Saturday, December 09, 2023

Links - 9th December 2023 (2 - Feminism [including Lego])

Scarlett Johansson reflects on feeling 'hypersexualized' and 'pigeonholed' early on in her career
When you pull the ladder up behind you

Women Only Hate Female Objectification When They Can No Longer Profit From It - "With her Hollywood and silver screen career options all but dried up, former Charmed actress and constantly near-naked attention-seeker Rose McGowan is now a “leading” feminist. As you would expect, this transition occurred after her looks (which never approached those of co-star Alyssa Milano) had well and truly begun to fade. McGowan is not alone in making this spectacular shift. Pamela Anderson and professional SJW Natasha Devon are among a growing crowd of women who rail against “sexism” and “objectification” after years of trying, often very successfully, to sexualize their youth... So now comes the task of reconciling the new Rose McGowan with the old one, whose self-objectification is best described by this infamous photo with ex-boyfriend Marilyn Manson. McGowan is now even blaming her past personal feuds, such as with a fellow Charmed actress, Shannen Doherty, on patriarchy, sexism and female objectification. Sadly, this very public attention-seeking, in which McGowan wrote Doherty an open letter, comes at the same time that the latter is suffering from cancer. But, you know, a girl’s gotta attention-whore, including when another girl she used to have cat-fights with is about to die... a lot of attention has been paid to fat or unattractive girls being feminists. These activists are nominally against the sexualization of women, but appear to be driven primarily by envy and the need to diminish society’s praise of attractive females. Whilst there is a lot of truth to this, it only tells part of the story. The rank opportunism of feminism is perhaps better explained by women who once made a career from selling their appearances and have subsequently turned on the industries whose financial teats they used to suckle. And what better time to turn on these industries, whether they be the pornography, film, or modeling markets, than when your looks no longer allow you to actively participate in them?...   This phenomenon runs parallel to female athletes both utilizing and complaining about their sexualization. Attractive tennis players like Sabine Lisicki (and unattractive ones like Serena Williams) have made careers out of wearing revealing on-court clothing, which is much more for show than practicality. But when the chance presents itself, Lisicki and others have moaned, like at this year’s Wimbledon, about how manufacturers’ designs make them show too much skin. Many of these girls may not have lost their attractiveness yet, but they pick and choose when objectification is bad, just like celebrities whose looks have abandoned them...   As she hurtled towards 30, Natasha Devon penned an article for Cosmopolitan magazine on bulimia, which morphed into a regular monthly column. Then came “The Self-Esteem Team” Devon created in 2012. Frequently with government funding, “The Self-Esteem Team” has essentially applauded obesity, Britain’s number one health crisis, and sought to re-engineer what humans are programmed by evolution to find attractive.   Devon, along with Anderson and McGowan, may chalk an anti-objectification epiphany down to age, experience or something similarly convenient, but the changes happened neither at the height of their self-sexualization careers nor during the pre-wall protracted slide. Always be on the look out for when exactly a woman took up feminist or general SJW activism.   When a woman complains about the “objectification of women,” it usually means a) she never had the goods to begin with, b) her goods weren’t enough to compete with other girls, or c) her goods are well and truly gone. There is a delicious irony to option c), as countless women will milk their looks until nature–or a half-decade of alcohol or drug-fueled benders–takes them away... Modern-day feminism is itself the domain of women seeking easy comforts from an ideology that explains away either their own faults or their most primal fears about a harsh, uncertain world. For women whose looks are now washed-up, feminism enables them to label objectification as wrong and soothe the crushing blows that come from no longer getting the attention they were used to.  Rather than seeing these women as twisted and evil, it is better to perceive the behavior for what it is: desperation and the shocking realization that they are sexually irrelevant."

Tomi Lahren offers a clear message to left-wing feminists: This is what 'real women' look like - "Noting that she refuses to be a victim, Lahren urged young women to understand that they don’t have to demand free things from taxpayers to be “real women.”  "I didn't wake up this morning worrying about what protest color I'd wear, or what the world would do without me because I didn't wake up feeling like the victimhood narrative was a part of my story," Larhen said. "Real women don't have to remind the world every day that history once slighted them."  While women in poorer parts of the world woke up Wednesday without basic human rights, Lahren added, liberal actresses and musicians spread their corrupted view of what "feminism" is."

Feminism is Sometimes Actually White Supremacy, Say SJWs - "Harper’s Bazaar came out with a headline which could be many considered strange, titled “When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels,” which critiques certain forms of feminism.  There’s a growing trend, specifically on social media, condemning ‘white’ feminism as enabling white supremacy, whiteness, or the unconscious white sub-ideology of the day which must be smashed to inaugurate an era of equality and liberation."

Jezebel: Feminist media site shuts down after 16 years - "Feminist media site Jezebel is suspending publication, as its owner reckons with a downturn in online advertising... Jezebel is the latest new media brand to succumb to a downturn in the industry.  Vice Media is continuing to restructure after emerging from bankruptcy. Earlier this year, Buzzfeed News shut down... In an essay this year, Ben Smith, former editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, credited Jezebel with ushering in a new era for media, saying it was one of the "first places to crystallize the powerful forces that would define social media over the next decade: politics and identity".  Though many of these outlets have since been shut down, he said they had reshaped traditional media in their image. "

Reuters on X - "Arizona Democratic Party formally censures Sinema"
Stephen L. Miller on X - "Nevertheless, she persisted."
johnny2678 on X - "Old enough to remember when this was a chilling act that threatened democracy when GOP did this to Liz Cheney. Same thing here or nah?"

Harriet Johnson on X - "Every woman you know has taken a longer route.  Has doubled back on herself.  Has pretended to dawdle by a shop window. Has held her keys in her hand.  Has made a fake phone call. Has rounded a corner and run.  Every woman you know has walked home scared.  Every woman you know."
There were men saying they do this too, and women who say they had never done this. So much for stereotypes
If this were applied to a "minority", good luck...

