Vigil for Afghan Women & Girls disrupted by abuse-hurling from a city councillor

[CarobBean72]

So there we were on Saturday, holding a silent vigil in the centre of Norwich in solidarity with Afghan women & girls - a group of us including Jewish & Muslim women and a baby in a pushchair.

And we got a torrent of abuse from… no, not actually the Taliban, but an elected City Councillor, a trans-identified woman, shouting that we were Nazis & “transphobes” (she knows some of us to be Jewish).

Not that the vigil, which lasted all of 30 minutes, was anything about “trans”.

Except in the terms of that meme “It’s transphobic! What was the question?”

Amnesty are captured there's no hope for them. It's sad as, like Oxfam, it's probably better they close and less biased charities takes their funding.

A council investigation into a member who allegedly shouted "Nazis" at a group of women holding a silent vigil has concluded no rules were breached because the politician was "not acting as a councillor at the time".

Charlie Caine, who represents the Green Party on Norwich City Council, is accused of making the remark at an event being held in support of Afghan women on 1 February.

Norfolk Police dropped its investigation last month after giving Caine "words of advice" and a further probe by the council decided no further action would be taken.

The councillor, who is a transgender man, has been contacted by the BBC and the Local Democracy Reporting Service for comment.
Organisers of the vigil, the Norwich Women's Rights Group and Women's Rights Network (WRN) Norfolk, claimed the councillor yelled at them, calling them "Nazis" and "transphobes" last month.

Full article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr52l236pzlo

Surprised? Not ...

Unfortunately, I doubt anyone on this board’s surprised.

Where's the "angry reaction" button?

the BBC apparently think Caine’s tirade of abuse were “remarks”!

Rather more accurate coverage here:

https://archive.ph/2tJPK

It all seems to rest simply on whether she was on Council business, or not.

Even though she told a witness who asked how she justifies this behaviour given she’s an elected representative to report her to the Council.

If you do the site formerly known as Bird App, there’s a statement on the Norwich Women’s Rights Group account.

🤬

NWRG described it as flawed. Or bent, in normal person parlance.

WTAF. An elected councillor disrupted a silent VIGIL for women in Afghanistan to abuse women?? And this is excused because she wasn’t formally being a councillor when she did this??? This is bringing the council - and her political party!! - into disrepute. She needs to be removed from her post and immediately

Oh FFS 🤦‍♀️

Shouldn't be in public office. Disgraceful. Hope the matter is reported to police and councillors

Update on this: some of the women present complained to the Green Party, for which Caine represents Mile Cross ward.

Most found they could not, as they were not members of the Green Party, & the GP bizarrely, only accepts complaints about their members FROM members (is that normal?)

One woman was able to complain.

She copied her complaint to the local head of the Greens on Norwich City Council.

The Green Party said they couldn’t accept her complaint about the Green Party’s elected Councillor. Because although the complainant was a member of the Greens, the Green Party councillor was not a member.

Two days after she got that reply, Caine was allowed to join the Greens.

To summarise: Norwich City Council has no interest in the terrible public behaviour of one of their Councillors, because she wasn’t wearing her “I Am A Norwich City Councillor on Official Council Business” hat when shouting “Nazi, bigots, transphobes!” at some Muslim, Jewish & other women (and a baby) standing in solidarity with Afghan women.

The Green Party has no interest in the public behaviour of the woman elected seven months earlier to represent them at Norwich City Council, because she wasn’t a Green Party member!

But, knowing what they know about that behaviour (and the fact she admitted the public order offence, a condition of accepting police “words of advice”), they immediately let her join.

https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/25125044.green-councillor-nazigate-scandal-not-party-member/?ref=uber_nb&lp=5

It’s
Very
Strange.

Bloody hell. What an absolute shit show, and such utter determination not to have to do anything about such a man.

Sorry, is the photo on the right a photo of the Green councillor who wasn’t actually a Green councillor in question?

With the beard?

Yes. Charlie is a woman who identifies as trans.