The Trans Agenda #16
[25 March 2024]
Welcome to The Trans Agenda, a newsletter that will arrive in your inbox Monday to Friday if you are subscribed. You can also read it on Substack and on Trans Writes.
Publications known for taking an anti-trans stance are and will be referenced and linked. Often, these are the most comprehensive sources for these stories because of their obsession with trans people. I give a summary for those stories so you can make the choice if you want to click the link or seek out more information elsewhere.
TL;DR
- ‘Abducted’ 21-year-old trans man Alex Franco found shot dead in Utah desert.
- Pepper spray reportedly used by police on protestors as Royal College of General Practitioners host conversion therapy conference in London.
- Second weekend protest passes off peacefully.
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health criticises Department for Education’s draft guidance on handling gender questioning and transgender children in England’s schools.
- Survey of over 90,000 trans people shows vast improvement in life satisfaction after transition.
- Angela Rayner – Trans women are women.
- New legal challenge aims to restrict private gender clinics for teenagers.
- BBC revises editorial guidance after JK Rowling transphobia apologies.
- ITV’s diversity head a surprising contender for BBC sports leadership.
- Twitter now flagging ‘cis’ as ‘hateful conduct’.
- 6th Annual Football v Transphobia week of action runs until Trans Day of Visibility.
- First Lady Jill Biden slams attacks on LGBTQ+ rights by ‘MAGA extremists’ at Human Rights Campaign dinner.
- White House agrees to ban pride flags at US embassies in spending bill deal.
- Drag Queen Story Hour event cancelled after bomb threats force mass evacuation in Pennsylvania.
- Arrests in Melbourne as alleged ‘neo-Nazis’ show up at gender-critical rally.
- Policeman suspected of child abduction.
- Ireland’s designation of UK as ‘safe third country’ is unlawful, rules High Court.
- Billions in Covid deals given to firms linked to Plymouth Brethren sect.
- Today’s papers.
- Any other business.
- Recommended reading.
- plus more…
NEWS & POLITICS
Pepper spray reportedly used by police on protestors as Royal College of General Practitioners host conversion therapy conference in London [Various]
- A protest against conversion therapists being hosted by the RCGP was met with reported violence from the police on Saturday. This was then followed up by right-wing media coverage which, of course, lied about what had happened and who was involved. You can read more about that below in the PAPERS section.
A statement from The Transgender Action Block, said, “Today the conversion therapy conference at the RCGP took place, where conversion therapists (torturers) from across the world convened in Britain at an institution representing 55,000 GPs. Trans and Queer antifascists took action against the conference, and were met with pepper spray deployed by police bastards spraying indiscriminately into the crowd (Inspector – 22631I) during attempted (and one successful) arrests.” You can read the full statement here.
Netpol also issued a brief statement, saying on twitter, “Netpol condemns the shameful police violence – including the use of pepper spray – at today’s demonstration outside a transphobic conversion “therapy” conference hosted by the @rcgp”.
Second protest passes off peacefully
- A protest on Sunday against the ban on hormone blockers seems to have passed off peacefully, although police reportedly stopped the protestors using a megaphone under the new authoritarian anti-protest laws, telling them they could be arrested. They were in Parliament Square.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health responds to Department for Education’s draft guidance on handling gender questioning and transgender children in England’s schools [RCPCH]
- In response to the Department for Education‘s anti-trans draft guidance on handling gender questioning and transgender children in England‘s schools, RCPCH raise ‘deep concerns’ about the negative impacts on child wellbeing. They say that the guidance does not prioritise children’s best interests, potentially violating the Children Act 1989 and risks bullying. Their concerns also include the guidance’s compatibility with the Equality Act 2010 and human rights conventions. Download and read the response in full here.
Angela Rayner – Trans women are women [Guardian]
- The Labour deputy leader said, when asked if she knows what a woman is, “Yeah, sure. We have biological women and we have trans women. And they’re both women: one is a biological woman through sex, and one is a trans woman who has transitioned. Most of the public can get that.” And it really is that simple to not be an arse.
