Labour party message - views please

[imnolaidee]

I don't want to send a reply in anger - and would like the views of people here please. I left the labour party amid the whole AWS trans thing. It wasn't just that to be fair, I am also pissed that a 20 year old man represents me in the party.

The message is below - should I even bother replying? I'm not sure who she is referring to regards 'online abuse' - is that against feminists?

I am sad that I seem to have no political home to go to:

Further to our recent correspondence, I'm just sending you this extract from Ann Black's report of the meeting of the Labour Party's ruling National Executive Committee, held last week. Ann is one of the 9 representatives of Constituency parties on the NEC and is a long-serving and highly respected delegate. As you will see she has clarified that the party's position on this issue has not yet been finally decided and the NEC has re-stated that any abuse and intimidation is unacceptable.

"Finally I’ve had many messages regarding the position of trans women in the party. The NEC will agree a statement on 20 March, and until then I would urge tolerance and respect on all sides. The party is clear that discussion should never take the form of abuse or intimidation towards those with different views, a restraint which sadly has not always been observed, particularly online."

Ignore the Labour party, they don't love women, they love men at the moment. I will be voting for no party at the local elections, Labour have lost my vote.

Where can you put your energy instead?

#IfYouCannotSeeSexYouCanNotSeeSexism
#AcceptFeminineMenAsMen

Thanks Christian - I'll check those out

Sounds like a deliberately unclear message. I have a suspicion they just want to put people off temporarily in the hope it will all go away. There was stuff on Twitter about waiting for the decisions, but it was unfortunately marred by the mention of anti-trans campaigners and was phrased in such a way that suggested the powers that be saw us as bigots who needed to be quiet.

I guess the difficulty is that they have already pretty much taken a stance, so they are currently immune to the madness that the TRAs throw. Thus to them it will look like bigoted women making a whole lot of fuss. There is little else you can usefully say if you’ve already made your point.

And with regard to “online abuse”... this is why I keep well away from characters like Madigan on Twitter as reasonable debate and genuine frustration are both seen as abuse.

I think Madigan enjoys it anyway. Madigan certainly courts the attention. It feeds into the message that Madigan is an underdog who’s continually under attack and thus hailed as heroic.

Triliteration - I thought I'd made my point. I sent several emails about it in fact, but seems not. I'm coming down on the side of Elsa and I'll "just let it go"

It sounds like a deliberately ambiguous message. I wouldn't "just let it go", but I would continue to be respectful and factual in discussion, and bear in mind Michelle Obama "When they go low, we go high".

wildduckhunt - I know I shouldn't give it up, but I feel so depressed by the whole thing.

The message is ambiguous which is why I posted here; I thought I was just being thick not understanding what was meant.

Thank god for MN because this whole thing is quite isolating.

To be harsh, if you look at political parties they are cults. You fill your time listening to mainly boring men in meetings, waste time on paperwork tasks and keeping up with the gossip and ideas of politicians.

Walk away, love yourself, love others in your community in a positive way, be free of control coming from a party that doesn't love women.

Oh me too. I haven't a fucking clue what to do. I'm clinging onto my party membership by the tips of my fingers because I can't bear the SNP alternative. I can't not vote. But what other option do I have just now?? Politicians are, yet again, prioritising a fringe movement over the majority opinion (or maybe lack of opinion). There was a really good point made in another thread yesterday evening along the lines of ordinary working class people are being punished for not validating the feelings of the TRA lobby, and are being called bigoted for not having a need to use the academic language of gender politics/it not being relative to their struggles.

It's really stressing me out (not helped by the joys of having autism and finding order in the world through it's natural differences).

I realise the SNP alternative isn't particularly relevant to those of us not in Scotland

The systems of men always fail.

You can make a beautiful positive difference in your community, you don't need to take photos, put them on leaflets and social media. You can quietly go about your business, for no request of love by association of your deeds, be given to the Labour party.

Best of all you don't have to listen to imperfect bitter people hate on right wingers and pick other humans to pieces, for their looks, their choices and thoughts.

I think they're trying to pander to both sides now. Perhaps someone with an inch of sense in the party has seen what's actually going on. Too late for me I'm afraid, I am leaving the membership. Sadly I've had a taste of how they will behave in power.

So this is what LM is saying about the whole 'party position' and self-ID/AWS:

twitter.com/dustybun1/status/957933126944198657

Seems pretty clear then - after all LM speaks for us all

I've lost it now. I sent that LM tweet and the person from Labour replied with a defensive snippy email saying LM didn't represent Labour. So I told them that a public declaration of 'this is not the Party position' by a woman's rep demonstrated an agenda.

I also told the person not to email me again - they are getting very defensive with me and it's going to get ugly. URGHHHHHHHHHH

They lost your help, vote and respect. Egg will land on their face eventually. A man isn't a woman. The shame will do all that needs doing eventually when it all explodes. You stand tall and leave them to it, get on with your life, not telling lies to yourself and others.

If LM doesn't represent Labour then wtf is their position in their CLP all about?

Wildduck and Christian - thanks for your support, it much appreciated.

Of course, as soon as I sent the email I had the usual 'women guilt thing' going on for daring to push back and defend myself.

They are liars, liars, liars and you are better than that, nothing to feel bad about telling the TRUTH, you don't fall for coercive control.

I totally get it op, I go from 'yes keep fighting' to 'fuck it' several times a day. If it wasn't for this forum or twitter I'd be on the floor rocking in a darkened room.

I came to the decision, a little while ago, that if my views are irrelevant to them, my vote must be as well. It's not just about the trans issue.

imnolaidee - I know, I'm really grateful to MN for allowing us a community to discuss these issues. Without MN, I really don't think that people would have a space to discuss this rationally.

To all of you here:

I was so pissed off with this labour rep and it makes you feel so isolated, then you question yourself, then I came here - my crew, putting it into perspective

Hope we can keep this forum going. I've noticed a lot of online (maybe offline) resistance to MN feminist section. I'm just waiting for the shut down.

the person from Labour replied with a defensive snippy email saying LM didn't represent Labour

Lily does represent Labour. Not a paid officer, I realise, but still in an official role and constantly shoved down our throats promoted by Labour handmaidens activists. They can't have it both ways: giving women's posts to Madigan & Peto, shouting down women who object - then pretending that it's nothing to do with the party.

I sent a perfectly civil and polite email to a (female) Labour candidate who contacted me touting for votes in the forthcoming local elections here - they are 3rd runners in my town so ANY vote is worth it for them.

Just a short 2 paragraph email that said that unfortunately I cannot possibly vote for a Party which is acting like this against women.

Not so much as an acknowledgement back.