On the trajectory of discrimination: A meta-analysis and forecasting survey capturing 44 years of field experiments on gender and hiring decisions - "A preregistered meta-analysis, including 244 effect sizes from 85 field audits and 361,645 individual job applications, tested for gender bias in hiring practices in female-stereotypical and gender-balanced as well as male-stereotypical jobs from 1976 to 2020. A “red team” of independent experts was recruited to increase the rigor and robustness of our meta-analytic approach. A forecasting survey further examined whether laypeople (n = 499 nationally representative adults) and scientists (n = 312) could predict the results. Forecasters correctly anticipated reductions in discrimination against female candidates over time. However, both scientists and laypeople overestimated the continuation of bias against female candidates. Instead, selection bias in favor of male over female candidates was eliminated and, if anything, slightly reversed in sign starting in 2009 for mixed-gender and male-stereotypical jobs in our sample. Forecasters further failed to anticipate that discrimination against male candidates for stereotypically female jobs would remain stable across the decades."
Men are discriminated against for both male and female jobs. Clearly, even more feminism is needed since there's still no parity (where it benefits women)

Meme - "Lego did a study when they created the Lego Friends line for girls where they discovered that when a boy plays with a toy of a character, he tries to become the character, and when a girl does the same thing, she tries to make the character become her. So if you give a boy a Batman toy, he's gonna want to know everything there is to know about Batman, and he'll try to think and talk like Batman when he plays with the toy. The little girl on the other hand is going to make Batman go shopping, bake cookies, and go to the prom. That's not to say there aren't exceptions on both sides but that's the data that allowed Lego to finally get a foothold on the girls' market after decades of failed attempts. If you look at how women approach things like Star Wars or remakes of animated movie, is it any wonder that so many of them want to reinvent the IP, either by feminizing it or changing the main character to look like them?"

Lego Is for Girls - Bloomberg - "During ’05 and ’06, the Lego “anthros,” as the research teams have been called, discovered some underappreciated cultural gaps... To compete with the plug-and-play quality of computer games, Lego had been dumbing down its building sets, aiming for faster “builds” and instant gratification. From the German skateboarder onward, Lego saw it had drawn the wrong lessons from computer games. Instead of focusing on their immediacy, the company now noticed how kids responded to the scoring, ranking, and levels of play—opportunities to demonstrate mastery... Lego sent its team back out to scrutinize girls, starting in 2007. The company was surprised to learn that in their eyes, Lego suffered from an aesthetic deficit. “The greatest concern for girls really was beauty,” says Hanne Groth, Lego’s market research manager. Beauty, on the face of it, is an unsurprising virtue for a girl-friendly toy, but based on the ways girls played, Groth says, it came, as “mastery” had for boys, to stand for fairly specific needs: harmony (a pleasing, everything-in-its-right-place sense of order); friendlier colors; and a high level of detail... girls favor role-play... The key difference between girls and the ladyfig and boys and the minifig was that many more girls projected themselves onto the ladyfig—she became an avatar. Boys tend to play with minifigs in the third person. “The girls needed a figure they could identify with, that looks like them,” says Rosario Costa, a Lego design director. The Lego team knew they were on to something when girls told them, “I want to shrink down and be there.” The Lego Friends team is aware of the paradox at the heart of its work: To break down old stereotypes about how girls play, it risks reinforcing others. “If it takes color-coding or ponies and hairdressers to get girls playing with Lego, I’ll put up with it, at least for now, because it’s just so good for little girls’ brains,” says Lise Eliot."

Lego and the Trouble With Telling Girls How to Play - The Atlantic - "a 7-year-old girl named Charlotte wrote a letter to the toymaker Lego with a straightforward request.  “I love Legos,” she wrote, “but I don’t like that there are more lego boy people and barely any lego girls.”... It was 2008 when the toymaker decided to gather global data about who buys Legos. What they found was startling. In the United States, roughly 90 percent of Lego sets being sold were intended for boys. In other words, there was a huge untapped market of girls who weren’t building with Legos. “Seeing that the play pattern was really skewing so heavily toward boys, we wanted to understand why,” McNally said. “We embarked on four years of global research with 4,500 girls and their moms. Some of the things we heard were really surprising and challenging in ways that weren’t really comfortable for us as a brand.”  Namely, Lego found that girls and boys played with Legos differently from one another. They consistently had distinct ideas about how to interact with the same toys they encountered—expectations that seemed to be drawn along gender lines in focus group after focus group. Lego had stumbled into a dynamic that’s as familiar as it is controversial; the idea that boys and girls, from a very young age, construct starkly divergent worlds for play. There’s much academic research to back up the notion that girls and boys gravitate toward different toys. And babies as young as 18 months old show gender-related behaviors when playing with certain toys, differences that persist throughout childhood. Further research shows the perceived gender of a toy itself can have “significant impact on toy preferences and exploration,” wrote the authors of a 2003 paper, published in the journal Educational Pscychology, about how children play with toys. Kids routinely favor the toy they believe is meant for them, based on their gender... even when children are given the same toys, girls and boys often play differently... Lego gathered a group of boys and asked them to build a Lego castle together. Separately, they gave the same task to the group of girls. Both groups worked together to build the castle, but once it was assembled, there were stark differences in how the two groups proceeded.  “The boys immediately grabbed the figures and the horses and the catapults and they started having a battle,” McNally said. “The facilitator said, ‘What about the castle?’ And they said, ‘Well, that’s just the backdrop for the battle.’”  The girls, on the other hand, were more focused on the structure—and not too impressed with what they found. “They all looked around inside the castle and they said, ‘Well, there’s nothing inside,’” McNally said. “This idea of interior versus exterior in the orientation of how they would then play with what they built was really interesting. If you think about most of the Lego models that people consider to be meant for boys, there’s not a whole lot going on in there. But [the girls had] this idea of, ‘There’s nothing inside to do.’” “Both girls and boys were saying they liked building, but there were nuances in what they were looking for,” he added. “We heard girls overwhelming saying we would much rather build environments than single structures. They were really just looking for a lot more detail than we were offering.” So Lego decided to offer something new. In 2012, the toymaker launched Lego Friends—stylized on boxes with a heart dotting the “i,” and a butterfly hovering nearby—a new line designed for girls... From the beginning, Lego Friends sparked a vocal debate. NPR asked, “Why Do Girls Need Special Legos?” A writer for The New York Times lamented Lego’s designs, which she said looked “far more Polly Pocket than Lego Hermione Granger.”  “There were a lot of people at the beginning who said, ‘They’ve dumbed it down, it’s not nearly as complicated [as the original Legos], it’s special for girls because they don’t think girls can build,’” McNally told me. “The reality is, just about piece for piece, there are just as many pieces required to put something together [among Friends sets].”... Tens of thousands of people signed a petition complaining about the message that Lego Friends subtly sends to children about what girls should value. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood nominated Lego Friends for a TOADY award, a “worst toy” designation that’s also a partial acronym for “Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children.”... The line was a smashing success from the start. Lego’s profits have soared in recent years. The toymaker’s growth has averaged 15 percent annually since Friends debuted... the share of toys bought for girls now represent “significantly more” of overall Lego sales than they did eight years ago. To Lego, there are two successes here: The obvious monetary gain, and the reason for it—which is that girls are finally flocking to Lego... For some parents, girls’s embrace of Friends has created a catch-22. Sharon Holbrook, writing for The New York Times, described feeling conflicted about her 7-year-old daughter’s delight with the toys... “Wanting to wear tutus does not mean you can’t grow up and be a rocket scientist,” Malorie Catchpole, the co-founder of the science-oriented girls clothing line BuddingSTEM, told me... At the end of the day, Lego is just trying to sell products that kids want. They may be philosophically all-inclusive, but marketing to girls and boys separately is pretty good business sense, too. If girls suddenly love your products as much as boys do, your sales ostensibly double... the girls didn’t predominantly play with female-stereotyped toys. Half of the top 10 favorites among girls were considered “neutral toys,” meaning these were the objects that kept the girls’s interest longest. The boys acted more in accordance with what the researchers had anticipated, playing with male-stereotyped toys about half of the time"

