69 Comments
Jan 11, 2023Liked by Eliza Mondegreen

I’m sorry, Eliza - as I said on Twitter yesterday, we are McGill alumni, and we have stopped our donations. It’s shameful. I am so glad that you weren’t physically harmed, but I can imagine how it was (I was involved in a few civil rights protests in Louisiana decades ago, so I really *can* imagine). It’s just getting worse and worse here.

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"He said he knew all about people like us because he used to be a neo-Nazi himself."

"Used to be" is doing a lot of the work in that sentence.

Hope you're OK after that. A book club would be a lot less stressful.

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Jan 11, 2023Liked by Eliza Mondegreen

Eliza - thank you for writing this account - and what you wrote on Twitter yesterday. So glad you're ok but appalled at what you had to experience and endure. And "no debate" proudly displayed again! They are insane. Mob rule with no intervention from the authorities means the bullies get bolder and bolder. The police could have shut them done and put them in a space to protest so the event could take place. But they're captured. TRA's (and the misogynists, handmaidens and the unhinged that latch on) are as mad here in the UK but at least at events here, there is security and control and the police keep us separate. And there's more awareness. If there is one good thing to come out of this, your writing, Malcolm's comments and Professor Wintermute's interview comments will get out there and disgust a large audience.

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It would all be a fascinating study in human nature if it weren't such a threat. Quite terrifying, actually.

I was at Meghan Murphy's talk in October 2019 in Toronto and literally had to face a gauntlet lined by police officers as we exited the back doors of the library. I was with several women and we were afraid we'd be swarmed once we were past the patrol cats on our way to the subway. I'll never forget the experience of seeing mostly young men screaming in my face as if I was a monster. Not exactly an effective way to bring people around to your point of view. I am so very sad for this generation and for my daughter/granddaughter for whom I am fighting this battle. 🙁

Thank you for doing your part, Eliza. Sorry you had to go through that.

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I keep wondering to myself, what the hell is wrong with Gen Z and younger millenials? Not just the no debate mobbing, but most of them don't seem to have any awareness of how they're actually behaving. And it's not just universities, either, though they do exacerbate the existing problems with their business models. These kids come into higher ed with a belief that they already understand these issues, thus, no debate.

And the cops. What is up with them? Perhaps they ought to just do their jobs?

Glad you're unhurt, but this is still deeply unfortunate.

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While they say "trans women are women" is the end of all debate, in fact, that is the crux of the debate. What does it mean to be a "woman" (or a "man")? Is it a vague, undefined and undefinable state of mind, or having been born in a certain type of body (not just an appearance that can be cultivated, but the whole body)? If it's the latter, then trans women are NOT "women." In that case, they ought not be treated exactly as "women" when there are reasons to treat "men" and "women" differently. And, if "woman" is just a vague state of mind, then we had better consider why we would divide up prisons, rape crisis shelters, sports, bathrooms (or anything really) along the lines of this vague state of mind. Lastly, the violence here was unexcusable.

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There is no conflict between trans human rights and women’s human rights. There is, however, a huge clash between the privileges some trans identified individuals want to claim and women’s basic human rights.

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This is a bigger mob than we faced at Edinburgh University a couple of weeks ago when students stopped a screening of 'Adult Human Female'. They are emboldened because of the actions of the Scottish Government and the lack of any action by the University to protect anyone who questions Queer Theory and Gender Ideology.

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Thank you for writing this and for trying to stand up for women in a physical public space. And finding the humor in the weirdness. It's hard to truly believe how surreal and outlandish and frightening and (yeah I'll say it!) Orwellian the state of affairs is unless you have experienced it. The activists keep SUCCEEDING in shutting down free speech while cops and security officials stand by. This must be noted and amplified, as it is the worst cultural turn in all of this, more fundamental than the trampling of women's rights. I attended one of the "Let Women Speak" events with Kellie Jay Keen in Tacoma, WA, which also was shut down as the physical threat was so great. I didn't get to speak. One woman was injured. It's not because these people are evil, but because they have overridden their own thinking with dogma. The bug has gone viral. The Hoffer quote at the end of your piece says it all.

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Thank you for writing this although it depresses me terribly. I read the CBC and CTV’s accounts of the event and it was obvious that both were biased. I’ve forwarded your piece to many people but I know that as usual, they won’t read it. I’m becoming a bit of a nuisance in my 50 something social circle because I’m determined to raise these issues. But nobody wants to hear it. And not because they necessarily disagree with me (although some do). I think it’s more accurate to say that they simply don’t care and find any discussion of it to be tiresome. If otherwise intelligent, compassionate people refuse to be drawn into this debate, how will we ever make any progress?

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I am McGill alum that very closely follows this issue and had a really strange experience attending grad school there to say the least. I am also American! I tried to attend the event but sadly it was fully booked when I rsvped. For some reason I thought you were based in Toronto - disappointed I didn’t make the event yesterday bc it would have been great to meet you if possible, though I also understand if you prefer remaining somewhat anonymous from your readers. It’s nice knowing at least that there’s one less person in this city brainwashed -- it’s been difficult to find friends / connect with others since I moved here bc people are just so stuck in one perspective of thinking and belief system. I’ve lived in many places / countries and Canada is by far the most intolerant and closed minded! It was definitely not what I expected when I moved here in 2019

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Wow. I’m almost surprised I can still be shocked by the behavior of people, but here we are again. At some point the media is going to have to ask themselves some questions: like why is a group so supposedly marginalized & ignored so set on preventing discussion in a free society? Why are women who show up to listen to a discussion at a university the bad ones, while the good ones are clearly using mob tactics & intimidation?

The university security & the police need to explain why they allowed the actions to escalate, when someone could easily have been hurt or killed? Should students & faculty assume they are at risk if they want to attend a presentation? If the university cannot provide a safe environment for people to discuss challenging topics, they should not be surprised if potential students choose to pursue their education elsewhere (though these situations aren’t exclusive to Canada).

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This was awful, I am so sorry. I hope it blows up in the media and online. I hope LGBA takes lessons from it, like Posey has - plan accordingly, document everything, hold security and police to account, use your own people for unarmed security if you can, use all legal means to hold those responsible accountable, write press releases, demand action. Universities care only about one thing - their brand, their image. So use that for leverage.

This is the crux of the struggle - right HERE, right NOW. It's time to STAND UP.

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Shame on the majority of the mainstream media for consistently refusing to report accurately (or at all) on this outrageous stuff. No way they don't know what's happening at this point. If the public knew one tenth of what was occurring, there would be opposition. Presumably that's why media won't report. But what does it say about media's view of their own audience? Their view of democracy and civil life?

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What is your read on the demographics of the activists? Percentage men v women (in the traditional definition)? Age distribution? Race? I have never seen this talked about, people just say activists like they could be anyone, but my guess is they aren’t just anyone.

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Terrifying and horrible. The media is criminally negligent in their refusal to cover this issue honestly.

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