Statement from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[Immunetypegoblin]

www.chimamanda.com/, published yesterday.

She is angry. One can understand why. One to watch I think.

I must admit I do think the third part is the best, and that her recent bereavements may have influenced her voice/decision to publish private correspondence. I'm not sure she would have done that (and sounded so utterly furious) if not for the sad events of the last year. Having said that, they do provide context for the final section. She has every right to be furious IMO, but I didn't expect it to be so clearly evident based on her previous work/talks.

Part three in particular. Wow. Yes. All of that. Particularly the take take take and never give attitude becoming prevalent in society, the demands of puritanism and selflessness from others that the demander certainly won't expect of themselves or tolerate anyone else expecting from them - this absolute double standards of personal entitlement compared to what others are entitled to from them. Lundy Bancroft made similar observations in his book Why Does He Do that.

The whole western world is going to have to consider how the most gently and sensitively disciplined, carefully educated, carefully and scientifically parented generations in history with the aim of a happier, more caring and mentally healthy society have managed to create a society in which these values- and growing amounts of violence and vandalism - are becoming normal.

I've often seen 'TERFS' slandered as being comparable to the Westboro Baptist Church but saying someone's parents died as a punishment for their thinking is pure Westboro.

Part 3 was wonderful but I have no problem with Parts 1 and 2. If JKR and Chimamanda can get death threats for politely disagreeing with gender ideology, and if women on Twitter can end up on criminal charges for statements of truth, then I have no problem with shining a light on those making hyperbolic accusations and issuing death threats.

I however will be in the garden with butterflies, trying to figure out how to befriend the neighbourhood crows

That's some coded language there. If their "garden" means anything like FWR's garden. Butterflies, they who transform. Who are the crows?

I am not GC and want trans people to be safe and respected (accepting I may have my head bitten off here)

No one - absolutely no one on these boards in all the time I've been reading the GC threads has ever wanted trans people to be anything other than safe and respected. There is no violence here. The GC feminists/TERFS are not the ones suggesting people who don't share their views should be attacked with machetes or raped or killed etc. If you have that impression you have been reading reactions to the very balanced and considered viewpoints of GC people, not the viewpoints themselves.

What a star

I highly highly recommend reading this interview where CNA discusses the books she loves (I think I'll be ordering them all😅) www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/books/review/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-by-the-book-interview.html

I'm glad Adichie called her out. That's despicable behaviour. Even famous and successful people have feelings and it's clear she's been deeply hurt by this woman's duplicity, lies and groundless slurs.

I hope her career flounders. She is a leech

She’s on fire! Her writing is amazing. I’m in awe.

@OhHolyJesus - two good essays by her to start with are We Should All Be Feminists (available in print as a mini book) and Beware The Single Story which is a genius piece about race and assumptions. It's in print (freeonline I think) but also on YouTube spoken live by her.

This poured absinthe on the fire in my belly. She is almost painfully articulate. Fucking amazing.

[quote Cowbells]@OhHolyJesus - two good essays by her to start with are We Should All Be Feminists (available in print as a mini book) and Beware The Single Story which is a genius piece about race and assumptions. It's in print (freeonline I think) but also on YouTube spoken live by her.[/quote]
Oh thanks, I'll check these out. Thanks for that!

*Adds entire back catalogue of books to basket

I think part 3 is all the more powerful after parts 1 and 2. The reprinting of the two authors' emails gives so much weight to CNA's words in the final section.

@Immunetypegoblin

www.chimamanda.com/, published yesterday.

She is angry. One can understand why. One to watch I think.

OMG Part 3 is so powerful and so true.

Does anyone know who Hadley and Helen are referring to in this thread?

twitter.com/HadleyFreeman/status/1405101367933509633

I'm dying to know, OvaHere.

I notice Marina Hyde has tweeted Chimamanda's piece, but up till now she hasn't said anything at all about the trans debate. So it could be her, I guess. I don't know who else. I don't expect it's OJ.

Isn't Helen Lewis, commenting under Hadley, the person who has been slinging shit at Glinner?

Having now seen the tweet about machetes, I'm now even more disgusted. It's a particularly visceral image of violence. Given the number of people who were killed with machetes in e.g. Rwanda, it's incredibly offensive and distasteful.

@BrimfulOfBaba

I am not GC and want trans people to be safe and respected

Being GC means thinking that Gender is a harmful set of stereotypes and that women are structurally disadvantaged because of these stereotypes.

It has nothing to do with not wanting trans people to be safe, it's just not accepting that physical sex differences don't matter.

Isn't Helen Lewis, commenting under Hadley, the person who has been slinging shit at Glinner?

Yes.

I’ve just bought one of her books thanks for the recommendations. What an awful thing to have happened to her and what kind of appalling person feels they can play the victim in this scenario. Butterflies and machetes? Good grief.

@InvisibleDragon

Having now seen the tweet about machetes, I'm now even more disgusted. It's a particularly visceral image of violence. Given the number of people who were killed with machetes in e.g. Rwanda, it's incredibly offensive and distasteful.

Absolutely.

[quote OvaHere]Does anyone know who Hadley and Helen are referring to in this thread?

twitter.com/HadleyFreeman/status/1405101367933509633[/quote]
No, but I do love to speculate.

twitter.com/caitlinmoran/status/1405161713402585088?s=20

Good spot, Screaming.

What a hypocrite.

@Redapplewreath

Part three in particular. Wow. Yes. All of that. Particularly the take take take and never give attitude becoming prevalent in society, the demands of puritanism and selflessness from others that the demander certainly won't expect of themselves or tolerate anyone else expecting from them - this absolute double standards of personal entitlement compared to what others are entitled to from them. Lundy Bancroft made similar observations in his book Why Does He Do that.

The whole western world is going to have to consider how the most gently and sensitively disciplined, carefully educated, carefully and scientifically parented generations in history with the aim of a happier, more caring and mentally healthy society have managed to create a society in which these values- and growing amounts of violence and vandalism - are becoming normal.

Oh my word, this resonates.

And this:

Oh god, that tweet. The casual encouragement of others to 'pick up machetes', but this perfectly fucking serene soul will be 'in my garden with the butterflies'.

I'm really stunned and bloody upset about this.