How Lego earned the wrath of the 'gender-neutral toys' crowd - Los Angeles Times - "By the end of 2012, Friends was Lego’s fourth-best-selling product line and the number of girl consumers of Legos had tripled. But the gender-neutral people went ballistic, and they’ve been that way ever since. A Change.org online petition was launched calling on Lego to stop selling the “body dissatisfaction”-promoting Friends line. Carolyn Costin, an eating-disorders specialist in Malibu, told Time magazine that the Friends line “promotes damaging gender stereotypes and limits creativity and healthy role development.”  Not long after the Friends line came out, its critics uncovered a 1981 magazine ad for regular Legos that featured a Lego-loving redheaded girl in pigtails and scruffy overalls. The anti-Friends people posted and reposted the ad, demanding that Lego resume its gender-neutral marketing campaign of 30-plus years ago. A few weeks ago, a blogger found and interviewed the model for that ad, Rachel Giordano, now 37 and an alternative-medicine doctor in Seattle. That sent the ad viral again, this time with its original model beating the gender-neutral drum: “Gender segmenting toys interferes with a child’s own creative expression,” she scolded. “I know that how I played as a girl shaped who I am today. It contributed to me becoming a physician and inspired me to want to help others achieve health and wellness.”... Lego can’t win for losing with the gender-neutral crowd, it would seem. But here are some thoughts: Maybe Lego stopped running those 1981-style ads featuring girls in rumpled blue jeans because the ads didn’t sell many conventional Legos to either sex. Maybe little girls actually like the colors pink and purple, and they actually like pretend-home decoration and pretend-mothering of baby animals.  And boys — maybe they’re more interested in building vast mechanical and architectural projects with their Lego bricks because, as neuroscience has demonstrated, their brains are different and they, as a group, have superior spatial skills, whereas girls tend to gravitate toward interpersonal connections and stories.  Maybe, in other words, there’s more than a grain of truth in the gender stereotypes. And parents, if your daughter wants to make herself a fort or a skyscraper out of regular Lego bricks, there’s no law preventing you from crossing the aisle in the toy store to satisfy her desires."
Weird how feminists love "representation:, but are adamantly against representing and catering to boys and girls with different toys. It's almost as if they just want to sneak in affirmative action through the back door
Weird how feminists champion Lego's gender-neutral days and demand a return to it even though it means girls weren't playing with Lego
Of course, due to pressure, Lego succumbed