6th Annual Football v Transphobia week of action runs until Trans Day of Visibility [Football v Homophobia]
- Well timed this year as the government pressure The FA to ban trans women from women’s football [Trans Agenda #13]. Given that the FA banned all women from playing for 50 years, I don’t think banning more people is something they want to do in what is one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly sports on the planet.
Survey of over 90,000 trans people shows vast improvement in life satisfaction after transition [NBC]
- The National Center for Transgender Equality‘s 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, involving over 90,000 participants, revealed significant life satisfaction improvements in trans people post-transition, despite facing persistent workplace and medical discrimination. While the survey highlights a troubling rate of discrimination, with impacts on employment, healthcare access, and education, it also underscores a strong trend towards increased wellbeing after transition.
- Key stats from the survey
- The survey included 92,329 respondents from every state and many U.S. territories, making it the largest survey of the transgender community in the U.S. to date.
- Of the 84,170 adult respondents, 38% identified as nonbinary, 35% as transgender women, 25% as transgender men, and 2% as cross-dressers.
- More than one-third (34%) of adult respondents were experiencing poverty at the time of the survey, and 18% were unemployed.
- Over 10% of respondents who had ever held jobs reported being fired, forced to resign, or losing jobs due to their gender identity or expression.
- 30% of respondents had experienced homelessness in their lifetimes.
- 48% of adult respondents who saw healthcare providers in the previous 12 months reported having had at least one negative experience related to being transgender.
- Fear of mistreatment prevented 24% of respondents from seeing doctors when needed in the 12 months before the survey.
- 80% of adult respondents who were out or perceived as trans in school experienced mistreatment, including verbal harassment and physical attacks.
- Of the 8,159 respondents aged 16 and 17, 60% reported mistreatment in school.
- 79% of adult respondents reported being “a lot more satisfied” with their lives after transitioning, with an additional 15% reporting being “a little more satisfied.”
- Of respondents currently receiving hormone treatment, 84% said it made them “a lot more satisfied” with their lives.
- 88% of respondents who underwent gender-affirming surgery said it made them “a lot more satisfied.”
MEDIA & TODAY’S PAPERS
Media
BBC revises editorial guidance after JK Rowling transphobia apologies [Deadline]
- BBC presenters have been instructed to challenge accusations of transphobia following ‘errors’ in reporting on JK Rowling, who was labelled ‘transphobic’ without challenge. The BBC do not seem to have any plans to challenge actual transphobia, just those making accusations.
In a totally separate matter, as we reported in the Trans Agenda #15, Rowling recently had a tweet about trans people removed by the EU for illegal/hateful conduct. Over the weekend, she said she was going to take time off twitter while on holiday. Thankfully, she has.
New legal challenge aims to restrict private gender clinics for teenagers [News Statesman]
- Written by anti-trans activist Hannah Barnes, this article talks about a legal challenge against the UK’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) for licensing a private gender clinic, Gender Plus. Gender Plus offers hormone treatment to trans youth from age 16. The lawsuit, led by a therapist and a parent of a transgender teen, argues the CQC shouldn’t have approved the clinic because the long-term effects of hormone treatment on young people are unknown. Meanwhile, the long-term effects of denying hormone treatment to trans people are well documented. NHS England recently announced it would offer similar hormone treatment starting “around their 16th birthday.”
Gender Plus argues their approach aligns with best practices, and the lawsuit doesn’t change their operations as they don’t treat anyone under 16 anyway. The CQC defends its decision, highlighting their consideration of best practices during the licensing process. The article concludes without mentioning anything about the negative impacts of delaying hormone treatment for trans youth because that is never a consideration.
ITV’s diversity head a surprising contender for BBC sports leadership [Sunday Telegraph]
- Four candidates are vying for the BBC‘s head of sports role, with ITV’s diversity chief Ade Rawcliffe emerging as an unexpected contender. The process has been unusually lengthy for reasons that don’t seem to be clear but likely point to the internal war at the BBC between those who want them to actually be fair and impartial and those who want them to be an arm of the government.
Twitter now flagging ‘cis’ as ‘hateful conduct’
- Elon Musk had threatened it and now he has delivered. Despite trans people being subjected to daily attacks using some of the vilest language imaginable, the snowflake billionaire has declared ‘cis’ as hate speech.
