Yes, I remember that well. I was there.
And yes, TRAs include many misogynist men, and their handmaidens. We know this.
That night was terrifying. One of the worst things about it was the lack of a response from the police. They just stood there and let the protesters kick the windows, and they didn't do anything to separate women and protesters, meaning women had to run the gauntlet through a visious mob, to get into the building.
But here's the thing. That's the worst it's been. Women in Brighton have continued to have public meetings, large and small, without this happening again. There have been protests, but smaller, contained and there has been a lot of careful planning to ensure women's safety.
What women haven't done is deliberately court controversy by speaking to the far right. If they did, you can be sure that the protests in Brighton would be huge, with not only TRAs turning out in their dozens, but also people who want to stand against fascism - exactly as happened yesterday in NZ.
The next biggest protest was when KJK turned up, despite many local feminists saying her presence was counter productive.
Yes, TRAs are misogynists, but yesterday's event was badly planned - it was close to the university, which locals are saying was the worst place they could hold it. And hundreds (or was it thousands? I saw 2k reported) turned up - not just dozens of TRAs.
KJK is a narcissist, she courts controversy, thrives on conflict and division and her agenda is not the same as the rest of us.
And this matters, as yesterday is the result.
One of her own stewards who knows her well said - before this latest shit show - that KJK's courting trouble for views, that she's putting women at risk, that the end game is to become a talking head in the US and that she'll walk over SFW women to get there, they're all just pawns to her.
What you lot are doing is projecting who you want her to be onto her. People do that with leaders, especially in times of trouble. There were posters on MN at the beginning of the pandemic saying they thought Boris was a good man who had the public's interest at heart. No evidence for this, they were seeing what they wanted to see.
KJK does a good impression of being a leader who cares about women. I used to love her for her plain speaking and I assumed she was the real deal too.
But it's a sham. She is toxic and dangerous to the cause and to the woman around her.
Those of us who keep banging on about it aren't part of some left wing plot. It's just that we've seen through her, and are raising the alarm. Many of us know her in real life. Once you see the emperor has no clothes on, you can't unsee it.
And while posters here are denying her courting of the far right - or blaming us for noticing it - she carries on doing it, right under your nose, and shit shows like yesterday - badly planned, risky events that are bound to bring out people standing against fascism in large numbers -AS WELL as the TRAs, will continue to happen, and women's safety will continue to be put at risk.
Yes, violent men are responsible for their own actions. But if you are organising events where those violent men are expected to show up, you are also responsible for planning them in such a way that the risk to women turning up in good faith is minimised. "It's men's fault, not my responsibility" while deliberately pouring fuel on the flames is not an acceptable risk assessment plan, nor analysis after the fact.
I'm sorry that this woman has done such a number on so many of you.
I love the format of women meeting and talking. I wish more women would realise they don't need KJK to make it happen.
What if someone organised women-only speaking events? That'd be wonderful, and it'd mean there would be no confusion as to whether the violent men should be there or not.