Men should express their feelings, but not about feminism. Introducing the German antifeminism hotline. - "Since March 2023, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) has been financing the operation of an "Antifeminism Reporting Office" sponsored by the Amadeu Antonio Foundation (AAS) with €133,000 annually... When people report other people's statements and behaviors to a state-affiliated institution, this is an act with serious implications. In the case of the reporting office, this is not whistleblowing. The examples given on the website of the Hotline are partly about clearly criminal offences ("attacks against trans persons, up to physical fatal attacks"), in the other part about freely legitimized expressions of opinion (statements against gender theories or gender language). The former belongs to the police and the judiciary, the latter should not appear in the context of a reporting office, because it is then pure intimidating denunciation...   The reasons for reporting cited by the Antifeminism Reporting Office also include criticism of gender studies and organised statements on gender language. However, both are examples of democratically legitimized expressions of opinion. The fact that these are documented on a platform together with clearly criminal acts against women (such as physical attacks, coercion and threats) taints legitimate fundamental rights with the whiff of deviant attitudes and actions.   It can be assumed that this mixing of different levels does not happen unintentionally. A critical attitude towards feminism, which is also communicated openly and appropriately, must not be treated as an insult to medieval royalty. The Antifeminism Reporting Office behaves like a feudal institution even though in Germany today it is a democratically guaranteed fundamental right to express criticism of political and ideological positions. Subsidization of a reporting office seems to be a deviation from modern democratic principles... The deputy CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Dorothea Bär, has written to the reporting portal: "Denunciation and defamation at state expense: The Federal Minister for Family Affairs has learned nothing from our history. It is not ashamed to promote a culture of denigration in order to supposedly strengthen our democracy. In doing so, it lacks any sensitivity to what really endangers and divides our social cohesion. Sexism, hostility against women, misanthropic attacks, all this is of course not possible. But using taxpayers' money to strengthen a foundation that runs a reporting office for denunciation and defamation, and which was also run for over 20 years by a former unofficial employee of the Stasi, is even less possible."... The operators of the reporting portal are not even able to define what feminism is, cannot make it clear who is to be regarded as a woman today. In the spirit of the Federal Minister of Women's Affairs Paus, a woman is regarded as a person who defines herself as a woman. This definition is so vague that it opens the door to abuse. Other equally relevant human rights issues, such as the protection of boys from violence in any form, are ignored. These human rights violations do not fit into the ideologically narrow worldview, which sees boys and men as a danger because they belong to the so-called patriarchy... Intersectional feminism, which prevails among the operators of the hotline, excludes the naming of crimes by migrants, because this should not be due to their ideology, since these men are themselves racist or colonialist victims. Thus, relevant threats to girls and women remain out of sight because they do not fit into the prevailing ideology. .. What escapes the operators of the reporting portal is the fact that nowadays a majority of the population is critical of the current radicalized feminism. A large survey in England recently showed that around 52 percent of Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2010) and 53 percent of Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995) believe that society has gone so far as to discriminate against men in promoting women's rights.   According to data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on the basis of 1,009 respondents, only 22 percent of women and 8 percent of men considered themselves feminists in 2021... While the registration office is officially funded by the "Live Democracy!" programme, the attempt to prevent criticism of radical feminism actually poses a threat to democracy and civil liberties. Machiavelli showed that political action is always also power action...  It is no secret that the long-time director of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, Anetta Kahane, was a former Stasi informer. The culture of denunciation sometimes lives on implicitly in institutions. So it seems to be here too... To treat a crime specifically committed by men differently from one committed by a woman is incompatible with gender equality in the Basic Law and would mean stigmatizing the gender of "man"... The Antifeminism Reporting Office is also an attempt by queer feminism to gain the upper hand over the other directions within the fiercely divided feminist camps. It is quite possible that queer feminists receive reports of critical statements by traditional feminists on the subject of transsexuality and then declare them anti-feminist...   What still unites feminisms is the external enemy image, the old, white man. What to do if it dies out? Or when you remember that the old, white men were and still are supporters of equality in the 1960s?"

Somali Woman Beaten for Dancing Without Hijab on TikTok - "A Somali woman went viral on social media for being brutally beaten by her brother after she uploaded a Tiktok where she was seen dancing without wearing her hijab. The TikTok story gained the attention of many netizens and received mixed reactions from social media users. This viral social media story came after a Somali woman, who has the Tiktok account @hafsaqueendjibouti, uploaded a video on July 12th, dancing while wearing a sleeveless black dress without any head covering... While many netizens felt sorry for her, many content creators and other social media users made fun of her suffering. They even praised her brother for seemingly doing his job to protect her... Even though this viral TikTok story generated a lot of content, comments, Tweets, and attention online, mainstream media outlets failed to pick up the story, and many feminist and progressive activists were silent on the issue, possibly out of fear of being perceived as Islamophobic... Another issue where the left was silent regarding Islam is the ongoing protests in Iran, which were sparked after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died last September 2022 under the custody of the country’s morality police after she was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Her death sparked a new movement among Iranian women, which fought against the Islamic Republic under the banner “Women, Life, Freedom.”"

Meme - "Feminism then and now
Votes for women
Proud slut"
The paradox of feminism: "I am a slut" vs "how dare you call me a slut"

Meme - Joe Wells: "TV Idea: #NotAllSnakes. Men who say "Not All Men" are introduced to a variety of snakes. Not all of them are venomous."
Lance Cayko: "Oh I love the idea it's just like dating women in real life"
Good luck saying this about a "minority"

Meme - Dr Charlotte Proudman: "You know when someone says "I was bitten by a spider and now I'm afraid of them" everyone is like "oh yea fair enough" and no one, not one person says "not all spiders""
I like all these racist dog whistles. Ironically, they come from the same women and feminists who commit the NAXALT fallacy and who are unable to understand distributions

Meme - "Liberal white women on their way to vote to open their country borders and release felons after complaining about how unsafe the streets are to walk alone at night"

911 & OnlyFans / Getting into trouble / Know when to hold em


Alison @AmericanHussy: "dropping the price of my OnlyFans to $9.11 for the rest of the day to honor the victims *model of plane in between breasts*"


"I'm thinking of some trouble we could get into"
"What kind of trouble"
"I mean you're a single mom so I know you like getting creampied"
"*laughing emojis* Not wrong"


"You got to know when to hold em *man hugging woman*

Know when to fold em *man fucking woman*

Know when to walk away *screaming woman*

Know when to run *pregnant woman*"

Links - 9th December 2023 (1 - Diversity)

Meme - Alaric The Barbarian @0xAlaric: "Just saw an ad for the Army featuring a white guy, it's over bro we are going to war
And just now, a Marines one featuring white guys doing combat operations"

E on X - "Only 1 black woman in this US army ad & barely visible behind text White guys everywhere Wonder what’s about to go down?"
RAMZPAUL on X - "I am not sure why young, White men would want to fight for a government that hates them. Let the trans lesbians of color fight the next war for the Global American Empire."

