Trustee of Mermaids quits after speech to paedophile aid group Times article

[Xoxoxoxoxoxox]

Sorry I don't have a share token but the article claims that Dr Jacob Breslow has links to an organisation that promotes 'induviduals who are attracted to pedophiles'. Mermaids have removed him now but it does show how lax their safeguarding procedures are (yet again).

Dr Jacob Breslow ... gave a presentation at an event for the US-based B4U-ACT in 2011.
According to its website, B4U-ACT promotes services and resources “for self-identified individuals . . . who are sexually attracted to children and desire such assistance”.Records show that the academic...became a trustee of Mermaids..in July this year.

www.thetimes.co.uk article/990e9e88-434f-11ed-8885-043c27446b97?shareToken=0258f847470f2b5b0bf6d1e933863c30

LoobiJee I wanted to make the same point, you beat me to it.

Pink News uses the Rowling Tweet in context of the alleged persecution of Mermaids and the wider Queer community by bigots like evil Rowley (paraphrasing here).
I think the tide is turning, but from my experience Pink News and similar media & orgs who are heavily invested in the transcult will only reckon with this once it is all ‚ancient’ history and a new generation has taken over. (Always easier to acknowledge the mistakes of others in the distant past than one‘s own current or very recent failing.)

LSE are in a bit of a bind.

They could feign surprise, admit a lack of intellectual curiosity over his work and get rid of him. That seems unlikely.

They could express faux shock over his attendance at the conference whilst avoiding the topic of whether they stand behind the views he expresses in his published works and encourage him to tender his resignation. I'd bet on this.

Or they could do the decent thing, throw open their doors and get an external organisation to investigate how their centre of learning was captured. Can't see this happening, sadly.

I‘m from science so I don‘t really know how ,academic freedom‘ is handled in humanities (or actually I do, looking at how radical feminists in academia are treated or scholars advocating for the Palestinean cause).

My point is, like freedom of speech, academic freedom is something worth protecting, no matter how appalling (whereby a line must obviously be drawn when you incite violence or the abuse of children…).
So, LSE might ‚struggle‘ (and I don’t doubt it is a selective ,struggle’, where Queer Theory gets the support others are missing) with the ‚academic freedom‘ angle.

I've just seen the post on Nutmeg about his tattoo and was struck by the similarity to Sam Smiths tattoo!

Or they knew about how bad Breslow is and have shit a brick because they know what's is going to come out (that blog for starters)

The fact BC didn't hesitate to condemn JB and was pretty strong about it and then has been very quite and THEN seemingly has run something admitting JKR was right is interesting.

Breslow is the indefensible face of this. Your choices are double down or reverse ferret if you supported mermaids.

OJ has chosen one route. BC seems to be taking the other. Others will be doing the same. Including those who work for mermaids as paid staff and volunteers. Obviously if you are a volunteer it's easier to just say I'm not doing it anymore.

That blog is very concerning. Who are Breslow's associates. If he was blogging who was reading? Who knew? And knew his academic field? This isn't remotely a secret...

Telegraph Editorial pulls no punches

BC's husband is a GP so they have a lot more to lose than OJ.

All Jacob Breslow's friends and associates need looking at. I'm wondering if he and his husband/wife (uses both pronouns) have fled back to the US?

Fucking hell.

That's all I'm saying, for now

Has anyone reported Mermaids to the police for this I wonder? I'm assuming shutting down their phone lines is because they've realised they've failed with their safeguarding checks and may have more dodgy adults directly accessing children?
It really needs a deep dive into their hard drives to see precisely what's going on.

I don’t get why BC/PN have an issue with the fact that the newspaper got evidence for their story by posing as a 14 year old and accessing the chat.

Isn’t that how these things work? Journalist suspects something is going on so poses or gets someone to pose as someone else to access what they are investigating. Over the years we have seen people go work for sports direct, Atos/Capita, Amazon and many more, wearing a microphone and camera to get evidence. It even happens to individuals, Who are suspected of doing something dodgy. Does he have a problem with that as well.

Plus, it should be a huge concern to Meemaids and BC (as a supporter) that adults are able to gain access and present as child in their online support forums. Instead it’s being used more in a ‘doesn’t matter what that article says, the person wasn’t a real child’ as though it’s a get out jail free card.

I have come to the conclusion that BC isn't that bright.

