Jo Bartosch: Don’t forget about Mermaids

[PandorasMailbox]

"First, they told us children would kill themselves if they weren’t affirmed in their childish imaginings. Secondly, they tried to haul ideological opponents through the courts. Thirdly, they branded those who disagreed with them fascists. These are the actions of Mermaids, a charity at the heart of the establishment, an organisation that enjoys the support of celebrities, royals and police forces. Last week Mermaids took the first steps towards legal action against the registration of the LGB Alliance as a charity, the only organisation advocating solely for same-sex attracted people"

thecritic.co.uk/dont-forget-about-mermaids/

Jo is great. Excellent piece.

Very interested in this line: " It seems the celebrities that once supported them like Prince Harry and US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are melting away and Mermaids have been left floundering under the gaze of public scrutiny."

Assuming it's a telling silence rather than denunciation thus far? Have Jameela J or the Harry Potter useful idiots come out with anything in support?

Jo has laid it out so clearly. Although I knew about each of those items, it will always be shocking to see them brought together so coherently.

@teawamutu

Very interested in this line: " It seems the celebrities that once supported them like Prince Harry and US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are melting away and Mermaids have been left floundering under the gaze of public scrutiny."

Assuming it's a telling silence rather than denunciation thus far? Have Jameela J or the Harry Potter useful idiots come out with anything in support?

I’ve often wondered what all the vociferous supporters will do when the house of card comes tumbling down. I suspect they’ll all just go quiet. They won’t want to lose face by admitting they supported something like this.

I think a number of us would accept something like:

X has achieved many admirable social changes for [Y population]. I trusted them. I now acknowledge that I should have paid attention to the growing swell of concern from critical friends and investigated this further. X's record in other areas stands, but for [Z = women's human rights, specifics such as erasing the language of motherhood] I would neither be a critical friend nor a supporter if I didn't say, "You've lost your way. Let's both be ready to listen to people who have been trusted friends and advisors."

Their virtue-signalling 'supporters' will no doubt slink back into the shadows from whence they came.

Let's never forget the fragrant Emma Watson, and that giant of the craft of acting, Daniel Radcliffe. Nothing short of a written public statement in apology to JKR - much like the ones they put out a year ago to have a go at her - will be good enough for me.

When the house of cards tumbled down, the celebrity cheer leaders will just go quiet for a bit and then deny they ever supported it. They'll get away with it too.

First time I heard of Posie Parker was watching her in anger over Daniel Radcliffe. I was aghast that anyone could be angry w/ JKR, so I did some searching and Posie's right-minded criticism of him was so spot-on.

Anyone know the background for why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is distancing herself? Is it a quiet distance or something that happened?

Hey Delphinium20, not sure which state you are in, but a Harry Potter store has just opened up in NYC!

JKR's laughing all the way to the bank, as are all the good causes she supports. How stupid are Mermaids? If they had tried to work with kind, philanthropic liberals like JKR, and all the women on here who categorically DO NOT HATE TRANS PEOPLE, they could have had the support and funds to make the lives of trans people (including the provision of safe third spaces) so much better. Instead, they rain a campaign of aggression and marginalisation down on older women, and bring fear to a group of young people who desperately need proper help and support, not their brand of misogynistic, and ultimately pointless, SJW posturing.

www.harrypotterstore.com

Thanks to Jo Bartosch, another brave writer.

@TedImgoingmad

Hey Delphinium20, not sure which state you are in, but a Harry Potter store has just opened up in NYC!

JKR's laughing all the way to the bank, as are all the good causes she supports. How stupid are Mermaids? If they had tried to work with kind, philanthropic liberals like JKR, and all the women on here who categorically DO NOT HATE TRANS PEOPLE, they could have had the support and funds to make the lives of trans people (including the provision of safe third spaces) so much better. Instead, they rain a campaign of aggression and marginalisation down on older women, and bring fear to a group of young people who desperately need proper help and support, not their brand of misogynistic, and ultimately pointless, SJW posturing.

www.harrypotterstore.com

Thanks to Jo Bartosch, another brave writer.

