Writer John Boyne - Stonewall "betraying lesbians completely"

[GrimDamnFanjo]

Over on Twitter "As a gay man, I'm glad @BBC quit @StonewallUK's scheme. I feel let down by SW, which is so authoritarian now, telling gays how to think, who to date & betraying lesbians completely.

Next up: Replies from fetishising straight men telling me why I'm wrong"

Forgot to add link:
twitter.com/john_boyne/status/1458759025865236482

Brilliant!

He got cancelled a couple of years ago for having the audacity to write a book about a trans identifying child didn't he?

I see it's been festering.

It might turn out that purity spirals ultimately don't do your cause any good...

He got ripped to shreds over what he had believed was a trans friendly novel, 'My Brother's Name is Jessica'.

He also had a run-in with Glinner, and did a bit of flip-flopping. It wasn't pretty. But I guess it's golden bridge time.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3637413-Delighted-John-Boyne-liked-Alison-Mothers-tweet

Oh wow. He's seen the light.

Guess dogpiling and bullying doesn't always work.

Ahhhh. This is interesting.

Interesting. He has dipped his toe in the water a couple of times and repented. Saying this to glinner at the time.
Seems he has changed his mind.

[quote NecessaryScene]He also had a run-in with Glinner, and did a bit of flip-flopping. It wasn't pretty. But I guess it's golden bridge time.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3637413-Delighted-John-Boyne-liked-Alison-Mothers-tweet[/quote]
I'm ready to bring out the appropriate metal polish to make the bridge extra noticeable, put down a welcome mat, and wait to greet whomever has the courage to make the journey across the bridge.

Good for him. Totally get where he’s coming from.

Oh I’m all for the golden bridge. Good on him!!

He's changed his tune after that Jessica book, hasn't he? He came off my list of recommended authors after that. I might have to reconsider.

Just read that Tweet to Glinner. Hmmm. I'm not going to be on the Golden Bridge Welcoming Committee.

@Shedbuilder

Just read that Tweet to Glinner. Hmmm. I'm not going to be on the Golden Bridge Welcoming Committee.

It is admittedly an unbelievable 180.

Still, people grow up (and usually don’t apologise for the mistakes they’ve made along the way) so I’m willing to accept this new perspective he’s got.

Would be lovely to see him apologise to Glinner though...

@Shedbuilder

Just read that Tweet to Glinner. Hmmm. I'm not going to be on the Golden Bridge Welcoming Committee.

There's another side to Sun Tzu's golden bridge - without a golden bridge and means of escape, people will fight to the death because they have no option and nothing left to lose. There will be wholly unnecessary casualties and depletion of resources if an action continues.

Twenty-five hundred years ago, Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher, is said to have penned The Art of War. It remains a masterpiece of military strategy…Sun Tzu counseled military leaders to build a “golden bridge” for an opponent to retreat across. Without an escape route to retreat, your opponent will engage in battle and fight like a caged and cornered tiger. You can avoid battling the tiger and even win the war if you give your opponent a graceful, face saving way out. Face-saving is an important part of the negotiation process and is vital to building a golden bridge. Building a golden bridge requires that you involve your opponent in the solution and that you work to satisfy your opponent’s unmet needs. A golden bridge makes it easy for your opponent to say yes.

www.smithcurrie.com/publications/common-sense-contract-law/when-faced-with-no-build-a-golden-bridge-to-resolve-a-dispute/pdf/

Interesting, the Golden Bridge thing. I’ve seen it referenced a lot recently on the GC side.

The frontline on Social Media is where we are engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the “berserkers”, who would have to be pulled back (if that is even possible) but by whom?

I don’t think the crazies will ever cross a Golden Bridge. Maybe the NGOs would be tempted if they weren’t also being bankrolled by billionaire philanthropists and Big Tech.

I think Kate Harris of LGBA has it right when she says that “celebs” are irrelevant noise that distract us from focusing on the seats of power and influence.

Obviously, it’s comforting to see “cultural icons” crossing over and I definitely agree that we should welcome them with open arms. Perhaps they only feel safe to do it because they perceive that a Golden Bridge exists, in terms of our attitudes on this side, rather than specific arguments?

Perhaps too because they become aware that the “it’s toxic on both sides” mantra is BS and they have been aligning themselves with the side sending rape and death threats?

The frontline on Social Media is where we are engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the “berserkers”, who would have to be pulled back (if that is even possible) but by whom

This is probably what Helen Joyce meant when she said that it's not a good use of resource to talk to that category of opponent but it's better to talk round them to the people who will listen. They won't necessarily act on the first, third, or even seventh hearing but it plants awareness and possibilities.

Support for every tentative step is important. This is where I reach for the Gottman argument about supporting coolers who have influence in communities where we are absent/reviled.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4339762-How-do-we-provide-a-face-saving-way-back-to-reality-for-the-politicians-public-figures-who-are-currently-transactivisms-minions?msgid=110497988

I agree that it's so important to provide a way back for people who are currently captured by the whole TWAW ideology. It really makes me wince when I see a former TRA robot say something decent and sensible but someone on the GC side pounces on them to bring up something ridiculous they've written or said in the past.

If we give people space and support to change their minds then this whole debacle will fizzle out much more peacefully.

And I love John Boyne, such a brilliant writer. I was really pleased to see his tweet.

It wasn't just his book that got him in trouble it was statements like:
"And while I wholeheartedly support the rights of trans men and women and consider them courageous pioneers, it will probably make some unhappy to know that I reject the word “cis”, the term given by transgender people to their nontransgender brethren. I don’t consider myself a cis man; I consider myself a man. For while I will happily employ any term that a person feels best defines them, whether that be transgender, non-binary or gender fluid to name but a few, I reject the notion that someone can force an unwanted term onto another."
www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/john-boyne-why-i-support-trans-rights-but-reject-the-word-cis-1.3843005

One of our (RoI) trans activists was of the view that he was "cis" whether he wanted to be or not. How's that for respecting a person's identity and how he wishes to be referred to?

This is Martin's piece:
www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/whether-john-boyne-likes-it-or-not-he-is-a-cis-man-with-cis-privilege-1.3860808

Pompous waffle. Aoife sounds like great craic. Boyne is a bit up himself too though. Not rushing to embrace the prodigal tbh!

I wouldn't think of him as prodigal or perfect in any way (including his writing, Ladder to the Sky is truly terrible IMHO) but the anyone with a high profile in Ireland willing to raise their voice (even if only to question the word "cis") is as welcome as it is rare.