Weekend papers
The Observer
- Sonia Sodha did not reproduce her one article this weekend.
The Mail on Sunday
- Despite dedicating 12 pages to covering the Princess of Wales’ announcement, the Mail still had room for some trans hate, but just the one piece, unlike last weekend. Despite what they claim, it was not a ‘mob’, it was a protest that seems to have been attacked by the police for no reason, as discussed above in NEWS.
The Sunday Telegraph
- They have their usual full page of anti-trans hate and lies.
It wasn’t an ambush, it was a well-publicised protest and a protest is not an ‘ambush’.
All just lies, propaganda, misinformation and hate dressed up as ‘concern’.
Today’s papers
Guardian
- There are no articles about trans people in Monday’s Guardian.
Daily Mail
- There are no articles about trans people in Monday’s Daily Mail.
Daily Telegraph
- There are no articles specifically about trans people in Monday’s edition of the Daily Telegraph, which is quite the thing to see. Columnist and idiot, Tim Stanley, does lie about trans people and ‘transgenderism’ in his piece on Scotland’s new hate crime law, but it’s Tim Stanley and he’s wrong about everything, not just trans-specific stuff.
![Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free The SNP’S Hate Crime Act is liberal hypocrisy in its purest form, defending only the beliefs of its authors The Daily Telegraph25 Mar 2024TIM STANLEY Devolution has been a disaster for the UK. Wales is run by incompetents; Northern Ireland by the political wing of a terror group; and Scotland by a bully who has issued a call to make his nation “Tory free”. Whether Humza Yousaf meant “Tory” as a synonym for “the English” or just people to the Right of him, it fits with a party that has used self-rule to remake the nation in its own image, willing Scotland to become so self-consciously progressive that it will simply have to break away from far-right Britain to preserve its virtue. Consider the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which takes effect on April 1 and extends the offence of “stirring up racial hatred” to the realms of religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and transgender ID. Appropriately, it replaces the old Scottish blasphemy law. Hate crime legislation, like edicts against blasphemy, isn’t only about order and justice but also defining what the community regards as sacred or taboo. In past ages it was God vs sacrilege; today it is identity vs prejudice. Lo, the Scottish Government’s own website says that the Act clarifies “the type of behaviour that is not acceptable”, pointing towards “the inclusive and equal society that Scotland aspires to”. Well, I cannot object to that – if only to avoid arrest. Braver writers, however, have raised a few criticisms. First, blasphemy laws rarely defend all faith in general, but rather the specific beliefs of the authors – and in that spirit, the Stirring Up Act makes an interesting choice. It proscribes hate on the basis of transgenderism but not on the basis of sex, suggesting that transphobia is a more serious problem than misogyny and potentially creating a loophole by which trans activists can be horrid to feminists but not the other way around. (The SNP promises that all this will be cleared up with a later law on sexism.) This leads us to the inevitable challenge of vexatious complaints: highly likely when the offences are so poorly defined and the Act covers everything from newspaper columns (oh dear) to tweets (yikes!) to private conversations (I’m going to jail). Anonymous complaints are welcome; centres have been set up to receive them. The SNP has told Scots not to worry because the fuzz will receive training not to overreact – and if the notion of the police being objective and proportionate makes you howl with laughter, enjoy this expression of free thought while you still can. Police Scotland has already issued an instructive cartoon of a “hate monster” that grows “when yer feeling insecure [or] when ye feel angry”, erupting into prejudice “just ’cause folk look or act different fae you”. If anything, the patronising language makes one feel more inadequate by evoking a telling off by a primary school teacher, as if 9/11 could have been avoided had Osama been taught the importance of sharing. But of course, this guff isn’t aimed at Islamists. Just as the liberal/left state gets to decide what is or isn’t a crime, so coppers turned social workers are let loose to define the criminal type according to their own instincts. Police Scotland’s website says that hate crime is most likely to be committed by “young men aged 18-30”, especially those with feelings of social exclusion “combined with ideas about white-male entitlement”. In plain English, white, working-class boys. Rich, educated, well-travelled people rarely express hate, as we all know. To quote The Simpsons: “No one who speaks German could be an evil man.” It’s the ultimate indictment of liberal hypocrisy that Scotland’s long march towards a hate-free future begins with a display of racial and class profiling. But that, I suspect, is