Leslie Jones Recalls Jason Reitman's 'Unforgivable' 'Ghostbusters' Comment - "After announcing his plans to make Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Reitman said on Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast he was “trying to go back to the original technique and hand the movie back to the fans."
If you don't praise something featuring black women, you're a racist misogynist. The quality doesn't matter
Given that the movie openly mocked fans, this is especially galling

Meme - "I can't fill positions because of DEI (seitrecruitinghell)
So I'm at my breaking point with our DEI initiative. If one of my hiring managers posts a job and we don't get a certain percentage of women or minority applicants we can't hire anyone and have to have the job listing reviewed by DEI and reworked to be more appealing to the target groups. If the stars align and we have enough of the "right kind" of applicants any decision my hiring managers and SME advisors make can be overturned by DEI. I have multiple maintenance, and engineering positions going unfilled. I have DEI hand picks that can't be let go except for extreme willful negligence. I have an "engineer" who has the english and mathematical proficiency of a middle school student. After my automation manager and I asked HR if they're even doing education checks anymore, (supposedly, he does have a legitimate degree from a university in got him enrolled at a local cc, but he was unable to maintain a 2.0 gpa so he is on paid leave while they figure out what to do with this guy. I get the intent behind DE but this has gone beyond insane."
This doesn't stop liberals from claiming all affirmative action does is fight prejudice and give minorities the same chances as the rest. They will claim this is fake, even though 1 in 6 hiring managers are told to discriminate against white men

Meme - "Unpopular opinion: white male students are the only ones having a hard time with recruiting
Throwaway for obvious reasons. I'm a 2nd year at Cornell Johnson and it's honestly ridiculous how much the university and employers care about all this DEI stuff. Almost all of my non-white male classmates have amazing job offers lined up, while my white male classmates are struggling to even get interviews, no matter how qualified they are. I don't know how we got to this point, but I expected better from a "top" university. Before you all start calling me a racist, know that I am a minority, but unlike the rest of my classmates, I can acknowledge that I benefited from it."

Meme - TheQuartering @TheQuartering: "This is the cast of the new Robyn Hood show. (a fully race and gender swapped "re-imagining". Guess who the bad guys are. (You're Right..it's the 2 white actors..a cop and a evil rich guy)"

Meme - *Black Little Mermaid* "Now we can finally feel represented" - Black women
*Goku* "yes, that's literally me" - Men of all races
"Why can men of all races and creed identify with Goku?"
"Because men can identify with the substance of the message, whereas women can only identify with the messenger."

Daniel Remy on X - "In one of Mile’s side missions you play as a black deaf girl (the mission has muted audio for the effect) who sprays graffiti on random walls. I’m sorry, but I thought I was playing a Spider-Man game. This is ghey."

Gregg Re on X - "two private planes just collided on takeoff at a major international airport in Houston (hobby). not a "near miss," an actual collision. pilot claims catastrophic ATC error. we are heading towards a major disaster. in positive news, FTC just announced plan to 'diversify' ATC
Here is the full video of the incident, which shows the panic in the Tower as they scramble to get the plane back for landing.   https://youtube.com/watch?v=ANJq5wBaXmE    In other similar 'near-miss' incidents, where pilots have apparently taken off without clearance, alert controllers have used ground radar (or their eyes) to instruct planes to stop before hitting each other, in the case of pilot error. In this case, after the collision, the controller replied, "You say what?"  It just just a year ago that the FAA announced a plan to specifically recruit "women and other underrepresented groups" to "enhance safety.""

Meme - "Haakon Jarl was a Viking warrior who ruled Norway from 975-995. He earned his title Haakon the Powerful. So naturally, Netflix made him a black women."

Meme - Vichakshana Arangala: "Being watching a bunch of 80s/90s movies lately. Literally background character, extras, looks like a modern "model". Not a fat person in sight. All the black and latino characters speak proper english. Black people dress like normal people. The LGBT-looking characters look like rebels. Instead of whinning. The strong female characters are actually strong. Plenty of diversity. I don't get it. How come feminism and LGBT stuff looks cool in the 80s and 90s, but feels cringe now?"

