Kelly Keen on the spectator discussing Reform

[Bannedontherun]

So what has prompted this post is my husband watched it and totally misunderstood what went on. I will comment on that later.

We are both left leaning BTW.

Husband is constantly washed with the right on so called lefty bollocks at work. (LA employee)

I just watched it (no idea how to do links)

It seemed to me from what KJK said that Reform had courted her, given her massive female following, to attract more female voters.

She said that she had a meal with them, but was ghosted thereafter.

So at a guess she did not compromise.

She also said that the comment from the ex prison Governor (re trans in women's prisons) was a “misstep”

She also said she was Islamophobic.

I can never work her out, part of me thinks she is very clever… like she dances with the devil. Which she actually says.

Back to my husband he has now read Doyle the new puritans, and has chose to pick Joyce Trans, without prompting.

Happy days, suspect i am dealing with some sloooow peaking.

But frankly re KJK, my husband had no idea what she was on about and saw her as far right.

I am going to have to explain this to him tomorrow.

I love her edgy ness and her extreme assertive stance…..

but maybe she should stay in the lane that got her this profile?

She’s neither left nor right. She doesn’t actually have any principles. Everything she does is for glory.

Essentially, the views espoused are far right but she wants to be viewed differently. He's not far off the actuality

Personally, I’m not a fan of telling women which “lane” they should, or should not, stay in.

Your post is incomprehensible. Are you drunk...?!

The problem is if you only understand politics in the traditional male way, it doesn't work. I mean you / he cant understand. Your view of the world as left or right determines how you hear and think about things. And if your husband is one of those then he probably would think that.

But even though KJK is an agitator and claims not to be a feminist, it is worth looking at this. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5388501-reclaiming-womens-rights-through-radical-nonpartisan-advocacy

Somehow get the balance of remaining true to your core cause, but realise that along the way you may overlap with groups or campaigns you dont align with.

Although maybe you cant apply this to KJK who is as much about being an individual (and to some inspiring) agitator, rather than a group campaigning to bring about change.

I can never work her out, part of me thinks she is very clever… like she dances with the devil. Which she actually says.

Without saying they are similar its a bit like Glinner whose way of talking and seeing things to some is a bit too the edge.

Even though the substance seems acceptable.

That would be close to the mark, I’d suggest. She’s far right but picking the flavour.

I quite liked her until she revealed her Islamophobic views. She walked around telling Muslim women to take off their hijabs. She was obnoxious. It's one thing to say you disagree, but unacceptable to accost women sitting with their families in a park. I won't ask her why she dies her hair blonde to fit in with a point of view that infantilises women, I won't pull her hair and screech at her to free herself, but she obviously thinks it acceptable.
Awful, awful woman

I'm sure future generations of girls will salute you for your willingness to give all our rights away to rabid, woman-hating Islamists.
Meanwhile, we can enjoy this video the OP somehow managed not to link.

Did she ask them to take of their hijabs or their face coverings? (niqabs)
I have only heard her speak about the niqab, not the headscarf. I've only seen a video of the 'free your face' event so if there's one of her accosting women in a park, I'll try and find it.
Also, I don't understand your point about dying hair blonde and infantilising. Could you expand?

Being Gender Critical is a broad church as all it means is standing up to a piece of nonsense and believing what most of humanity has believed for thousands of years.

I guess by definition that means it is conservative but there are many liberals in the movement including feminists who wants to defend freedoms won in the last few decades.

Niqabs not hijabs. Got a lot of positive responses from middle eastern women apparently.

You can agree with someone on one broad point without agreeing with a single one of their other views

The belief that sex is real and immutable is so widely held and so innate that people of all views and political positions hold it.

Purity spirals are very dangerous.

Look at what happened to Sandie Peggie in court, the defending barrister implied that Sandie wasn’t nice enough to deserve a single sex space.

I don’t give a damn about Ms Peggie or Ms Keen’s political or social views quite frankly. They are still entitled to Single Sex spaces in law.

I might not wish to be friends with either of them but I’ll still stand with them (and anyone else) to defend women’s rights.

I agree with quite a lot of what she says, especially about let women speak being for all women.

I am just not a “blind follower”

KJK is a maverick. She says what she thinks and won't be corralled by any larger group. I agree with her about 75% of the time and am not in need of smelling salts for the 25%.

She's far-right, sells expensive t-shirts and is on a mission to be rejected by as many countries and establishments as she can.

Politically she's a joke since despite having lots of publicity and funding from the media and Jo she got less votes than an independent trans women who appeared out of nowhere

This.

I agree with this too, but a balked at the idea that Tommy Robinson is a folk hero

I have appreciated KJK’s bravery and especially the fact that she - unlike many of the early GCs to speak up - didn’t have a job to lose or professional network to alienate (unlike Glinner, and we all saw what happened there) so could be completely forthright with what she thought. That night way back when she was part of the group who broadcast Adult Human Female on Parliament I cheered. And her Sky interview with Harrop was amazing.

Over time I’ve realised that I disagree with her about a great many things and I am more aligned with other GC women. But as Bluenotebook says, being a sex realist covers a very broad political spectrum so it would be unrealistic to expect us all to align.

I'm not the person you're replying to, but I assume the blonde/infantilism perspective is due to the fact that it is rare for adults to have naturally blond hair (majority of blond children's hair has darkened by the time they're ten or so).

Me too, but I take her point that she's been smeared as far right so often that she's reluctant to use it as a description for anyone else.

The funny thing is that, if you pay attention to the actual far right - and it's such a small scene it's hardly worth doing so - they almost unanimously believe TR is some kind of state agent. He's got a long track record of mobilising his followers for events where lots of them get arrested and he's nowhere to be seen.

It would be more accurate to say he's gained a cult following for talking about a certain issue that the centre-left would prefer to avoid. This is very useful for a centre-left that can continue avoiding the issue by saying it's a TR talking point.

As for Reform ghosting her, I think at this point they've got enough loose cannons and want to recruit team players. Even KJK's admirers would not call her a massive team player.

They had a press conference on women's safety yesterday as part of their summer campaign on crime. Speakers were Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns, Sarah Pochin MP, Westminster councillor Laila Cunningham and Kent council leader Linden Kemkaran. That's a pretty strong lineup raising points that KJK would wish to be raised.

If I were them, I'd want to weight up KJK's audience versus the likelihood of her going off on a tangent.

@SionnachRuadh as ever a well stated and measured opinion <waves>

It’s surprising that it isn’t more generally known that Tommy Stephen Yaxley Robinson Lennon is funded by pro-Zionist groups amongst other organisations as it’s fairly well documented.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-are-us-pro-israel-groups-boosting-a-far-right-anti-muslim-uk-extremist/

eta I realise this is somewhat tangential to the thread but I thought interesting nevertheless.

Right wing groups supporting right wing groups. Who’d have thought it.