Scotland became the laboratory for trans extremism – and it’s not just the SNP’s fault

[IwantToRetire]

Three recent events have confirmed that Scotland’s civic sphere has drastically over-reached itself on the subject of gender ideology. ...

And still politicians at Holyrood, politicians of most of the main parties (with the honourable exception of the Scottish Conservatives) refuse even to discuss the issue, for fear that they will be asked what is, to them, the unanswerable question, What is a woman? ...

Full article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/19/scotland-became-the-laboratory-for-trans-extremism/

Can also be read at https://archive.is/lkkdj

It’s all completely corrupt. Even the dreadful Edinburgh rape crisis witnesses in Roz Adam’s tribunal who resigned over their incompetence are popping up in other, publicly funded, organisations.

Sandy Brindley may well be sacked/pushed to resign over the mess she allowed at rape crisis, but I bet she reappears at a cushy job 6 minths later

I've spoken about this before under different names; it's not just that 'Scotland is believed to be different' it's that 'Scotland is better'. Scottish exceptionalism. Our nationalism isn't like that nasty nationalism. Our nationalism is nice and fluffy and everyone's welcome because we're pure dead brilliant.

The woolly thinking around exceptional nationalism terrified me back at the referendum and is the leading reason I voted no. Because we're no better than anywhere else: as good as anyone, better than none is how I was brought up.

When you start believing in exceptionalism then thinking becomes incredibly muddled, especially when that's in opposition to a baddie, whether that be England or those pesky wims who won't shut up.

So women are bad and men who want to be women are exceptional, and we all need to let them get on with it lest we dim their shine. And because Scotland (Edinburgh really) is soooooo tiny and everyone knows everyone and no-one can rock the boat (and shamefully, I include myself in that) the exceptionalism becomes all pervasive and 'fact', while the baddies get worse, and suddenly you have men telling raped women to get with the programme (reframe their trauma) and everyone thinks that's perfectly fine.

Fuck that shit.

It's hilarious that Scotland tells itself it is so welcoming and inclusive - but the ongoing sectarianism is really bad. Sadly the referendum also made the country more divided.

I always though that that need to be different, certainly better than Westminster and more progressive than the rest of the world is a complex driven by multiple social and economic problems which are not as easily fixed.

And the thing is the social and economic issues are not being fixed. Drug use is a huge problem here in Scotland. Child poverty. And as someone else said, sectarianism. And of course unemployment.

I remember when I was younger being caught up in the "Scotland is the best" nonsense; that we do things in a nicer, better way than England. It's simply not true and it's sold as a truth in schools and in higher education, pumping these kids and young adults out into the world who believe in all the propaganda. It isn't until you've actually lived and got some life experience that you realise it's a lie.

Edinburgh is a different world to me, or may as well be a different world. It's no coincidence that my one friend IRL who buys into all of this (and was the one who scolded me for correctly sexing pink leggings with their "rapist gender") lives and works in Edinburgh, at the uni. My colleagues are the same; all pronouns in their emails, all live in Edinburgh, work with the uni and the government. Not that I'm saying it's completely isolated to the capital; but it is such a small city that it is not without merit that someone else up thread said it's thriving there because everyone knows everyone.

They all pat themselves on the back for being so progressive and switched on and it then leads to them happily throwing vulnerable women and children under the bus. Anyone complaining is an uneducated, bigoted transphobe. It's insidious.

Exactly that @INeedAPensieve

During the referendum, I couldn't stop thinking about the racists I grew up with. My English friends certainly never got an easy ride in Scotland, even in Edinburgh, and our habit of blaming (ahem) Westmonster for Every Little Thing - there's nothing nice about our nationalism. It's just common or garden nationalism.

Note I'm also not saying, to paraphrase Trainspotting, that it's shite here either. It's simply a wee country with big problems that we really struggle to get a grip of, in part because so much of the attention is fixed on the baddies I spoke about up thread. In other words, completely unexceptional.

You could be on to something there.

SNP seem to make a mess of everything they touch and nothing they do seems to generate more work or quality jobs. Everything is about making stuff "free".

I'm still bemused that they managed to write a 44 page document on school uniforms.
Seriously how much time, energy and money went into that?

That's sort of sums SNP up tinkering round the edges of real issues but does nothing to make schools better for the children or teachers. And actually makes it 100× worse. Secondaries especially will end up all labels and logos. The exact opposite of what they were trying to achieve.