The Duo That Defeated the ‘Diversity Industry’ - WSJ - "Mr. Connerly led the 1996 ballot effort after persuading his fellow University of California regents to ban preferences in UC admissions earlier that year. The state was the first to adopt a ban on racial preferences. Eight more have done so since, five by ballot measure (Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona and Oklahoma), two by legislation (New Hampshire and Idaho), and one by executive order of the governor (Florida). Mr. Connerly says proudly that “37.7% of people in our country live in a state that is free of preferences.”  All this despite the outsize clout of preference proponents. No on 16 had to overcome a vast funding disparity. Whereas the referendum’s backers had a war chest of $27 million, “we raised a little over $1.7 million,” Ms. Wu says, “and nearly all of our funds came from 7,000 Chinese-American donors of modest means.” Asians are harder hit than whites by racial preferences in higher education; Ms. Wu estimates their admissions to UC schools would have fallen as much as 50% if Proposition 16 passed. When an NBC reporter raised this point with a Democratic state senator, he shrugged it off: “Black and Hispanic people have even greater concerns.”  The Yes campaign received $6.5 million from a single donor—Quinn Delaney, chairman of the Oakland-based Akonadi Foundation, which says it aims to “eliminate structural racism.” The largest contribution received by No on 16 was less than 1% as large—$50,000 from Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group that has sued Harvard, alleging that it discriminates against Asians. “Patricia Quillin, wife of the Netflix CEO, gave $1 million,” Ms. Wu adds, then goes on to list other givers of “big sums”: the California Teachers Association, Blue Shield, the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Other donors include Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, as well as owners of the San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. By contrast, Ms. Wu says, the lone $50,000 donation accounted for “only 2.9% of our funds.”  If No on 16 was a grassroots movement, the Yes campaign was a redwood grove. Ms Wu calls opponents the “diversity industry” and “Big Diversity”—“like Big Pharma, Big Tobacco!” The Yes on 16 website boasts nearly 900 endorsements from politicians, nonprofits, newspapers and other corporations. When I ask Mr. Connerly how his side managed to prevail, there’s no false modesty in his answer: “First of all, you could say that we just ran a masterful campaign. That would be one explanation.”  Another would be that in 1996 preferences had long been the rule, so that “we had to convince the people of the state that equality was the right way to go, and that it would not produce adverse consequences.” And today “there’s no systemic racism in the state of California,” Mr. Connerly says. “There were still remnants of that back in 1996.” By now, “it may very well be that the question of equality—of equal citizenship—is accorded the same kind of stature in our culture as that of liberty,” an ideal Americans recognize as “self-evident.” “Equal citizenship is not negotiable any more,” Mr. Connerly says. “You get the same rights, same responsibilities. You own just as much cultural stock in the country as anyone else.” Black people “have not always been accorded equal citizenship, I can tell you, because I know a little bit about that,” having been born in the South in 1939. But America has overcorrected for past wrongs. “Black people have been accorded a certain stature in American life” because of their history, Mr. Connerly says. “In the race sweepstakes right now, being black means that you get preferred stock.” Unless you’re a “race advocate,” he adds, “that is not a good thing.” President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 of 1965 required government contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” That, Mr. Connerly says, “began an era of racial bean-counting that has brought us to where we are today, with ‘diversity’ and ‘affirmative action’ on steroids, being used not really for black people, but to remake America.” Proposition 16, he says, was intended to “transform California and usher in the use of race unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our country.”  Yet the racial debate isn’t black and white any longer. Mr. Connerly says Asian-Americans have “had the temerity to rise up and say, ‘Hey, what about us?’ ” Ms. Wu is an example. Regarding affirmative action, she asks: “What should we really affirm? Do we affirm rigid racial lines that are outdated, or do we affirm real-life disadvantages that cut across racial, ethnic and gender lines?”... When politicians and school administrators say there are “too many” Asians in elite classrooms, “I feel minimized,” Ms. Wu says. “I feel stigmatized that I was reduced to a racial box—that my hard work is being blamed for the lack of so-called proportionality in these institutions.” Mr. Connerly, listening, can’t contain himself. “I have a more visceral reaction,” he says. “I am repulsed by that kind of language, because I have lived it. That’s what’s wrong with prejudice. You don’t see people as individuals.”  Mr. Connerly describes the Asian-American fight for educational equality as “probably the truest civil-rights movement of our time.” The civil-rights movement in the 1960s, he says, “was about civil rights, yes. But it became about advancing the condition of black people.” That’s why “you have people who have accused me of not really being a civil-rights guy—because civil rights in their mind is Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. But those guys are race advocates.” Mr. Connerly offers a test for whether people are “really pro-civil rights”: “It’s when they will defend the right of a white person—a white male—to be treated equal to everyone else.”... "Congress has already ruled in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that there should not be discrimination on the basis of race. Why have we been ignoring this command for all these years?”"
From 2020

Meme - Jeremy Corbyn @jere...: "Suella Braverman says multiculturalism has failed. She should come to Islington North, where strength in diversity is our greatest success."
Keith Woods @KeithWoodsYT: "Sounds wonderful
Islington is the third most dangerous borough in London. The overall crime rate in Islington in 2022 was 116 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to London's overall crime rate, coming in 22% higher than the London rate of 95 per 1,000 residents. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Islington is among the top 20 most dangerous cities,"

White Winner of Zimbabwe's Miss Universe Contest Sparks Fury - "Zimbabwe's return to the Miss Universe pageant has been marred in controversy after a white woman was named winner.  Brooke Bruk-Jackson, 21, won the right to represent the southern African country at the upcoming international pageant in El Salvador in December... Bruk-Jackson addressed the issue of race in an interview after her win.  "One of my biggest things is no matter what country you come from, if you come from an African country for example, you can enter no matter what color you are. You can be from any culture, any background, nobody should define you by your color, by the way you look, or by the shape of your body"... Zimbabweans were divided by Bruk-Jackson's win. Some argued it was not appropriate for a white person to represent the country on the international stage.  "Too white to represent a country of Black people. She does not represent our country. She's a foreigner," commented one person on an Instagram post of Bruk-Jackson winning the crown.  Another added: "Ironic that a white girl won Miss Zimbabwe, while European countries send Black girls...""
Why aren't they happy about spotlighting a minority? Good luck if you object to a black woman winning in a white country

Meme - "MISS ENGLAND, MISS IRELAND, MISS ICELAND, MISS FRANCE, MISS GERMANY, MISS SWEDEN, MISS NORWAY, MISS FINLAND, MISS NETHERLANDS, MISS SWITZERLAND, MISS ITALY, MISS CANADA *Black*
Outrage After White Woman Is Named As Winner Of Zimbabwe's Miss Universe Competition"

Meme - "Spider-Man 2 has so much gay representation I think I developed arachnophobia"

Uber suspends diversity chief over ‘Don’t Call Me Karen’ events - "Uber has suspended its head of diversity, equity and inclusion after Black and Hispanic employees complained about the workplace events she moderated exploring the experience of white American women under the title “Don’t Call Me Karen”.  The ride-hailing app has confirmed that it has asked Bo Young Lee, who has led its DEI department for five years, to take a leave of absence while the company works out “next steps”. Her suspension is the latest wave of chaos to strike the $72bn company over its corporate culture... The focus on the discomfort of white women specifically over the term “Karen” was denounced by several employees as being insensitive towards people of color. In internal Slack channels for Black and Hispanic Uber employees seen by the Times, workers said they had felt lectured at. “It was more of a lecture – I felt like I was being scolded for the entirety of that meeting,” one Black woman wrote... According to the New York Times, after the first “Don’t Call Me Karen” event, a Black staffer argued that diversity sessions should not include “tone-deaf, offensive and triggering conversations”. Lee is reported to have replied: “Sometimes being pushed out of your own strategic ignorance is the right thing to do.”"
Weird. Usually liberals say that just because one group is suffering more doesn't mean another group isn't suffering, and that painful conversations are necessary for change
Diversity sessions are lectures anyway - they just weren't used to being on the receiving end

