Daily Mail RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: I've always admired Linda Bellos, and it's outrageous that she should be dragged to court for vowing to defend herself against violent trans activists

[Stickerladiesoftheworldunite]

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-6116899/LITTLEJOHN-outrageous-Linda-Bellos-dragged-court-violent-trans-activists.html

12thGuelph - we know who you are. You made it very "obvious" on Twitter.

You know that conspiracy theory that we are actually all in a matrix-style simulation and the nutty things that are happening (Brexit, Trump etc) is because the creators got bored and are messing with us?

You might enjoy this!

www.amazon.co.uk/Restoration-Game-Ken-MacLeod/dp/1841496464?tag=mumsnetforum-21

Thanks Lang, I've not come across that - I could do with some escapism!

Richard Littlejohn is in a similar position to Katie Hopkins and Piers Morgan. People already hate them, and they don't care, so they can't be emotionally manipulated into saying things just because they're politically correct.

You can admire someone and not agree with them (Littlejohn and Bellos)

You can agree with someone and not admire them (Us and Littlejohn, on this occasion, on this topic, anyway)

Why is that so hard to understand? You don’t have to personally like someone to like what they make/do/write and you can admire a person’s commitment/work ethic without liking what they do.

I learned this by the age of 15-16, when I realised my friends were not necessarily good musicians

Brilliant article-so glad the red tops are publishing stories that others won't.
Trans Taliban is legendary.

It's worrying that so many people are shocked that someone with generally very different views can share common areas of "seeing sense" as it were. He probably doesn't like child abusers either. Oh look something else that radical feminists agree with the "right wing" on.

I love Jan Morris's travel writing, particularly on Trieste, and to my shame didn't realise she was still going strong.

Agree on other point re danger of binary view: A) total agreement or B) "person of incorrect thinking who must be cast from the group" .

You don’t have to personally like someone to like what they make/do/write and you can admire a person’s commitment/work ethic without liking what they do.

It's one of the curses of modern politics isn't it? In the last two referenda, people were constantly shouting, "see, x supports/ is opposed to independence/ Brexit, they are a hateful person, therefore the whole concept is hateful". The fact was that there were people on both sides who I wouldn't normally agree so one was doomed either way! But the 'woke' folk really do seem to think they have to indulge in group think.

Yep - and lest we forget it's not like our buddy and vocal trans ally Dr Jessen has never supported Katie Hopkins on something before.
That was Hopkins saying a 15-year old girl "knew what she was doing." In the context of a 28-year old footballer being jailed for grooming said girl in order to have sex with her, despite knowing she was underage.
And people wonder why we are concerned about safeguarding?
But that's just by the by.
ragged.media/2016/04/she-knew-what-she-was-doing/

You can admire someone and not agree with them (Littlejohn and Bellos)

You can't admire them and subject them to dehumanising ridicule, I don't think. But maybe he's changed. Or maybe Littlejohn, Hopkins, Morgan, Tebbit, Delingpole, Rees-Mogg, Milo, et cetera are being their usual selves and have just found themselves some new reactionaries.

Or maybe women, feminists and mothers care about Linda Bellos being persecuted in a private prosecution that the CPS wouldn't touch.

I watched a Milos V Bindel debate on YouTube the other day.

They managed to interact humorously and respectfully, whilst not really having anything much in common at all, which was nice.

Maybe freedom of speech is a non-partisan issue?

12th I doubt anyone cares what you think after you posted one of your own MN comments on Twitter in a sneaky effort to get people to abuse us.

Maybe.

12thGuelph - we know who you are. You made it very "obvious" on Twitter.

Am I supposed to be alarmed or ashamed?

12thGuelph

As carceralfeminist just pointed out, Dr Jessen, champion of trans rights, has agreed with Katie Hopkins on something in the past. Does that make all of his subsequent views invalid? Do you agree with them that a 15 year old who was groomed by a 28 year old 'knew what she was doing'? If not, then does that mean that you cant ever agree with something that Dr Jesse says ever again?

Here's a suggestion to those saying we mustn't listen to Littlejohn defending Linda Bellos because of intolerant remarks he made to her about 20+ years ago.

Find out from Linda Bellos whether she rejects his support on this issue. If she does, come back to the thread and then you'll have an argument about why we should dismiss Littlejohn's comment in the article.

To be honest, I don't really care what Sarah Vine or Katie Hopkins views are on trans people. I said on another thread a stopped clock is right twice a day but I can tell the time without their help. I am sure they would agree with me that the sky is blue and the sun sets in the West though, as well as agreeing that men aren't women.

I very much care that a 67 year old lesbian is being prosecuted for saying that she would defend herself if attacked. And if its RLJ who is going to bring this utter horseshit to the public knowledge, then so be it.

12thGuelph - do you actually have an opinion on Linda Bellos, lesbian and Labour veteran, being privately prosecuted by a prominent trans-activist?

Or are you just here to make spurious points, that can then be posted onto twitter?

*This "you're either with us or against us" mentality is very damaging, and is a threat to critical thought, to actually weighing up arguments on their own merits.

I'm not going down the road of "Owen Jones says it, and I'm a lefty, so it must be right - and - Richard Littlejohn writes for the DM, and I'm a lefty, so he must be wrong." It's totalitarianism.*

Absolutely agree. This kind of thinking is dangerous. It's precisely how the TRAs have acquired the power and influence they have.

It was George W. Bush who popularised either with us or against us and then used it is a reason to cause chaos all over the world, and particularly in the Middle East:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_either_with_us,_or_against_us

Have a look at the historical precedents in that link. Rather illuminating.

Obviously TRA sabotage. Here a proper go:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_either_with_us,_or_against_us

12th I doubt anyone cares what you think after you posted one of your own MN comments on Twitter in a sneaky effort to get people to abuse us.

Or are you just here to make spurious points, that can then be posted onto twitter?

I didn't do that, I don't know of anyone who's ever done that and I assure you nobody needs to bother conspiring to make you look bad.

12thGuelph - do you actually have an opinion on Linda Bellos, lesbian and Labour veteran, being privately prosecuted by a prominent trans-activist?

I wouldn't have done it myself but I disagree with Bellos and I've never seen anything to convince me that Littlejohn isn't tabloid scum.

I disagree with Bellos

On everything? On stating that if she were attacked by a transactivist she'd defend herself?