Brighton TRAs bullying female small business owner

[SapphosRock]

Urgh. This is happening in my home town and it’s shit.

Happy Maki is a small, vegan cafe and takeaway. It’s a very ethical business. All about sustainability and green energy. They plant a tree and feed a child for each wrap made. It’s a gift economy and the food is free with a suggested donation. All very hippy. You get the idea.

A FTM trans person approached the female owner of Happy Maki and asked for support in fundraising for their top surgery. I believe they wanted a poster in the window asking for money. The owner refused. When pressed the owner said it was against her religious beliefs - she is a follower of the Divine Truth which admittedly sounds a bit ‘out there’ but not entirely unexpected given the nature of her business.

Anyway the TRAs have really gone to town and are posting in every Brighton based Facebook group, Instagram and Twitter accusing the owner of Transphobia and calling for her to apologise:

twitter.com/makiunhappy/status/1314261939833446400?s=21

They seem to be getting a lot of support and gaining a lot of traction too with many saying they are now going to boycott the business.

I’m upset about this for a lot of reasons. Obviously the female owner being bullied and harassed in this way and them encouraging people to email her. The lovely takeaway losing business. It’s also pretty tone deaf to attack the hospitality sector in the midst of a global pandemic for not supporting one individual’s elective, life changing surgery.

Anyway, the reason I’m posting here is in solidarity with the owner Anna. And if any of you lovely lot are nearby then consider getting a Happy Maki takeaway. The food is delicious and I’m sure they could do with some support right now.

www.happymaki.co.uk

@CaraDuneRedux -what good posts especially re Vaclav Havel

Seems fair and proportional.

It's always incredibly useful to scratch the surface. Or rather, to watch the surface scratch itself.

Content Warning: Homophobia

jj, what is your position on this post from twitter? The account TRA Homophobia has more like it.

Datun. Is that like the void staring back at you? This thread certainly feels that way

Telling lesbians to do dick = fine and dandy

Who has said that telling lesbians to do dick is fine and dandy?

Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence. She was free to tell the trans person that she doesn’t agree with it and it’s all the bad spirts fault, the public are free to judge and boycott her for her actions. And her staff are certainly free to quit if they don’t agree with her values, aside from the fact they clearly had other issues with her too.
I don’t feel sorry for her, she lives in Brighton, she knows her views would be controversial, as a small business owner, reputation is everything and she still chose to say it, so now she has to deal with whatever consequences they are (obviously excluding violence or personal threats which are never acceptable)

@Jugglingalloftheballs

Telling lesbians to do dick = fine and dandy

Who has said that telling lesbians to do dick is fine and dandy?

Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence. She was free to tell the trans person that she doesn’t agree with it and it’s all the bad spirts fault, the public are free to judge and boycott her for her actions. And her staff are certainly free to quit if they don’t agree with her values, aside from the fact they clearly had other issues with her too.
I don’t feel sorry for her, she lives in Brighton, she knows her views would be controversial, as a small business owner, reputation is everything and she still chose to say it, so now she has to deal with whatever consequences they are (obviously excluding violence or personal threats which are never acceptable)

She didn't choose to say anything. She was forced. Someone wanted to put a poster in her window, and wouldn't let it lie.

@PotholeParadies

Content Warning: Homophobia

jj, what is your position on this post from twitter? The account TRA Homophobia has more like it.

This screenshot Juggling

This sort of shit is absolutely uncontroversial in TRA world. Which is not like the real world where words have actual meanings. It's a sort of Brave New World of fluid signs and signifiers because that makes it easier to make women's lives miserable when they transgress the unwritten law. HTH

@Jugglingalloftheballs

Telling lesbians to do dick = fine and dandy

Who has said that telling lesbians to do dick is fine and dandy?

Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence. She was free to tell the trans person that she doesn’t agree with it and it’s all the bad spirts fault, the public are free to judge and boycott her for her actions. And her staff are certainly free to quit if they don’t agree with her values, aside from the fact they clearly had other issues with her too.
I don’t feel sorry for her, she lives in Brighton, she knows her views would be controversial, as a small business owner, reputation is everything and she still chose to say it, so now she has to deal with whatever consequences they are (obviously excluding violence or personal threats which are never acceptable)

She was asking for it. 😒

@EvenSupposing

Datun. Is that like the void staring back at you? This thread certainly feels that way

Indeed! Thank goodness feminism hands out special glasses 🤓

as a small business owner, reputation is everything and she still chose to say it, so now she has to deal with whatever consequences they are

Are you saying that this group has the right to carry what is effectively a hate campaign because she holds different religious beliefs to them (and she is upfront in stating what her religion is?).