the point. It’s often said that conservatives are better than the Left at winning power, because their values are more popular. The Left, however, is infinitely better at using power when it gets it, because it rewrites the rules, packs the institutions and sets the country on a course that it is almost impossible to correct – shaming those who object. New Labour did this by creating devolved administrations. Once established, it was hard to question them without sounding antidemocratic. The SNP then transformed devolution into a theatre for independence, doing all the same woke rubbish England does, only quicker and more aggressively – to suggest that Scotland is naturally, historically more tolerant than the bigots down south. You’d be forgiven for not realising that, for centuries, the culture and politics of Scotland were dominated by conservative Calvinism. In fact, you could argue that the nation has become once again a dictatorship of consensus enforced by a pious elite, reverting to type after a period of social change. One reason why it is hard to resist the SNP is because, as Yousaf dreams, the nation is almost already Tory free, that the decline of the old, church-going elite deprives it of a force equal and opposed to nationalism. This is a problem for conservatism nationwide. It used to be a thing of social substance, representing a philosophy with loyal demographics, be they landowners or shopkeepers or the vast ranks of Unionists. Now, because they stand for nothing, the Tories represent no one. No doubt the Conservative Party will squeal about the SNP’S war on free speech etc. But it long ago conceded all the Left’s points on devolution, equality, policing, secularism – and thus has surrendered in a culture war that it doesn’t have the troops to fight, even if it wanted to. Article Name:Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:TIM STANLEY Start Page:15 End Page:15](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29d12e31-47bc-4b96-8b7f-37dadd8f7d39_1006x698.png "Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free The SNP’S Hate Crime Act is liberal hypocrisy in its purest form, defending only the beliefs of its authors The Daily Telegraph25 Mar 2024TIM STANLEY Devolution has been a disaster for the UK. Wales is run by incompetents; Northern Ireland by the political wing of a terror group; and Scotland by a bully who has issued a call to make his nation “Tory free”. Whether Humza Yousaf meant “Tory” as a synonym for “the English” or just people to the Right of him, it fits with a party that has used self-rule to remake the nation in its own image, willing Scotland to become so self-consciously progressive that it will simply have to break away from far-right Britain to preserve its virtue. Consider the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which takes effect on April 1 and extends the offence of “stirring up racial hatred” to the realms of religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and transgender ID. Appropriately, it replaces the old Scottish blasphemy law. Hate crime legislation, like edicts against blasphemy, isn’t only about order and justice but also defining what the community regards as sacred or taboo. In past ages it was God vs sacrilege; today it is identity vs prejudice. Lo, the Scottish Government’s own website says that the Act clarifies “the type of behaviour that is not acceptable”, pointing towards “the inclusive and equal society that Scotland aspires to”. Well, I cannot object to that – if only to avoid arrest. Braver writers, however, have raised a few criticisms. First, blasphemy laws rarely defend all faith in general, but rather the specific beliefs of the authors – and in that spirit, the Stirring Up Act makes an interesting choice. It proscribes hate on the basis of transgenderism but not on the basis of sex, suggesting that transphobia is a more serious problem than misogyny and potentially creating a loophole by which trans activists can be horrid to feminists but not the other way around. (The SNP promises that all this will be cleared up with a later law on sexism.) This leads us to the inevitable challenge of vexatious complaints: highly likely when the offences are so poorly defined and the Act covers everything from newspaper columns (oh dear) to tweets (yikes!) to private conversations (I’m going to jail). Anonymous complaints are welcome; centres have been set up to receive them. The SNP has told Scots not to worry because the fuzz will receive training not to overreact – and if the notion of the police being objective and proportionate makes you howl with laughter, enjoy this expression of free thought while you still can. Police Scotland has already issued an instructive cartoon of a “hate monster” that grows “when yer feeling insecure [or] when ye feel angry”, erupting into prejudice “just ’cause folk look or act different fae you”. If anything, the patronising language makes one feel more inadequate by evoking a telling off by a primary school teacher, as if 9/11 could have been avoided had Osama been taught the importance of