Fuck Oxfam

[DismantledKing]

Anyone seen the tweet by Maya tonight about this little animation by Oxfam? Here’s the link:

https://twitter.com/mforstater/status/1665817901327085568?s=46&t=U7-xooKExwmFQ8mivn72lw

as I said, fuck Oxfam.

Still not clear how asking volunteers to download and use pronoun badges helps tackle poverty. Even those in the LGBTQ+ community experiencing poverty.

Unfortunately, actual right wingers are lumping LGB into the backlash against the T. The T can just change clothes back, have the hair dyed back to a natural shade and walk away. The LGB, not so much.

Nice move Stonewall. Well fucking done.

I think on a global basis it's plausible that LGBT people are more likely to live in poverty. Countries that that criminalise homosexuality will leave gay men and lesbians struggling to get good jobs because they have a criminal record. Countries where women are expected/mandated to be supported by a man and are unable to get well paid jobs (or work at all) leave lesbians with the choice of marry a man or starve. If there's no pension system and old people are supported by their children those without children are in trouble. Groups like the hijra who are quite literally out-caste and make a living by begging.

But as Gules says that's a separate issue from what most people see as Oxfam's core purpose. And is not helped at all by a flag in a shop window in Chipping Norton.

The nonsense part of all this is the trans ideology doesn't think homosexuality sexuality exists.

It's like adding B for burglars, to V for victims who have been robbed. And saying that the BV community are fighting for their rights to rob and not be robbed.

Yeah, I can very well believe it, for that reason. Less sure they've got any good data on it though.

In a thread cross pollination I picked up a copy of the daily mail in a cafe today and read a two page spread of grumbles from the tenants at Lacock (Abbey and village bequeathed to the National Trust) about how the Trust are allowing the buildings to lie empty and fail into disrepair.

lots of DM type insinuation that all the money is going on rainbow lanyards and education about slavery instead

I don’t know how right that is, but as a NT member and frequent visitor I have had my share of earnest education from them. I would argue that is only the right use of funds if all of the buildings they hold in trust are in good repair

it seemed another (less egregious) example of a charity losing sight of what they’re actually for

The National Trust and other galleries, museums and arts institutions appear be very heavily invested in LBGTQ+ - eg this from the National Trust.

There's only so much money, and an awful lot of property to take care of, which is horrendously expensive to do. What should be the priority? It’s legitimate to ask whether quite so much time, effort and cash should go into these projects if the actual properties are crumbling while they explore 'the diversity of gender and sexuality that go beyond the ‘hetero-normative’ conventions'.

Datun · Today 11:57

It's like adding B for burglars, to V for victims who have been robbed. And saying that the BV community are fighting for their rights to rob and not be robbed.

Oh, I like that!

It's like grouping pimps, prostitutes and punters together as part of the "sex industry" and having, I don't know, one of the biggest pimps in the country lobbying Amnesty international on behalf of sex workers https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/amnesty-and-the-pimp

Good point, well made. I don't disagree at all.

"No LGB without the T" would show a lot more solidarity if I heard it from the LGB instead of far more usually from the T at the LGB.

I wondered who the two male characters are in the JkR cartoon - I notice one is yellow ?? Which nationality could that be? and the other is brown?? ?Racist?

They don’t seem to have a replacement for Saskatandahsanda ?sp) so I think he might have gone early.

I wonder if it might be a woman?

I think I could reasonably argue that it is the political and ideological Left that lump T in with LGB more than anybody else. Identity Politics in its present form is far more a tool of the Left. It's the Left that does this forced teaming of the groups, I feel.

I consider myself Right Wing, more or less, and my social circle leans this way (not by choice - my more ideological Left Wing friends got very exclusionary about keeping out those who didn't share their views). Amongst us there's a fairly common thread of it being the TQ2SP set that are the real problem. Prejudice against gay men in conversation feels more rooted in the ultra-hedonistic lifestyle that is prevalent in the gay community, more so than the sexual orientation itself.

Your mileage may differ, it's anecdotal. But on the first point about it being predominantly the Left which force teams the T onto the end I think that's pretty solid. And the Q is almost unarguably a political grouping on the Left more so than it is any kind of orientation. The number of girls I've known who call themselves queer because they've shaved one side of their head and maybe snogged another girl on the dance floor this one time while their boyfriend was looking... Anyway, I'm getting on my hobby horse. But sorry, I really feel this problem is of the Left's making. They made their Identity Politics bed and now they are being forced to Identity Politics lie in it.

Open to disagreement.

I can't share a link from my phone, but the Daily Express are reporting that Danny Sriskandarajah is leaving Oxfam at the end of the year.

Apparently he is going to a new role as chief executive of the New Economics Foundation think-tank.

