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So...there is a court case in the UK going on about the trans issue that I think will determine whether the fever is breaking or not
Basically: Mermaids, a pro-trans advocacy group is suing to remove the charity classification of another charity - the LGB Alliance. Mermaids alleges that LGBA (focused on gays and lesbians and against gender ideology) isn't a legitimate charity and will undermine Mermaids' work...and this apparently provides grounds to strip other charities in the UK?
What's fascinating is how bad Mermaids' showing during questioning is. A few of its members admit to not reading the full Cass Report that was so harsh on current gender affirmation in the UK and led to the Tavistock institute being shut down. Stuff like the following is common (TribunalTweets is covering the trial):
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that you cannot specify that you only want to meet female bodied people you are being denied service by the dating site based on your sexual orientation.
No real answer, just willful ignorance and obfuscation on basic topics and leaning on dogmatic phrases ("well, if transwomen are women").
Mermaids' simultaneously tries to hold the laughable position that they're not medical experts when questioned, despite all of their advocacy on sensitive issues like puberty blockers the rest of the time, including during questioning.
They also have no ability to reconcile their new beliefs with old progressive dogma (e.g. that men pose a significant threat to women due to their size and aggressiveness - hence the push for single-sex spaces for women under stuff like the Equality Act in the UK and Title IX in the US), which I think is why they want to shut down progressive critiques like LGBA.
I'm not surprised. Trans activists themselves have noted that they have more success if they can directly appeal to elites and make them feel as if this is the inevitable next move in progress. When you strip them of any aura of morality and just try to get basic answers things go harder for them cause they demand absurdities.
It's a shame that this isn't being televised because I believe some of these answers would quickly turn off not just normies but even median progressives. Especially last night where, upon being asked if a male with a penis could be a lesbian, the LGBA rep being questioned apparently go so emotional they had to adjourn.
From a purely strategic level, crying women (especially crying minority women) may be exactly what's needed to wake some people up. Men are just too easily written off as aggressive and hateful. People seem to care about female and minority concerns more. Presumably the fear of this is exactly why Mermaids is trying to crush the LGB Alliance in the cradle.
Thanks for this writeup. I've been following the Tribunal Tweets account periodically over the course of this case - and others. I'm a big law nerd and always posting about SCOTUS here when they're relevant, so from that perspective it's fun for me to be kind of an observer and see the differences in a system outside my own.
But it's not all fun - as a woman I do feel this broader sex vs. gender debate has real implications for me and others, even if this specific case will not affect me in any way. I came away with the impression that the case against LGBA seemed pretty weak overall, and they put on a good defense. I was particularly struck by some of the exchanges like the one you highlighted. But, again I'm an outsider so it's interesting to hear you saw it similarly.
What I'm not clear on is to what extent the ruling here, whatever it may end up being, will or will not set a precedent that effects other charities, and if so how much that will play into the thinking in the decision. So if anyone has any insight on that end, I'd appreciate it.
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