Northumbria University - Sarah Phillimore and Harry Miller 'seen as a 'safety and wellbeing' risk to an entire university.'

[ChristinaXYZ]

Open letter on Sarah Phillimore's website shows how deep the interference with debate and free speech goes at some universities.

sarahphillimore.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-northumbria-university

I see I am able to post from my lap top so I will just make the following comments .

I am allowed to say yes to hate on any day of the year I wish. This is because it is political speech; it is part of Fair Cop's campaign to point out the absurdity of attempting to criminalise a universal human emotion on the basis of self perception. This is clearly open to abuse as Harry Miller's case made clear. The current Hate Crimes Guidance allows for no objective test or method of dealing with irrational and malicious complaints.

The University have accepted what they did to my emails was unlawful and they have apologised. If any public institution does anything similar to me again, I will not be forgiving and they will face legal action.

If you don't like what I say, either offer me arguments as to why I shouldn't say it, or ignore me. Attempts to silence me are unlawful. I hope the message is getting across.

Thanks spero. I wondered if you were going to drop by as we haven’t seen you for a while.

The argument is "I don't like it". That is considered by some to be sufficient.

I was actually surprised you got such a quick response - I must admit I'd half expected a GCC sort of response of "we're investigating but we have always stood for the rights of everyone under the trans umbrella" kind of thing.

Perhaps people are beginning to understand the Steisand effect a bit more clearly.

The various "Love Music/Football, Hate Racism" campaigns have similarly been promoting hate, so it can't just be the word hate or the concept of it being a valid emotion that is key here.

I haven't looked into the hashtag as it is entirely irrelevant to whether it's lawful to redirect emails.

It's like all the flowers are hidden by bindweed and everyone thinks 'pretty' without realising it is strangling all the actual plants.

Thank you Spero for standing up and being counted.

Thank you Spero for standing up and being counted.

Absolutely!

Thank you. I don't see why this needs to be such a difficult issue.

I agree there are necessary limits to freedom of speech - I think they are clear.
No one has a right to incite violence, target an individual for harassment or defame them.
I accept that as I am subject to professional regulation, I must accept further fetters on my right to speak - I cannot be 'seriously' offensive, which I interpret to mean I cannot use abusive or profane language, make sexual or racial slurs etc. I don't do any of that.

Everything else I can say, and must be allowed to say. If people 'don't like it' or are offended by it, then that is their own emotional reaction, which they must consider and manage. It's not my business.

Rather more worrying than whether or not I support a hashtag that some people didn't like is how self identifying academics such as Craig/Anna McLean can publish such obvious drivel with no - as far as I can see - any push back whatsoever from academic colleagues. Neither McLean or the authors of the other report I criticised in the Fair Cop/WRN document had the courtesy to even acknowledge my email asking for clarification, let alone provide a substantive answer.

Those whose analysis of my contribution begins and ends with 'but I find her offensive!' might wish to ponder that awhile.

Do you think universities should stifle debate? Do you not believe in freedom of expression?

Could people be influenced into believe they were trans, the opposite sex, by expression of views? Could they be influenced into badgering their parents for puberty blockers, breast binders, hormones?

Soyou think universities should only invite speakers with views of which you approve?

Soyou think universities should only invite speakers with views of which you approve?

I'd say that's the long and short of it Cailinn66, a process more akin to indoctrination than free thinking but not a surprise.

👏 👏 👏

Hi @Spero ! So pleased to see that Northumbria Uni saw sense, apologised and says it "will take steps to ensure that this error does not occur again".

You have definitely earned these credentials! 😎

mobile.twitter.com/SVPhillimore/status/1534481109274312710

I went looking on the Fair Cop website for the "Fair Cop and The Women's Rights Network review of the reports by the ICSR and Craig McLean" mentioned by TheBiologyStupid and I could not find any mention of it anywhere.

I did find it eventually, linked from this page on the WRN site:

"The Defence Of Women’s Rights Is Not Terrorism"

The report, Transphobia As A Security Concern - The Dangers of Conflating Political Speech with Violent Insurrection, is produced by a collaboration between Fair Cop and The Women’s Rights Network.

www.womensrights.network/truth-is-not-terrorism

(The report itself is hosted on the Fair Cop website.
www.faircop.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Transphobia-As-A-Security-Concern.pdf
I am sure that there must be a post about it and link to it somewhere on there but I couldn't find it.)

I agree with TheBiologyStupid that it is excellent.

There is also a handy form on the WRN page to email a copy to MPs which I had not spotted before.

<Stands up and applauds>