@Bowlofporridge and @Mamaneedsadrink.
How nice for you that you feel safe as a woman in New Zealand.
Do you agree that women who don't share the same set of beliefs as you should also have the right to feel safe holding and expressing those views in New Zealand? Women like @TiedUpWithABlackVelvetBand, for example?
Many of us are appalled that a British woman who travelled to your country to speak about women's rights was assaulted by a trans activist, causing her to cut short her trip due to concerns about her personal safety, and your politicians are openly praising the behaviour of the trans activists, apparently in the sincere belief that this makes New Zealand look good. It does not.
But then I guess you have previous form for such staggering lack of self awareness. You seemed to think you were being progressive and inclusive when you sent a middle aged, out of shape, mediocre, rich male weightlifter to compete as a woman in the Olympics, thereby depriving a young, elite, female weightlifter of the opportunity of a lifetime. But everyone outside your smug, woke, self-congratulatory little bubble was pretty horrified. The idea that you are "leading the world in female rights" is an absolute joke.
@Athrawes is of the view that Kellie-Jay Keen associates with Nazis. But as others have pointed out, she has made it clear that she does not align herself with the views of Nazis. If the mainstream media is constantly reporting that you are a Nazi sympathiser, people will believe it, including the Nazis themselves, who will feel emboldened to show up at your events.
Kellie-Jay Keen's events are low, almost no budget, and low, almost no tech. They pretty much consist of a patch of grass and a microphone, because she has been deplatformed everywhere else. There is a rather wonderful element of democracy to them; any woman who has something to say on the subject of women's rights is allowed to speak. But there are also risks associated with this format. Namely, the risk that anyone else can show up too, from Nazis who give your cause a bad name, to trans activists who may violently assault you.
@goodnightkiwi I have read about Eli Rubashkyn, who seems to have had a difficult life. However, that is no excuse for committing crimes. I cannot think of a single other group which is apparently above the law in this way. Throwing liquid over a woman is an act of violence. Throwing acid over women who have misbehaved in some way is an horrific and sadly all too common act of male violence. Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how terrifying it must have been, to be in that environment, surrounded by political activists who have turned up for the purpose of showing how much they hate you, and to have an unidentified liquid thrown in your face? Kellie-Jay Keen must have been afraid she was seconds away from a life changing injury.
Let's be clear about this; what Eli Rubashkyn did was assault. It is a crime. It would be considered assault in the UK, as any first year law student could tell you, and a quick Google informs me that it is also assault in New Zealand.
Has this criminal been arrested? Have they fuck. No, indeed your politicians are all smugly congratulating the whole country on a job well done. A women's rights campaigner literally hounded out of your country for daring to say that women should be allowed to have their own spaces and their own sports.
The question New Zealand's trans activists should be asking themselves is this: what does it say about you when you and your friends show up at an event where there are actual Nazis present, and you behave worse than the actual Nazis?
Sadly, I doubt they will.