390168/Migrant-rape-fears-spread-Europe-Women-told-not-night-assaults-carried-Sweden-Finland-Germany-Austria-Switzerland-amid-warnings-gangs-ordinating-attacks.html

www.google.co.uk/search?q=feminism+logo&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF1om04JzKAhVH1RQKHf3bAe4Q_AUIBygB&biw=1328&bih=690#tbm=isch&q=suffragettes+symbol&imgrc=zeFvLVdqEy_niM%3A

How about reclaiming the suffragette colours. It's simple and a bit like the French / LGBT icons? Or is this not 'European' enough?

Can you say a little more about Cyclamen Vertigo?

For me the problem is finding a joint agreement about what we would be protesting against.
I am angry that it happened, but I am more angry that the media pretended nothing happened (especially the BBC and Guardian) and labelled any concerns as racist. Because the left wing have ignored this particular elephant in the room, the far right are bound to gain support IMO. And so the problem will escalate.
If the left could engage in a dialogue about this, without shutting down dissension, we could work our way towards some kind of a solution.
So - don't read the Guardian, and tell them why - it's a start.

Regarding emailing MPs and what to ask for, no I don't know immediately what the one solution would be. Beyond the fact that we have to stop ignoring women's rights for everyone else's. Basically I've just asked at this point for that, that the minimising stops, that we have an honest debate analysing the problem. That our government acknowledge women's experiences as valid, confirm that women do have rights as much as men, that we deserve respect as much as anyone, that there is a culture clash and problems with importing such a skewed demographic, that these issues need to be brought into the open, analysed and debated honestly.

Do we need on here to have all the solutions now? This is what we invented democracy for, so that everyone can contribute their own experiences and we hammer out a solution together.

"I am more angry that the media pretended nothing happened (especially the BBC and Guardian) and labelled any concerns as racist."

...and, in the process, keep minimising violence against women, gas lighting the public in pursuit of their outdated version of political correctness.

In the UK, this is the most tangible and real problem at this point in time, I would agree. It is also the topic that is the hardest to raise without fear of repercussions in terms of silencing and possibly hostility from various groups.

Peak Guardian warning:

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/09/my-syrian-refugee-lodger-helen-pidd

Phew, what a relief. It's all okay. We should copy this article and send it to the women of Cologne to cure them of their racist narrative. I don't know where to begin with it - the bizarre cultural cringe (not telling him she's going on dates!) the unasked questions (why didn't he claim asylum in France? what about the poor lorry driver who has to pay 2k in a fine and maybe had to dump his cargo, and all the other lorry drivers regularly threatened and attacked in Calais? what about his wife and baby he left behind? who is going to pay for his family's upkeep since he appears to be both unemployable and choosy? isn't it easy for the author to be generous when she's a single affluent professional and not likely to be bumped off the housing list by Yasser and the many who will come after him?) I'd imagine the comments are being zapped by the second. Deborah Orr's piece isn't much better.

I'm so relieved that this thread exists. I've been posting about it on FB and have had several pms from women thanking me for bringing the subject up as they found it difficult to talk about. In 2016! Meanwhile I have men minimising it and warning me of my racist bias. It's fucking unreal.

ano yes you're right

...It's just somewhere to start.

I know shins it reads a bit like "My pet and me".

I agree Bungo.

How about reclaiming the colours of the suffragette movement? It is timely with the recently released movie.

We have the poppy, the sunflower and how about we have the Cyclamen and primrose,the plants shown in DM article placed outside the station. Cyclamen in white, the primrose in yellow tied with purple ribbon?

I'd be happy with the suffragette colours for the FB campaign

I hope someone can come up with something to put on our facebook page, sadly I'm not savvy enough. I guess I will lose some friends but so be it.

Heard much more coverage today and last night especially on BBC 4 world news, up next on BBC R4 Question Time, will be more interested in audience reaction myself.
I would prefer the suffragette colours, I don't want all their work lost, we need to remember what happened in the past to help our future.

Does anyone know what was in the BTL comments of the Deborah Orr article? Most of them are deleted and the comment section was only open for 2 hours. Who is awake so early on a Saturday AND posts on The Guardian website?

Sorry I slept in this morning. What are you designing? Is it an FB page?

Suffragette colours are good, but I think flowers would be seen as too 'girly'.

Silly girls getting all upset about a few lairy men

Someone on the thread on Feminist boards mentioned faith schools. Yes. They get my goat too. All schools should be state, conforming to national curriculum - and I'd remove the requirement for daily worship out of that too if I had my way.

I don't have fb, but suffragette colours sound like the way to go.

Most of the Orr BTL comments were very critical. They hadn't deleted many when I looked at it. It seems to me that the mods came on late and then thought fuck this for a game of soldiers and promptly closed comments and deleted everything critical.

Gingercat, a lot of rage along the lines of the BTL comments on the Gaby Hinsliff column yesterday. I posted something which was deleted (it's been happening with increasing frequency) but I've also been put on pre-moderation, one step from being banned! I hasten to add, I am never abusive, foul-mouthed, personal or racist in my posts and have been a feminist, secularist, left-wing, liberal Guardian reader since my teens. If they're banning the likes of me they're in trouble, frankly.

Wow shins, really?

Well, have just listened to Any Questions, the panellists failed to address what actually happened in Cologne and elsewhere. Entirely predictable I suppose, they were even more woolly on the previous question which related to house building on flood plains.
We are not Germany so everything is ok. Move along, nothing to see here.
One, Heidi Alexander I think claimed we didn't really know what actually happened and that we should not let reporting change the agenda. Also she seemed to blame host nations for not 'processing' immigrant quickly enough rather than a clash of cultures or even as my O H put it, cultural terrorism.
Nothing about women, although the original question was not particularly well phrased, something along the lines of, should what happened in Germany make us review our stance of asylum/migrants.
Any Answers 03700 100 444 after Any Questions. That's always more informed than any politico

I shall email the bloody Guardian today telling them why they have lost another reader. A left wing mother who is disgusted by them.

Women in several European cities afraid to go out after dark. This is HUGE

Oh, shins that is very disappointing. Thank you, venus as well. The Gaby Hinsliff article was quite indefensible though, I can see why people got riled.