Helen Steel's statement about being assaulted on Saturday

[christinarossetti]

Wanted to start a new thread about this because it's so important.

Helen's statement is on her Facebook page. Search Helen Steel.

What happened on Saturday was horrific. Sharing her statement and messages of support much appreciated.

A lot of 'terfs disagree with trans peoples right to exist' too. Its an odd point that one, as its never said yet argued against constantly. I also don't get the 'just want to pee in peace, terfs want to stop us from peeing!!!111' thing. Noone is saying you cannot pee. Just that you should pee with the rest of the male population. As the male person that you are.

I don't get that either. I don't know anyone who objects to a trans person 'right to exist' as, erm, a trans person. I have no doubt that there are people who are truly transphobic ie believe that trans people are worthy of abuse and oppression and shouldn't have access to specialist services etc, but they're not the ones actually thinking about these issues.

I've come across a fair bit of actual transphobia. I've yet to hear any from anyone I'd consider a feminist.

Trans people are not denied healthcare, murdered, prostituted or harmed in any other way by feminists. It's men that do that, and I'll give you a fiver if any of those men do it because they have a radical feminist understanding of gender.

Or indeed a TA understanding of gender or that they are women.

I do wish that TAs would focus their anger at the people who actually are harming and oppressing them, rather than women.

One of the Libcom idiot men about Helen Steele:

"It is also clear that she doesn't have any issue with one of her TERF colleagues calling the police on the trans-activists, as she considers violence against women and issue which is immune from such reporting being "snitching" (for clarification, I'm not saying I do consider it has such. For example if survivors of domestic or sexual violence want to contact police I completely support their right to do so. But I don't think that calling the police on someone who confronted a bigot at an anarchist book fair is acceptable)."

The lengths that people are going to to desperately frame this as something other than male violence towards a woman are extraordinary and simultaneously utterly ordinary.

So women shouldn't call the police when abused by TRAs but should just take the abuse? Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, DA perpetrators.

Plus I never understand why those shouting terf don't take into account that women saying they are unhappy about men entering women's spaces absolutely support the trans men who use those spaces and always have - so it's not trans exclusionary, it's purely about their right to say no to biological men which is under attack.

The man responsible for the violence at speakers corner, and subsequent violence at the anarchist book fair has finally been arrested.

mobile.twitter.com/mayday4women/status/926892235580428289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhelensteelbookfairstatement.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F11%2F02%2Fstatement-on-events-at-anarchist-bookfair-2017-by-helen-steel%2F

It really says something about your politics and your character if you think shouting abuse at Helen Steel, one of the most stalwart champions of free speech of our times, is a good way of getting your message across. If your cause was righteous, people like Helen would defend it. Did the even know who the fuck they were shouting at about being oppressed by words? Did none of them ever hear of McLibel?

If you need a space to do your anarchy where you're protected from words and other people having ideas you disagree with, I really, really think you're doing it wrong.

Oh my goodness, just saw your post re the arrest, Datun. I didn't realise it was the same person! He is unhinged. Good news that he's been arrested.

From "Rob Ray" on Libcom about terfisaslur:

It's pretty much entirely just a gallery of screenshots of hotheads being angry-shouty on Twitter. Which I'd agree is unpleasant, but is also something that happens all the bloody time because people of all political stripes can't seem to help but act like mouthy tossers on Twitter. It'd not be too hard to find similar levels of bile directed at trans people.

Really? What an idiot. Radical feminists do not threaten to rape people to death. Many of the comments are very sexual in nature. Ignorant men like this don't see the misogyny.

SophoclesTheFox

They have absolutely no idea who Helen Steel is. She is a woman with a different view, that’s enough.

Ereshkigal

Well exactly. The inequality between feminists/women and transactivists becomes patently obvious to anyone who has the slightest clue about either.

And this is always makes me feel astounded. If you are just talking about two sets of people with different views arguing, it wouldn’t be so bad. But you’re talking about allowing these mouthy, violent men to campaign for access to the women they despise.

If you need a space to do your anarchy where you're protected from words and other people having ideas you disagree with, I really, really think you're doing it wrong.

YY.

Apparently released without charge according to a tweet

Not surprised he is released without charge. the police didn't seem too keen to catch him in the first place. probably cried 'transphobia' the second they got him to the station. Horrible little runt.

Yes, that libcom lot are just ridiculous tbh. They will defend anything at all that TAs do, by the looks of it. When one murders a woman, it will be the womans fault somehow. Sounds familiar...

AssignedPerfectAtBirth

Any chance you could link to the tweet?

Datun

twitter.com/FourthWaveLFA/status/927104270691946497

This person calls herself a '4th Wave Feminist' while defending attacks on Maria at Speakers' corner. Also accusing 'TERFs' of calling the police to their boycott of the Ripper Museum yesterday*, where Tara was lifted. She was part of the protest to so presumably a friend of Tara's.

*(Because of course the owners of the museum would never think to call the police now would they?)

“released pending further enquiries” apparently.

That idiot is spinning it.

Probably the same little dweep who said that she was glad they attacked Maria. Her mother must be so proud

Whats this Ripper Museum thing about?

Surprised if theres been yet another event/venue hijacked that theres not a thread about it

From what I can see there was a violent protest against the Ripper Museum organised by some of the young anarchist types, which annoyed lots of local businesses who called the police. Entirely incidental to this the man who attacked Maria MacLachlan was spotted there and the police were informed that this was a wanted person and he was arrested.

This was somehow twisted into 'TERFs shutdown a peaceful protest against the Ripper Museum'.

The protest seems to involve the '4th wave feminist' people twitter.com/radowitzky57/status/927133458597662720. These are the group who wear masks and say that if you don't accept men as women then that's verbal violence and you deserve to be attacked for it.

There have been quite a few protests at this place, these are the violent types who set fire to businesses for selling cereal and what not, and the police have been out in force before mashable.com/2015/10/04/protest-jack-the-ripper-museum/

But obviously it's all the fault of TERFs. Everything. Ever.

There’s apparently a Jack the Ripper “museum” in London which you could view as something that glorifies violence against women.

Wow those '4th wave feminists' seem to be quite scary overall. Definitely not what I would call 'feminists' anyway, especially if they are encouraging violence against women simply for having opinions.

apparently people were discussing 'sex work' and 'transgender issues' too much, so they banned the discussion so they could get on with more important topics

thejarbelles.com/2016/03/20/an-interview-with-alexandra-becker-founder-of-fourth-wave-london-feminist-activists/

Now they say "New Cross Learning is holding a terf "debate" of the Gender Recognition Act on Weds 13th September. There's no "every opinion is valid" and no "silencing terfs is as bad as silencing trans people". Bore off with that nonsense and make lives difficult for terfs and people who give terfs a platform." www.facebook.com/fourthwaveLFA/posts/1458309054253364

So their plan to avoid divisive discussion and unite feminists is to, er, silence feminists, and cheer on men beating up women.

By the look of the photos it was 4 men, a few questionables and a scabby dug. When the police turned up, they blamed it on TERFs and an undercover cop who was working in a nearby pub. Cos they are organised and police are watching them

Delusional fuckwittery at its finest