It's not just the business owner being smeared here, it's also the Business Manager and the book keeper ( which is likely another small business with a professional standing).

So two more people are being dragged by generalised accusations on multiple platforms with no recourse.

Again, zero hours contracts are not inherently bad. The twitter thread claims there's no "real" contracts only zero hours contracts. Joining in with this smearing of people on the basis of these unclear and vague sentences is pretty bloody awful. They must wonder what's hit them.

Knowing other people in Brighton that have fallen foul of the zealots this subject attracts I am not surprised at this.

I hope now they have left and gone back to university or moved on it will burn itself out.

She didn't choose to say anything. She was forced. Someone wanted to put a poster in her window, and wouldn't let it lie.

How was she forced? How do you know they wouldn’t let it lie? I’ve seen her response and it doesn’t sound like it was coaxed out of her, I’m curious where the further evidence of her Being forced to reply is?

Anyone who maintains sex exists (by writing the word heterosexuality) is showing their true colours; revealing their phobia. It means they are maintaining that some people are attracted to other people because of their sex. The cult of 'Gender' ideology will be so disappointed in such phobia. they are the only ones allowed to have beliefs that others regard as pure bat shit

All of our bodies are the different (7.8 billion?), it is just one piece.

Knowing other people in Brighton that have fallen foul of the zealots this subject attracts I am not surprised at this.

One may, or may not, agree with anything that the government is currently doing, but at least they have decided that cancellation culture is unacceptable and must be taught as such in schools.

Children being taught now, know that there is no such thing as being born into the wrong body, and that cancelling or targeting people for having an opinion with which you disagree, is bullying.

Yes, she engaged in freedom of speech. That is where it ended for her.

This targeting, harassment, doxxing and menace with very patchy and what may be a cobbled together story is a much more sinister thing altogether.

@Jugglingalloftheballs

She didn't choose to say anything. She was forced. Someone wanted to put a poster in her window, and wouldn't let it lie.

How was she forced? How do you know they wouldn’t let it lie? I’ve seen her response and it doesn’t sound like it was coaxed out of her, I’m curious where the further evidence of her Being forced to reply is?

They're even letting it lie now!

You've got randoms on mumsnet saying how wrong she was.

*not even letting it

Telling lesbians to do dick = fine and dandy

Musing about whether past experiences might influence sexuality = 14 pages of unrelated shite C and P from ACAS, a call to workers of the world to unite, a targeted social media campaign to ruin your business and an invitation to abase yourself before the committee.

Seems fair and proportional.

This.

Anna's blog post (in the OP) is very moving.

No-one with even a scraping of brain cells could read her letter to Henry and accuse it of hate.

@jj1968

If she was expecting staff to work shifts whilst they were furloughed then as I understand it it's not staff who were potentially acting fraudulently.

@jj1968

So who are you implying is engaging in fraud jj?

The memo has set out that the bookkeeper does payroll which is checked by the business manager. Whilst ultimately an owner has responsibility it seems you are sharing your opinion here that these two people are potentially acting fraudulently with the processing of furlough claims. As they are clearly going to be identifiable with the information in the public domain are you standing by this post or do you think it would be sensible to ask for it to be removed?

@christinarossetti19

Anna's blog post (in the OP) is very moving.

No-one with even a scraping of brain cells could read her letter to Henry and accuse it of hate.

I agree.

And I love Christina Rossetti

Wow 620 posts on the thread. I guess it's all good publicity for Happy Maki.

Just met a friend and having our Happy Maki on the seafront 😋

Saw the owner put up a 'we're hiring' poster in the window while we were there which felt quite poignant. She looked sad.

@Escapeplanning

Several people have accused the workers of furlough fraud on this thread. All I said is if that statement about workers being required to do shifts whilst furloughed is correct then it is not workers who are potentially breaking the law. I have no idea whether that statement is correct or not, I can only comment on what she wrote.

Oh that looks lovely. Poor woman. They’re going to end up pushing someone to suicide or a woman will be killed because of this pushing of hatred towards those that won’t capitulate to the TRAs masters. That was very kind of you and I hope others follow. Do you think you would be brave enough to say something positive about her food on your Facebook page. You don’t have to say anything about the bullying she’s suffering, just an innocent “she makes lovely food” type post.

that food looks so good SapphosRock. As does your venue for lunch.