sharing. But of course, this guff isn’t aimed at Islamists. Just as the liberal/left state gets to decide what is or isn’t a crime, so coppers turned social workers are let loose to define the criminal type according to their own instincts. Police Scotland’s website says that hate crime is most likely to be committed by “young men aged 18-30”, especially those with feelings of social exclusion “combined with ideas about white-male entitlement”. In plain English, white, working-class boys. Rich, educated, well-travelled people rarely express hate, as we all know. To quote The Simpsons: “No one who speaks German could be an evil man.” It’s the ultimate indictment of liberal hypocrisy that Scotland’s long march towards a hate-free future begins with a display of racial and class profiling. But that, I suspect, is the point. It’s often said that conservatives are better than the Left at winning power, because their values are more popular. The Left, however, is infinitely better at using power when it gets it, because it rewrites the rules, packs the institutions and sets the country on a course that it is almost impossible to correct – shaming those who object. New Labour did this by creating devolved administrations. Once established, it was hard to question them without sounding antidemocratic. The SNP then transformed devolution into a theatre for independence, doing all the same woke rubbish England does, only quicker and more aggressively – to suggest that Scotland is naturally, historically more tolerant than the bigots down south. You’d be forgiven for not realising that, for centuries, the culture and politics of Scotland were dominated by conservative Calvinism. In fact, you could argue that the nation has become once again a dictatorship of consensus enforced by a pious elite, reverting to type after a period of social change. One reason why it is hard to resist the SNP is because, as Yousaf dreams, the nation is almost already Tory free, that the decline of the old, church-going elite deprives it of a force equal and opposed to nationalism. This is a problem for conservatism nationwide. It used to be a thing of social substance, representing a philosophy with loyal demographics, be they landowners or shopkeepers or the vast ranks of Unionists. Now, because they stand for nothing, the Tories represent no one. No doubt the Conservative Party will squeal about the SNP’S war on free speech etc. But it long ago conceded all the Left’s points on devolution, equality, policing, secularism – and thus has surrendered in a culture war that it doesn’t have the troops to fight, even if it wanted to. Article Name:Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:TIM STANLEY Start Page:15 End Page:15")
![Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free The SNP’S Hate Crime Act is liberal hypocrisy in its purest form, defending only the beliefs of its authors The Daily Telegraph25 Mar 2024TIM STANLEY Devolution has been a disaster for the UK. Wales is run by incompetents; Northern Ireland by the political wing of a terror group; and Scotland by a bully who has issued a call to make his nation “Tory free”. Whether Humza Yousaf meant “Tory” as a synonym for “the English” or just people to the Right of him, it fits with a party that has used self-rule to remake the nation in its own image, willing Scotland to become so self-consciously progressive that it will simply have to break away from far-right Britain to preserve its virtue. Consider the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which takes effect on April 1 and extends the offence of “stirring up racial hatred” to the realms of religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and transgender ID. Appropriately, it replaces the old Scottish blasphemy law. Hate crime legislation, like edicts against blasphemy, isn’t only about order and justice but also defining what the community regards as sacred or taboo. In past ages it was God vs sacrilege; today it is identity vs prejudice. Lo, the Scottish Government’s own website says that the Act clarifies “the type of behaviour that is not acceptable”, pointing towards “the inclusive and equal society that Scotland aspires to”. Well, I cannot object to that – if only to avoid arrest. Braver writers, however, have raised a few criticisms. First, blasphemy laws rarely defend all faith in general, but rather the specific beliefs of the authors – and in that spirit, the Stirring Up Act makes an interesting choice. It proscribes hate on the basis of transgenderism but not on the basis of sex, suggesting that transphobia is a more serious problem than misogyny and potentially creating a loophole by which trans activists can be horrid to feminists but not the other way around. (The SNP promises that all this will be cleared up with a later law on sexism.) This leads us to the inevitable challenge of vexatious complaints: highly likely when the offences are so poorly defined and the Act covers everything from newspaper columns (oh dear) to tweets (yikes!) to private conversations (I’m going to jail). Anonymous complaints