Documenting the thought-atrophy across academia: part 573 - Durham Uni

[pombear]

FFS, no words really, but also no surprise -

here's Angelos on his latest removal from speaking, this time from Durham's university online magazine.

'The Bubble' is highly accurate in this case!

twitter.com/Sofocleous_A/status/1041729763289821186

As per Lisa M's comment just elite higher education. Its the disconnect from reality that is playing out through this. Ta for keeping an eye on reality, it will pay off eventually

Angelos - lots of us are also keeping an eye on this.

This is brilliant. The TRAs may have stopped using #nodebate but they just can't reign in their male bullying and wish to dominate. And they now go for men as well as women. I bet a lot of those on that twitter thread would never have commented critically 6 months ago.

Sometimes I think we just have to stand back and watch them implode (only joking)

Batshit times

I hadn't thought about in those terms sceptical, I feel for Angelos but you're right, scrolling through those comments it really does feel that there's a shift in people's understanding.

Poor Katie, shouting out into the void 'some women have penises, get over it' amongst a swell of people going 'wtf, solidarity with you Angelos'.

Criticizing an ideology has nothing to do with criticizing individuals who hold that ideology

I have said this ad infinitum with regards to religion - criticism of an ideology is not akin to criticism of an individual who holds that ideology.

No ideology can be above criticism. None. No religion, no theory and no idea can be exempt from query and critique. Because if it is we effectively are saying blasphemy is a crime.

It's quite amusing on that thread to see the constant attempts by one tra to provoke an argument, without getting any bites.

Yes the feeling is changing.

I wonder if he had a proper employment contract with employment rights. Sounds like unfair dismissal. Posts like that are often ad hoc though.

Is it students or the university that sacked him?

Those are student-run magazines / journals. I don’t think we’ve quite got to the stage yet where a university would sack someone for saying that women don’t have a penis. They’d have to get rid of their entire biology departments and medical sciences faculties for a start!

I've been busy on that thread. It's such a help when people post links like this. I'm not very good at checking my feed, so thank you, Pombear.

You're welcome Prawn - just goes to show we all have our part to play in this, speaking publicly, printing stickers, linking a linky-link, posting a supportive post to someone else getting a TRA thrashing, filling out a survey!

Nothing is too small or too big in this fight for women and girl's rights.

To any lurkers out there, any move is a move, don't feel it's not big enough. We all can play a part.

Im amused by the lone voice on there.

No attempt at debate, not putting across a viewpoint.

Just USING STEADILY SHOUTIER FONTS.

Whilst bleating about male privilege.

Gosh. If I didn’t know better I’d be thinking they didn’t have a leg to stand on.

Someone is working on a letter of support for him:

Putting together a statement in defence of @Sofocleous_A and others targeted for their beliefs on gender identity. Asking for people from organisations, people who know Angelos to sign, other people who have been targeted can get mentioned in the article if you let me know.
twitter.com/Fisher_Download/status/1041777081737248769

Get Over It seems to be the new nodebate.

There's been a few posts on Twitter where it's been said its cowardly to be anonymously gender critical, that everyone has to be open to win the fight - but in academia it's not that simple. I do genuinely feel that my job is at risk if I were to be open. Four of my colleagues, including senior management, have trans kids. Today we had introductory sessions and were advised to introduce each other by declaring whether we were he or she. I didn't do that and felt that was risky enough.

Absinthe I'm very visual, so every time I see posts like Katie's along the lines of some women have penises, get over it I can't help visualising myself hurdling over the penis and back down onto terra firma of 'nope, they don't' solid ground.

Maybe penis-hurdling could be the new version of 'limboing under the bar' sports for us female-bodied people? More fun than speed-knitting?

PIVOT Four? Obviously we don't know the % compared to all your colleagues with children, but there's a thread in itself there with so many thing to unpick.

That you even refused to declare yourself a label is a massive thing, considering your current environment.

And that I had to type the sentence above saddens me about the world we're living in right now.

Yes four, even I did a double take when I totted up - two in one department I am based in, and then I have colleagues I work with in two other departments.

Thanks for that pombear. I'm also going to have an image of penis hurdling whenever I drop into twitter now (In my mind it's a sort of comical but slightly sinister It's a Knockout-style event.)

I think people have to make a judgement call whether they can be open or not, and in what situation.

There are people who are financially secure, or retired or the like, and I wish more of them would speak out.

I don’t get it. Durham is more of a Jacob Rees Mogg type place....

Let’s hope some of the classical liberal, free-speech, new media types are made aware of Angelos... You might not care about women’s rights but retaining the freedom to express basic biological facts should be in everyone’s interest.

Maybe penis-hurdling could be the new version of 'limboing under the bar' sports for us female-bodied people?

Je suis ecossaise so I read that as penis-hurling, an event similar to javelin throwing but with different, er, equipment

Anyway, this is bonkers censorship. Men are taking flak now- Brian Paddick, and now this. I suspect this can only result in a higher profile for the argument.

Good thread... I sincerely hope the Humanist organisation takes note (I've no idea if they have an official stance on these issues).

To be fair to her, that lone voice does put the time in! She pops up everywhere.

It's telling that in that thread she's moved to saying 'females like me have penises' (paraphrasing) rather than 'women'. The meanings of words change over time. New meanings are attached to them, and they are used in new contexts. Some words we use all the time had a very different meaning a few centuries ago. The current movement for trans rights is using a concerted effort to force, and speed up, a change of meaning for key words - and then write the new meanings into law. It's happening in front of our eyes, where usually it would take a generation or two. I can't think of another social movement which has done that?