Slightly off topic, but I'm planning a trip to NY for my 40th and I'm already scheduling in a half day to go round the Harry Potter store! Can't bloody wait. I may have to take out a new credit card so that DH doesn't have a heart attack at how much I end up spending...

Brilliant article, like Janice Turner Jo Bartosch has an extraordinary talent for getting a lot of facts across with very few words.

And I hope you have an amazing birthday Sir Sam!

I expect those celeb endorsers will not say a single word, they’ll be onto their next pet project.

But let’s hope they’ve learnt some humility along the way.

It is a great article. Hard hitting but factual and manages to avoid ranting, which I would not be able to do if writing about Mermaids.

I might send it to my MP.

(got a couple of years before the big 40, but thanks!)

@TedImgoingmad

Let's never forget the fragrant Emma Watson, and that giant of the craft of acting, Daniel Radcliffe. Nothing short of a written public statement in apology to JKR - much like the ones they put out a year ago to have a go at her - will be good enough for me.

Absolutely

Good old Mermaids - who in the early days advised primary schools to hold assemblies celebrating the 7 year old boy who thought he may be a girl . Thus making it impossible for said child to ever change their mind - because as every parent knows, what a 7 year old says and believes remains immutable for the rest of their life

These tweets will not age well for Ms. Watson.

I hope someone's keeping receipts of all the great and good who were very vocal in their support of Mermaids without bothering to do their research.

They're not protecting 'trans' kids they're creating them.

The sheer vapidity of that "trans people are who they say they are" never fails to astound me.

Because humans generally, and predatory humans specifically, never lie to get something they want 🤔

Yep. It's langcleg's sacred caste analogy. If you make a group of people (any people!) beyond scrutiny, beyond the reach of normal safeguarding procedure, that group will attract predators because they will know they can act without questions.

@PandorasMailbox

These tweets will not age well for Ms. Watson.

I hope someone's keeping receipts of all the great and good who were very vocal in their support of Mermaids without bothering to do their research.

They're not protecting 'trans' kids they're creating them.

Regarding another sibject of those tweets, Mama Cash, this is a quote from another excellent article by Jo Bartosch.

In 2018, international and domestic NGOs collaborated to prevent the passing of the Trafficking of Persons Bill in India. This was heralded as a victory by the Netherlands-based Mama Cash, which claimed the bill, “conflated trafficking with sex work, which would have increased stigma, discrimination and violence against sex workers, reduced their autonomy and agency, and threatened their human rights”.

The campaign, part funded by Mama Cash, undermined the work of grassroots feminist activists in India like Vaishnavi Sundar. After years of working to stop the sex trade, Sundar, a documentary film-maker and activist based in Chennai, sees the halting of the anti-trafficking bill as a form of ideological imperialism:

“In a country that is known for its ineffectual jurisprudence where women fight for three or four decades for any legal recourse, it is disquieting to see Western organisations like Mama Cash siding with groups that further amplify women’s sexual exploitation. While ‘sex work’ may benefit a minority group, to halt a bill that could potentially save thousands of children over semantics is cruel and anti-women.”

thecritic.co.uk/issues/june-2021/putting-women-last/

Bloody hell @PurgatoryOfPotholes that's appalling.

Watson's really pushing the envelope there. She obviously does little or no research on the organisations she aligns herself with. Absolutely shameful behaviour!

JB is such a good writer.

Jo's done some absolutely sterling work on this issue. I always look forward to reading her pieces.

I do find it surprising the organisations some celebrities align themselves with. The patronage of Mermaids and Mama Cash seems aimed at positioning Watson as progressive and modern, but crucially I don't think they're at all controversial.

If Watson really wanted to do some good in the world, there are many organisations out there that are sadly less glamorous, and hence lack publicity.

She could start here. It's a list of the most effective organisations, in terms of lives saved per dollar, compiled by philosopher Peter Singer.

www.thelifeyoucansave.org/

From the Fistula Foundation to the SCI Foundation, there are a few to choose from.

(The SCI Foundation, formerly the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), works with Ministries of Health and Education in sub-Saharan African countries to support programs controlling and eliminating two types of parasitic worm infections: schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis.)