are welcome; centres have been set up to receive them. The SNP has told Scots not to worry because the fuzz will receive training not to overreact – and if the notion of the police being objective and proportionate makes you howl with laughter, enjoy this expression of free thought while you still can. Police Scotland has already issued an instructive cartoon of a “hate monster” that grows “when yer feeling insecure [or] when ye feel angry”, erupting into prejudice “just ’cause folk look or act different fae you”. If anything, the patronising language makes one feel more inadequate by evoking a telling off by a primary school teacher, as if 9/11 could have been avoided had Osama been taught the importance of sharing. But of course, this guff isn’t aimed at Islamists. Just as the liberal/left state gets to decide what is or isn’t a crime, so coppers turned social workers are let loose to define the criminal type according to their own instincts. Police Scotland’s website says that hate crime is most likely to be committed by “young men aged 18-30”, especially those with feelings of social exclusion “combined with ideas about white-male entitlement”. In plain English, white, working-class boys. Rich, educated, well-travelled people rarely express hate, as we all know. To quote The Simpsons: “No one who speaks German could be an evil man.” It’s the ultimate indictment of liberal hypocrisy that Scotland’s long march towards a hate-free future begins with a display of racial and class profiling. But that, I suspect, is the point. It’s often said that conservatives are better than the Left at winning power, because their values are more popular. The Left, however, is infinitely better at using power when it gets it, because it rewrites the rules, packs the institutions and sets the country on a course that it is almost impossible to correct – shaming those who object. New Labour did this by creating devolved administrations. Once established, it was hard to question them without sounding antidemocratic. The SNP then transformed devolution into a theatre for independence, doing all the same woke rubbish England does, only quicker and more aggressively – to suggest that Scotland is naturally, historically more tolerant than the bigots down south. You’d be forgiven for not realising that, for centuries, the culture and politics of Scotland were dominated by conservative Calvinism. In fact, you could argue that the nation has become once again a dictatorship of consensus enforced by a pious elite, reverting to type after a period of social change. One reason why it is hard to resist the SNP is because, as Yousaf dreams, the nation is almost already Tory free, that the decline of the old, church-going elite deprives it of a force equal and opposed to nationalism. This is a problem for conservatism nationwide. It used to be a thing of social substance, representing a philosophy with loyal demographics, be they landowners or shopkeepers or the vast ranks of Unionists. Now, because they stand for nothing, the Tories represent no one. No doubt the Conservative Party will squeal about the SNP’S war on free speech etc. But it long ago conceded all the Left’s points on devolution, equality, policing, secularism – and thus has surrendered in a culture war that it doesn’t have the troops to fight, even if it wanted to. Article Name:Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:TIM STANLEY Start Page:15 End Page:15](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29d12e31-47bc-4b96-8b7f-37dadd8f7d39_1006x698.png "Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free The SNP’S Hate Crime Act is liberal hypocrisy in its purest form, defending only the beliefs of its authors The Daily Telegraph25 Mar 2024TIM STANLEY Devolution has been a disaster for the UK. Wales is run by incompetents; Northern Ireland by the political wing of a terror group; and Scotland by a bully who has issued a call to make his nation “Tory free”. Whether Humza Yousaf meant “Tory” as a synonym for “the English” or just people to the Right of him, it fits with a party that has used self-rule to remake the nation in its own image, willing Scotland to become so self-consciously progressive that it will simply have to break away from far-right Britain to preserve its virtue. Consider the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which takes effect on April 1 and extends the offence of “stirring up racial hatred” to the realms of religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and transgender ID. Appropriately, it replaces the old Scottish blasphemy law. Hate crime legislation, like edicts against blasphemy, isn’t only about order and justice but also defining what the community regards as sacred or taboo. In past ages it was God vs sacrilege; today it is identity vs prejudice. Lo, the Scottish Government’s own website says that the Act clarifies “the type of behaviour that is not acceptable”, pointing towards “the inclusive and equal society that Scotland aspires to”. Well, I cannot object to that – if only to avoid arrest. Braver writers, however, have