Michelle Rodriguez Says She Wants ‘Minorities’ to ‘Stop Stealing’ Superhero Roles From White People, Then Apologizes [Updated] - "Michelle Rodriguez quickly shot down rumors that she might star in the Green Lantern, and it seems like it might be out of principle. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard,” she told a TMZ reporter. “I think it’s so stupid because of this whole minorities in Hollywood thing. It’s so stupid. Stop stealing all the white people’s superheroes. Make up your own. What’s up with that?”"
Minority voices only matter when they support the liberal agenda

Meme - "Actual work diversity training slide
CASE STUDY #3-ETHNIC STEREOTYPE
Michael clocks out for lunch from his post on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and sits down to eat in the employee lounge. Another security professional, Cindy, is just finishing up her lunch and notices that Michael has a small sandwich and a bag of apple slices. She exclaims, "What kind of Italian are you? That is the smallest sandwich I have ever seen! Throw some meat on that bread or bust out some pasta and gravy, you big 'paisan.' Your gonna be starved by the end of your shift!" How do you think this makes Michael feel? Is Cindy implying that Michael needs to eat more food because he is Italian? Do you think Cindy's comment could have offended others in the employee lounge?"
A lot of the people mocking this wouldn't if it were a "minority" involved

Meme - "2005: We need immigrants to do the jobs you won't do
2023: You're fired for being white"
Kelvin MacKenzie @kelvmackenzie: "The MoS reports BT is making 1,100 of its 95.8% white staff of 2,900 at Martlesham, nr Ipswich, redundant so they can hire new people in major cities to boost its workforce diversity. The new CEO will pocket £220k if she hits diversity targets. You couldn't make it up."

Meme - iamyesyouareno: "Spot the difference. Diversity only works one way."
"Diverse photo shoot sends powerful message: 'Never be sorry for being black' *all black women*"
"Arsenal have released a statement to acknowledge a lack of diversity in their team and say they will work to deliver 'greater diversity' as a 'priority' *all white women*"

Meme - "NETFLIX PRESENTS
Polar Bears. A Documentary *Black Bears*"

From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans - "When it comes to estimating the size of demographic groups, Americans rarely get it right. In two recent YouGov polls, we asked respondents to guess the percentage (ranging from 0% to 100%) of American adults who are members of 43 different groups, including racial and religious groups, as well as other less frequently studied groups, such as pet owners and those who are left-handed.  When people’s average perceptions of group sizes are compared to actual population estimates, an intriguing pattern emerges: Americans tend to vastly overestimate the size of minority groups. This holds for sexual minorities, including the proportion of gays and lesbians (estimate: 30%, true: 3%), bisexuals (estimate: 29%, true: 4%), and people who are transgender (estimate: 21%, true: 0.6%). It also applies to religious minorities, such as Muslim Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%) and Jewish Americans (estimate: 30%, true: 2%). And we find the same sorts of overestimates for racial and ethnic minorities, such as Native Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%), Asian Americans (estimate: 29%, true: 6%), and Black Americans (estimate: 41%, true: 12%). A parallel pattern emerges when we look at estimates of majority groups: People tend to underestimate rather than overestimate their size relative to their actual share of the adult population. For instance, we find that people underestimate the proportion of American adults who are Christian (estimate: 58%, true: 70%) and the proportion who have at least a high school degree (estimate: 65%, true: 89%)... Misperceptions of the size of minority groups have been identified in prior surveys, which observers have often attributed to social causes: fear of out-groups, lack of personal exposure, or portrayals in the media. Yet consistent with prior research, we find that the tendency to misestimate the size of demographic groups is actually one instance of a broader tendency to overestimate small proportions and underestimate large ones, regardless of the topic.  If exaggerated perceptions of minority groups’ share of the American population are due to fear, we would expect estimates of those groups’ share that are made by the groups’ members to be more accurate than those made by others. We tested this theory on minority groups that were represented by at least 100 respondents within our sample and found that they were no better (and often worse) than non-group members at guessing the relative size of the minority group they belong to. "
The narrative is that "majorities" are panicked over nothing, but it's never considered that liberals' obsessing over them (e.g. "representation") could make them seem more numerous than they really are

Watch: 4 Obese Female Chicago Police Officers Attempt to Apprehend Male Shoplifter — He Ends Up Escaping - "Surveillance footage out of Chicago shows the moment four fat female police officers tried to nab a shoplifting suspect, only to have him slip from their grasp and evade apprehension.  The video shows four female officers approach the subject at a street corner before they begin trying to handcuff him, at which point he begins struggling with the officers and finally is able to make his escape with one hand in cuffs... The viral video, viewed over 2 million times, is being highlighted as an example of why diversity, equity and inclusion quotas aren’t exactly making America a safer place. However, Chicago’s Democrat policies, which involve the relaxation of shoplifting laws and efforts to defund the police, have also played a role in contributing to the situation."

Meme - Wesley Yang @wesyang: "Outcomes like this establish beyond any doubt that the social processes that begin with poetry prizes and foundation grants and academic journal editorships go on to swallow up everything"
Stanford Surgery @StanfordSurgery: "ICYMI: Meet the newest additions to the Stanford Surgery Family! #match2023"
*13 people, with 12 women and 1 man (who's Asian). Of the women, 3 are black*

Meme - Sabrina Medora @c0Sabrina: "For the first time in three years of writing, I've gotten this response to an interview request. I'm taken aback and really pleased. White restaurant owners and operators, this is a great way to take a stand and ensure that food media becomes more inclusive."
"Hi Sabrina, Before I confirm, we always ask if any article we are a part of also includes a person of color. As a currently all white management team, we do not offer diversity and can only speak from a place of privilege. If this article is not including the perspectives of POC owned or operated businesses, I can decline and offer my space in the article to another. If there are more than white voices being represented, then I would be glad to speak with you"
When diversity is more important than competence

