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Original poster

Recording of Mermaids training

334 replies

Imherefornow · 18/12/2018 15:40

twitter.com/MichaelConroy68/status/1074723989308801026?s=19

Apologies if this has already been posted. Did a quick search and didn't find anything.

Michael Conroy attended and recorded a mermaids training session. It's hair raising listening.

I believe that someone is working on transcribing this, which will hopefully make it easier to analyse. But wanted to post it to make sure it hadn't been missed.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
Candidpeel · 23/12/2018 09:11

" 40% of the young people who we support online cannot be ‘out’ at home...for various reasons, so, you know, and sometimes school may be the only place they can be themselves. So something you may be
aware is that school may be supporting the child and they may be known as a pronoun in school and the parents don’t know about it because they can’t be ‘out’ at home. If the
parents find out, it can become a safeguarding issue, so you need to be very careful about when you are talking about your cases. " AngryAngryAngry

If a child is talking to Mermaids online about their body and their feelings, they are probably talking about this stuff with other adults even less trustworthy than Mermaids. If they are keeping secrets with adults at school and no one is informing the parents, or if the parents really are a risk to the child, taking it up the safeguarding chain then yes it is a bloody safeguarding issue. It's a safeguarding loophole.

Mermaids have introduced this keep secrets, don't tell the parents loophole to Scouts who they advise.

OrchidInTheSun · 23/12/2018 09:21

In another part, she says that they have to be careful because they have problems with a lot of people who contact them not being who they say they are. And yet appears to have a complete inability to join those two things together

ScipioAfricanus · 23/12/2018 09:54

Could someone confirm that this was an audio recording not a video? Also, who was the audience? I’m wasting my time on Twitter where TRAs are saying it could violate privacy as it was a support group for trans kids. I thought it was a training session. Would like to know even though I won’t convince them, as useful for lurkers to know.

R0wantrees · 23/12/2018 10:04

ScipioAfricanus
See Michael Conroy
It was a training session for teachers

twitter.com/MichaelConroy68/status/1073494959993614336

Recording of Mermaids training
OrchidInTheSun · 23/12/2018 10:04

It was audio, not video and it was a training session for professionals which is patently obvious if you listen to the audio/read the transcripts

ScipioAfricanus · 23/12/2018 10:09

Thanks R0wan. That’s what I thought but I wanted to be sure of my facts.

Orchid I read the transcripts and I got that impression but as I said, wanted to be absolutely sure. I don’t think my interlocutor in Twitter has.

Dragon3 · 23/12/2018 10:10

Good idea to send the transcripts to our MPs. I will do the same.

I'm very, very glad that this is getting some sunlight at last. And horrified that teachers are being instructed in this way.

It is appropriate that Mermaids' training of public sector workers is open for scrutiny.

Mariotta · 23/12/2018 10:19

If a child is talking to Mermaids online about their body and their feelings, they are probably talking about this stuff with other adults even less trustworthy than Mermaids. If they are keeping secrets with adults at school and no one is informing the parents, or if the parents really are a risk to the child, taking it up the safeguarding chain then yes it is a bloody safeguarding issue. It's a safeguarding loophole.

Exactly. Even when they do mention safeguarding, they get the whole thing back to front. It's so dangerous. They are so obstinate and mulish and evangelical, they are putting the very children they're trying to advocate for at more risk than all other children.

And nobody with power or influence seems to give a shit.

BessyK · 23/12/2018 10:23

In the 'Mermaids response to Times article' thread it says the recording was at a Mermaids session at Newman University in Birmingham.

OrchidInTheSun · 23/12/2018 10:52

Sorry scipio - I'm packing and that came across far snippier than I meant it to! That's what I've been telling people to do on Twitter Smile

ScipioAfricanus · 23/12/2018 10:58

No worries Orchid!

LauraMipsum · 23/12/2018 19:53

Just read their legal analysis of the Equality Act, HRA and "Discrimination Act."

Holy fuck.

... there is no Discrimination Act in the UK, and their analysis of the other two is just plainly wrong.

EmpressAdultHumanFemale · 23/12/2018 21:33

Definitely sending the transcripts to my MP after Christmas, along with Julian Norman's analysis of how GRA amendments would affect the Equality Act.

AngryAttackKittens · 23/12/2018 21:40

Do we think they meant another actual Act that really exists, or are they just straight up inventing laws now?

Candidpeel · 23/12/2018 21:53

Lauramipsum I think they are talking about the Sex Discrimination Act which preceeded the Equality Act. Not clear why though.

You are right about the wrong analysis "gender identity" is not a protected characteristic its "gender reassignment"

Recording of Mermaids training
PencilsInSpace · 23/12/2018 21:57

I think she meant the EA but doesn't actually know what she's talking about.

You could write about 12 different essays on the various ways mermaids are badly wrong in this training session.

Abolissimo · 24/12/2018 09:38

Thank you Mr. Conroy and Mumsnet for this invaluable document, that should be shared with investigative reporters such as Janice Turner and with safeguarding authorities which have clearly had the wool pulled over their eyes... unless they're actually complicit!

Abolissimo · 24/12/2018 09:47

Just to make sure I understand... Is MAW (in the transcript) Michael Conroy? Because he puts up an intelligent resistance to the Mermaids hocus-pocus...

starcrossedseahorse · 24/12/2018 10:46

Very alarming that this shit is being rolled out to teachers. They will have been quiet because of the fear of being labelled transphobic and because an SMT which is behind this shit could make life very uncomfortable for dissenting voices.

I hope so much that they disagreed with it but who really knows?

Floisme · 24/12/2018 11:33

I believe Newman University has a big faculty of Education. Was the Mermaids session delivered to trainee teachers? If that was the case no wonder they were keeping quiet.

Wordthe · 24/12/2018 11:41

I love the way that transcribing a discussion can allow you to really dive in and analyse what's going on in a way that you just can't do from only listening

I look forward to the time when speech recognition has progressed such that conversations can be automatically transcribed 😊

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 24/12/2018 12:07

Someone has done a “debunking” thread on the mermaids recording and the subsequent reporting, stating that the trainer was clear that gender is a social construct

mobile.twitter.com/literaturepeep/status/1076972986316611584

starcrossedseahorse · 24/12/2018 12:08

This is being discussed on LBC right now

starcrossedseahorse · 24/12/2018 12:10

Oh god it is a car crash - not sure who it is. Defending men in women's sports now...

starcrossedseahorse · 24/12/2018 12:10

FFS

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