raised a few criticisms. First, blasphemy laws rarely defend all faith in general, but rather the specific beliefs of the authors – and in that spirit, the Stirring Up Act makes an interesting choice. It proscribes hate on the basis of transgenderism but not on the basis of sex, suggesting that transphobia is a more serious problem than misogyny and potentially creating a loophole by which trans activists can be horrid to feminists but not the other way around. (The SNP promises that all this will be cleared up with a later law on sexism.) This leads us to the inevitable challenge of vexatious complaints: highly likely when the offences are so poorly defined and the Act covers everything from newspaper columns (oh dear) to tweets (yikes!) to private conversations (I’m going to jail). Anonymous complaints are welcome; centres have been set up to receive them. The SNP has told Scots not to worry because the fuzz will receive training not to overreact – and if the notion of the police being objective and proportionate makes you howl with laughter, enjoy this expression of free thought while you still can. Police Scotland has already issued an instructive cartoon of a “hate monster” that grows “when yer feeling insecure [or] when ye feel angry”, erupting into prejudice “just ’cause folk look or act different fae you”. If anything, the patronising language makes one feel more inadequate by evoking a telling off by a primary school teacher, as if 9/11 could have been avoided had Osama been taught the importance of sharing. But of course, this guff isn’t aimed at Islamists. Just as the liberal/left state gets to decide what is or isn’t a crime, so coppers turned social workers are let loose to define the criminal type according to their own instincts. Police Scotland’s website says that hate crime is most likely to be committed by “young men aged 18-30”, especially those with feelings of social exclusion “combined with ideas about white-male entitlement”. In plain English, white, working-class boys. Rich, educated, well-travelled people rarely express hate, as we all know. To quote The Simpsons: “No one who speaks German could be an evil man.” It’s the ultimate indictment of liberal hypocrisy that Scotland’s long march towards a hate-free future begins with a display of racial and class profiling. But that, I suspect, is the point. It’s often said that conservatives are better than the Left at winning power, because their values are more popular. The Left, however, is infinitely better at using power when it gets it, because it rewrites the rules, packs the institutions and sets the country on a course that it is almost impossible to correct – shaming those who object. New Labour did this by creating devolved administrations. Once established, it was hard to question them without sounding antidemocratic. The SNP then transformed devolution into a theatre for independence, doing all the same woke rubbish England does, only quicker and more aggressively – to suggest that Scotland is naturally, historically more tolerant than the bigots down south. You’d be forgiven for not realising that, for centuries, the culture and politics of Scotland were dominated by conservative Calvinism. In fact, you could argue that the nation has become once again a dictatorship of consensus enforced by a pious elite, reverting to type after a period of social change. One reason why it is hard to resist the SNP is because, as Yousaf dreams, the nation is almost already Tory free, that the decline of the old, church-going elite deprives it of a force equal and opposed to nationalism. This is a problem for conservatism nationwide. It used to be a thing of social substance, representing a philosophy with loyal demographics, be they landowners or shopkeepers or the vast ranks of Unionists. Now, because they stand for nothing, the Tories represent no one. No doubt the Conservative Party will squeal about the SNP’S war on free speech etc. But it long ago conceded all the Left’s points on devolution, equality, policing, secularism – and thus has surrendered in a culture war that it doesn’t have the troops to fight, even if it wanted to. Article Name:Yousaf ’s ‘Tory-free’ Scotland is no longer free Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:TIM STANLEY Start Page:15 End Page:15")
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AROUND THE WORLD
‘Abducted’ 21-year-old trans man Alex Franco found shot dead in Utah desert [Pink News]
- Alex Franco, a 21-year-old transgender man, was found dead in a remote desert area in Utah County, near Lehi, believed to have died from a gunshot. Following his disappearance after being seen entering a Jeep, Taylorsville Police arrested two teenagers (15 and 17) on multiple felony charges related to what is being treated as a possible homicide. The investigation, which involved video evidence of a gunshot at the scene, is ongoing, and a third vehicle occupant has also now been arrested. Police, at present, say there is no indication of a hate crime, which is what they usually say when a trans person turns up murdered.