Twitter seemed to think that the guy on the left was journo Andy Ngô (though it reminded me of Graham Linehan).

You’ve clarified exactly what about the current Pride set up makes me feel so uncomfortable- brilliant post 👏

@OldGardinia I would consider myself centre/left (at least, I was - I feel thoroughly unmoored at the moment). However, I mix with a lot of rural Tory voters, because I have a gundog and I work her on a local shoot.

And honestly, almost nobody under the age of about 80 gives a shit about anyone's sexuality. I know two gay men who shoot, and who are entirely accepted (both of them are in long-term cohabiting relationships, so you can't even claim that no one knows, because everyone does). One of them is actually quite influential and very respected, both for the job he does and how he does it, and for his ability to rehab traumatised dogs.

So yep, I would agree that what you might call right-wing circles now barely bat an eyelid about this, except possibly at the hedonism.

Andy Ngo and Ron De Santis.

I’m 70, centrist. None of the people I know in their 80s and 90s, on both sides of the political divide, could care less about anyone’s sexual orientation, nor did they ever. Even my very Catholic parents stopped being shocked well before they died in their eighties, and that was before the turn of the century.
However, my older friends and acquaintances all think gender and trans ideology is absolute rubbish - and it’s they that bring it up in conversation, not me.

@EdithStourton similar to your situation, though without the gun dogs, I also mix with a lot of rural right wing people, because I work for them, and have never heard anyone say anything about sexuality. Rural people certainly know there is no changing sex because many of them farm or live near farms.

Wickes faces boycott after boss said trans critical shoppers are ‘not welcome in our stores’

Haha - share price has fallen so he is back-pedalling like mad.

70% of the country aren't welcome in my shops! ... I've no idea why we went bankrupt, it's a mystery...

Are wicks back-pedalling? I’ve not seen any damage limitation. Where is their PR? Who’d’ve thought their ex HR bid could cause so much chaos?

I am a landlord and about to put in a new bathroom.

Wickes is not on the list….but then they have said they don’t want my business.

Make sure that you tell them that, Needmoresleep.

I'm sure lots of people will be along shortly to tell me that it's just as bad for whatever reason, but i'm going to volunteer at Save the Children. It's a nice modern shop near to me, entirely volunteer-led (I think there's a paid manager which covers 4 or 5 shops) and the charity's aims are similar to those Oxfam used to hold.

I stopped reading several pages back, so it may be that someone else has already shared this (no-doubt cut-and-paste) response to my complaint about the delightful cartoon and it's been thoroughly dissected! If not, though, I'm interested in your impressions of it. I've already responded with my own...

NB It's worth noting that my original complaint made no reference to the Rowling caricature the papers picked up on at all. I didn't want to give them this straw man to shoot down in their response, instead focussing on their negative depiction of a group with a particular, valid, belief - so-called TERFs...

"Thank you for contacting us to share your thoughts on the Pride video recently posted by Oxfam International. Please be assured your feedback is read and shared with the relevant teams.

We're truly grateful for your incredible support of Oxfam and for volunteering with us. I hope you might find the below information helpful.

As part of Pride month, we are seeking to defend, protect and create more safety for LGBTQIA+ people across the world. The video shared was intended to highlight the discrimination that the LGBTQIA+ community face both online and in person. In efforts to make an important point about the real harm caused by transphobia, we made a mistake.

The image which has caused offence was not intended to portray any particular person or people. The fact it was being interpreted in this way was distracting from the important message of the video and led to us editing it. This was then reposted with an explanation and an apology for the mistake.

We fully support both an individual’s right to hold religious and philosophical beliefs and a person’s right to have their identity respected, regardless of their gender identity and expression, sex, or sexuality. We believe LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights and that it is only when we respect and uphold all human rights that we can overcome poverty. We know from our work around the world that discrimination – whether on the basis of race, disability, gender or sexuality - is often a major obstacle in people’s efforts to build a better life for themselves. You can read more about our changing approach to the work we do here.

As an organisation, we are committed to becoming safe, feminist and anti-racist and in our global work we seek to tackle discrimination and uphold the rights of everyone, including women and girls. Last year alone, we supported 3.7 million women and girls. We are proud of our work helping women make their voices heard - everywhere from parliaments to peace processes and in working with communities to tackle domestic violence, to take just two examples. You can find out more here.

Our work with women and girls and our work to tackle discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people are both vital to give everyone an equal chance to thrive. Both are central to our core value of inclusivity and commitment to leaving no-one behind in the fight against poverty and inequality.

I hope this helps explain our thinking behind the video and the reason we edited it. I also hope I’ve shown (and you can see more on our website) that Oxfam is an organisation that is committed to equality and to tackling the root causes of poverty - as we always have, and will continue to be. Thank you for all your amazing support."