I can’t help but believe that if the debacle that has engulfed Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre and its trans woman former chief executive had happened anywhere other than Scotland, with its cosy cliques, cult-like tendencies, compliant public servants, and spineless politicians – bar too few notable exceptions – who have facilitated and encouraged a climate of no debate, then heads would surely have rolled and a national scandal declared.
https://www.holyrood.com/editors-column/view,rape-victims-have-been-violated-by-the-very-services-set-up-to-protect-them

Although we know other countries have had their political core captured. And maybe some of them have their very on MW.

But what many of them haven't had is a Roz Adams, and thankfully a law system (and in a way as an employment tribunal could cut through the rainbow verbage which other courts haven't) that just deals with facts.

Not sure if this should have its own thread, but here is another article looking at the particular circumstances / decisions in Scotland.

Transitioning at work: How Police Scotland gave cross-dressers an access-all-areas pass
https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2024/09/30/transitioning-at-work-how-police-scotland-gave-cross-dressers-an-access-all-areas-pass/

I think for the SNP leadership it was just about votes - they decided Gen Z was their best hope for independence, and Gen Z seemed to care deeply about the issue of self ID, so they went all out to capture their votes. Then there was a chilling trickle-down effect on freedom of speech in academic institutions, women's charities in receipt of govt funding etc.

Within the Scottish Greens though, I think there's a genuine zealotry about trans issues, because of their belief that the world needs root and branch reform from the ground up if we are to survive climate change - so I think entryists with extermist beliefs find cover under that broad radical umbrella.

I also think there's a simplistic gallantry in the Scottish left that sticks up for the supposed underdog in any situation.

It's such an interesting question - I would love to see someone unpick it all in a longer form.

Whatever party had been in power in the last decade would have tried to bring in self ID. The lobby are cross party activists.

So many threads this could be added to, but am putting it in the Scotland saga thread, but happy if posted elsewhere.

Campaigners raise concerns over Rape Crisis Scotland school survey
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24623193.campaigners-raise-concerns-rape-crisis-scotland-school-survey/
Also at Campaigners raise concerns over Rape Crisis Scotland school survey | The Herald (archive.ph)

What fresh hell is this. I shouldn't be surprised at rcs showing such little concern for victims of sexual abuse but to signpost them to lgbt youth Scotland for support seriously wtf, even if they weren't linked to allegations of grooming and pedophilia they don't offer or have any training to offer counselling to victims of sexual abuse or rape so why the fuck are they signposted for help.

Also why the questions about being called gay or trans in a questionnaire about sexual abuse (I know we must center trans hurt feelings over words in everything including the sexual abuse of children)

I think the news story or possibly even FWS haven't taken into account this is part of assessing how well the programme Equally Safe has worked in schools. https://www.equallysafeatschool.org.uk/

So the questions asked are to show whether the content of the programme has actually helped.

ie the programme / teaching should have ensured (though none of the every do) that a young person who has experience sexual abuse felt able to approach someone for help ie did any of the schools in question clearly provide a support framework.

But as I dont know the programme content in detail, nor how it is taught it is hard to work out whether the survey is about assessing the programme or is more about collecting random data.

Excellent article.

The same could very much be said about Ireland too. I wish a someone here had the gumption to write and publish an article like this one in the Irish Times because Irish politicians need to wake up and realise the harms being caused by adherence to this ideology.

I dont think related to newspaper report of criticisms upthread, but probably more an example of how state funding can be more of a reflection of current fashions than what is most needed and the best way to provide it.

Scottish Women’s Aid comments on uncertainty around Delivering Equally Safe Funding
https://womensaid.scot/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DES-Funding-Statement-04102024.pdf

@IwantToRetire I noticed that the equally safe program classes transwomen as a particularly vulnerable group of women and highlights "their difficult in accessing support services" 🤨 and the supposedly higher rates of street harassment that they suffer, as it's supposedly one of the aims of the program to eradicate gender stereotypes as a means to end violence against women and girls I can't help thinking that they are doomed to fail and they would be better off scraping the whole thing and start over from scratch this time excluding all males even those with special feelings or a piece of paper

Under Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP government was determined to push through the concepts of “gender identity” and “self-ID” both in legislation and policy. These are now embedded in the framework of government policy and funding conditions that form the operating context for services.

Playing an important role in this are third-sector organisations funded by the government to shape public and voluntary sector policies and service delivery. The Stronger Together guidance for women’s sector services produced by LGBT Scotland and Scottish Trans Alliance is one example, littered with misinformation about the 2010 Equality Act.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/susan-galloway-edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre

It would seem that between the SNP heavily abusimg their power position, and third sector groups eager to "expand" ie create another funding strand to ask for money, it was a mutual arrangement between funders and fundees.

At the expense of service users.