This is the second trans person to have been abducted and murdered in the US this month. You can read more about Reyna Hernandez’s murder in the Trans Agenda #10.
Drag Queen Story Hour event cancelled after bomb threats force mass evacuation in Pennsylvania [Pink News]
- A Drag Queen Story Hour event in Pennsylvania was cancelled due to bomb threats, leading to the evacuation of a public library and surrounding areas. The threats occurred ahead of a scheduled event featuring performer Amie Vanité, resulting in a police investigation. This adds to a series of threats, intimidation and protests against similar events in the US and UK, all of which has been ignored by the UK legacy media.
First Lady Jill Biden slams attacks on LGBTQ+ rights by ‘MAGA extremists’ at Human Rights Campaign dinner [Pink News]
- First Lady Jill Biden condemned the recent surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation by “MAGA extremists” during the Human Rights Campaign‘s Los Angeles fundraising dinner. She detailed how proposed amendments aimed to restrict LGBTQ+ rights, highlighting the importance of combatting fear and misinformation. Meanwhile…
White House agrees to ban pride flags at US embassies in spending bill deal [Forbes]
- The White House has endorsed a $1.2 trillion spending bill restricting U.S. embassies to only fly the American flag and other designated official flags, reversing the 2021 decision to allow pride flags. This move is being seen as a conservative victory.
Arrests in Melbourne as alleged ‘neo-Nazis’ show up to help out at gender-critical rally [Pink News]
- An anti-trans Melbourne rally by the Women’s Action Group escalated into violence, with claims neo-Nazis were, once again, attendees and helpers. Pro-trans protestors clashed with the group, resulting in violent arrests by police using pepper spray. Remember – if you’re at a rally and a Nazi shows up and that Nazi isn’t told to leave, you’re at a Nazi rally.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Policeman suspected of child abduction [Sunday Telegraph]
- A serving policeman was remanded in custody on Saturday accused of child abduction. Bedfordshire Police constable Elliot Wright (29) was arrested on Thursday in connection with the abduction of a teenage girl.
The former head of Britain’s police watchdog has been charged with sexually abusing a second child [Daily Mail]
Ireland’s designation of UK as ‘safe third country’ is unlawful, rules High Court [The Irish Times]
- The Irish High Court ruled that Ireland’s designation of the UK as a “safe third country” for asylum seeker returns is unlawful under EU law. Justice Siobhán Phelan found the designation, made in response to Brexit, exceeded legal powers due to a misalignment with EU safeguarding requirements. They highlighted the risk of “serious harm” to individuals transferred under the Dublin III Regulation, which Ireland is bound to uphold.
Billions in Covid deals given to firms linked to Plymouth Brethren sect [The Times]
- Companies associated with the Plymouth Brethren, a group labelled a ‘cult’ by some former members, received up to £2.2 billion in UK government contracts for COVID-19 supplies without competitive bidding. This includes PPE, masks, and ventilators, approved by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Laurence Fox gave a talk at the Cenotaph in London about the evils of Nike. He was wearing Nike trainers at the time [Blade of the Sun]
Sam Bankman-Fried to face jail sentence hearing this week (Thursday)
- The 32-year-old faces the possibility of being sentenced to more than 100 years should the judge opt for the maximum. That seems unlikely, however, with prosecutors calling for between 40 and 50.
COMING UP
- A new government-commissioned report will today claim that Britain’s “democratic resilience is being eroded” by “conspiracy theories, extremism, and harassment and censorship.”
- MPs finish tomorrow for Easter recess. They will return on 15 April.
RECOMMENDED READING
- Hannah Gadsby: “My whole life, I’ve been thinking about my gender” [Diva]
TRANSWRITES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
- Sex Matters Director Helen Joyce reads porn of teenagers for “research”, by Gemma Stone.
- Understanding the “WPATH Files” debate, by Lee Hurley.
- Why are people accusing JK Rowling of Holocaust denial? By Gemma Stone.
- What does Liz Truss’s anti-trans bill actually say? By Lee Hurley.
- JK Rowling will be arrested, finally, by Gemma Stone.
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