There is already so much reverse ferreting going on and whilst I really, truly understand the importance of golden bridges, I really want these people to be forced to acknowledge what they've been supporting.

Mermaids has been ignoring their safeguarding responsibilities for years. In approx 2019 my child used their forums on advice from their school pastoral team as they were part of a group of teens for which gender identity was the only topic of conversation.
At the time my child was 14 so I was still monitoring their phone use, a user of the forum that was verified as an adult gave my child advice on how to hide self harm scars from parents, how to report parents to doctors for mental abuse and how to obtain a binder. My child had not indicated in their post that they had any issue with us although had mentioned self harm which we until then had not known about (we have a really close relationship and we would NEVER abuse them, we just did not want to jump with both feet into the gender affirmative parenting club).
We complained to as a result of this and they stopped advising young people to use mermaids. I was too stressed and focused on my own child at the time to make an official complaint and I regret this fully.
Just wanted to add to the pile of examples of Mermaids failing the young people they claim to support.

*complained to the school

I'm so sorry to hear that, alishy. That's appalling! I think there's nothing to stop you making a formal complaint now.

I don’t get why BC/PN have an issue with the fact that the newspaper got evidence for their story by posing as a 14 year old and accessing the chat.

They're angry that someone has exposed the massive issues with their processes, is all.

'10. The worst thing about male violence is that it makes men look bad.'

Adapt this slightly for children.

Quite.

They (all those still going into bat for mermaids in anyway) don't care about vulnerable trans children, they don't care about children or safeguarding at all. They care about protecting an ideology.

they don't care about children or safeguarding at all. They care about protecting an ideology.

yes. And it makes me incredibly sad and incredibly furious.

These people have been allowed to write policies for OUR SCHOOLS.

They (all those still going into bat for mermaids in anyway) don't care about vulnerable trans children, they don't care about children or safeguarding at all. They care about protecting an ideology.

As Victoria Smith said in the Critic - they think the kids are there to protect them, not the other way around.

It was entirely predictable that the adults would hide behind the children. As soon as it became clear that Mermaids — the charity that claims to support “gender-diverse youth” — would at last be subject to some degree of formal scrutiny, out came the familiar hashtag: #ProtectTransKids.

[...]

You will note that the people being investigated here are not children themselves. Being desperately unhappy with your body and confused about your identity are not crimes, whereas exploiting vulnerable young people who feel this way really ought to be.

Nonetheless, Mermaids and its supporters — including Stonewall CEO Nancy Kelly — have chosen to misrepresent the situation in the same way they always do. It’s not them, the adults, who are being asked to justify their actions. Oh, no, kids — it’s you who are under attack.

[...] You might think of this as covering your own backs. I think of it as terrorising vulnerable children for political gain.

It’s a tactic familiar to anyone who has studied domestic abuse and coercive control.

Without wishing to contradict @NecessaryScene who is pretty much spot on I'm sure, I would also like to remind everyone that gender ideology is part of queer theory and that dismantling child safeguarding is pretty much no. 1 on their list of aims. Criticizing mermaids for a lack of child safeguarding is like criticizing a swimming teacher for failing to keep the kids dry.

Very good point.

I suppose any criticism would come from the apparent dearth of opposing views from within his own department.

Indeed and given you Did complain to the school, you have proof of your concerns at the time.

Arguably you could ask why the school also didn't raise concerns about a charity being pushed by the likes of the NHS - a government organisation.

It needs to come out in the wash. The fear of speaking out is very much part of this. The flood gates need to open.

@MoltenLasagne "There is already so much reverse ferreting going on and whilst I really, truly understand the importance of golden bridges, I really want these people to be forced to acknowledge what they've been supporting."

Tragically, all these groups had their golden bridges period, their 'let go of the rising balloon' period, several years ago. Instead, they doubled down, demonised those who urged caution with the most vile terms, destroyed livelihoods, all the while encouraging many more vulnerable children and young people to undergo irreversible surgeries. I was staggered when I heard the Susie Green backstory. What she did to her child was illegal here in the UK and is now illegal in Thailand but rather than being arrested when she set foot back in the UK, her organisation was welcomed with open arms into schools across the land. It's like we've been living in an episode of Black Mirror or something.

Look at this! NHS Black Country telling their staff not to signpost to Mermaids.

Yes!