WALSH: Our Country Is Finally Realizing That It’s Simply Not Okay For Actors To Pretend To Be Something They Aren’t - "The actress Jenny Slate has apologized for her “flawed” decision to voice a non-white character on the Netflix show “Big Mouth.” Slate announced that she is stepping aside from the role, acknowledging that her initial decision to voice the animated character was a symptom of her “white privilege.”  She explained that she originally thought it was okay because her character, Missy, has a white Jewish mother. But she now understands that she could only take on that role because of “unjust allowances made within a system of societal white supremacy.” She makes a salient point, of course. It is well known that the ultimate goal of any Nazi or Klan member is to be a voice actor for a mixed race cartoon character. Slate promised to do her part to fight the white supremacist scourge by “engaging in meaningful anti-racist action,” and she expressed deep remorse for anyone she may have “hurt” by doing voice overs on a cartoon show. On the same day, actress Kristen Bell stepped aside from her role voicing a non-white character named Molly on the animated show “Central Park.” She apologized for her “lack of awareness” of her “pervasive privilege,” and admitted that “casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience.” It is not clear how a cartoon character’s voice could “undermine” anyone’s “experience,” or even what it means to undermine an experience, but whatever it means, and however it happens, the point is that Kristen Bell is very sorry and wants you to know that she’s one of the good inherently racist white people, not one of the bad ones... I personally find these decisions by Bell and Slate to be so inspiring that I’d like to suggest other characters that should be canceled along similar lines. Obviously Darth Vader has to go. He is a white man in a black suit voiced by a black man. I’m not sure how this is racist but I’m sure that it must be, in some way. Bart Simpson is a boy voiced by an adult woman. For years I accepted this problematic dichotomy because I assumed that “The Simpsons” was headed for a story arc where the young Bart discovers his inner female identity, comes out as transgender, and begins hormone therapy. But after 30 years on the air, this moment still has not arrived, and I’m beginning to despair that “The Simpsons” will ever make the expected transition into a nuanced, introspective drama about the  experiences of transgender adolescents in modern America. Other characters that should be canceled, abolished, outlawed, imprisoned, executed, or at least recast, are perhaps a little less obvious but nonetheless crucial to defeating white supremacy. E.T., from the film “E.T.,” has only a few lines of dialogue (a problem in and of itself), and those lines are handled by a white voice actress named Pat Welsh. It boggles my mind that, in the whole entire cosmos, populated by 100 billion galaxies and trillions of planets, Steven Spielberg could not find even one actual extra terrestrial to take on this role. A white actor cannot empathize with the lived reality of alien beings enough to capture the fullness and depth of their experiences on screen. We have to remember something: acting is not about pretending to be something you’re not. Acting, in an ideal society, would consist of people being themselves, and doing and saying all of the same stuff they would do and say on a normal day. In a truly progressive culture, films would have no characters, no script, no plot, and instead the audience would watch people — none of them white, of course — going about their day, running errands, checking the mailbox, preparing dinner, etc. Every film would be like this, all of them would be titled “Experiences,” and all of them would win every Oscar every year. The fact that this scenario I concocted in my head is not a reality just proves that white supremacy is real and literal Nazis are running the country."

Meme - HO-HO-HO-Ping @PandasAndVidya: "I really, truly, honestly hate that I called this."
HO-HO-HO-Ping: "Can't wait for a story on my ancestors to be adapted into a movie or a game, only to have everyone depicted as sub-Saharan African. Tell 'em that Carthage was in North Africa and they'll imagine that everyone looked like Wesley Snipes, because they're dogshit stupid like that."
DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm: "Denzel Washington will star as Hannibal, the man who attacked Rome atop of an elephant in a film by Antoine Fuqua for Netflix. (Source: Deadline)"

Friday, December 08, 2023

Links - 8th December 2023 (2 - Hamas Attack Oct 2023)

Pro-Palestinian protesters storm Peel school board meeting in Ontario - "A crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke up a school board meeting in Ontario’s Peel region, Wednesday, drowning out elected trustees with chanting, and later stormed past security into a locked room where trustees had retreated to reconvene the meeting. “Somebody was just trying to let this young student trustee out to go to the bathroom, they pushed down the security guard and they grabbed the door,” said David Green, chair of the Peel District School Board. “They stormed the room. “The staff that was standing up there got knocked down, and another was pushed down, trampled all over. One lady she just came — it was like at a wrestling match — she ran past everybody and came straight for me. “It was horrible,” Green said in an interview. “There were trustees who were terrified. Some sitting there frozen. Trustees were saying this isn’t right, they were afraid. “In my 21 years as a trustee, we’ve had challenging situations in our boardroom but we’ve never had anything like this, when staff and trustees are put in a place where they are fearful to the point where people are assaulted.” Green said he was told people came to the building and told the crowd “they’re in that room, bang it down, kick it down if you have to.”... Green said the demands included the board issue statements declaring they stand with Palestinians in the current crisis and calling to stop genocide.  They also demanded that the board ensure no staff or student would be disciplined for defending or putting up Palestinian flags. They also mentioned a specific staff issue that Green said he couldn’t discuss for privacy reasons.  “We’re here in the business to educate kids, we don’t get involved in this,” Green said Thursday. “We’re not into politics.”"
Clearly their fault for not supporting "resistance" and for endorsing "genocide". Of course, "Students in PDSB Schools for Palestine" cheered

Meme - palestinepdsb: "Students across PDSB organized to demand the mic at the monthly PDSB meetings because their requested delegation was denied. Students had demands for PDSB , they asked the board to listen, but over 60+ community members and students were neglected, the Chair D.Green continued their meeting business as usual as if there wasn't a crowd waiting to be heard. As the crowd got louder to make sure we are placed on the agenda, the entire board walked out on us and decided to proceed their meeting in their own private space. The community decided to continue their demand to be heard,so we moved towards their meeting room. The entire board ran away and had security come in to push us out. We as a community didn't back down, we stood strongly, and we will continue to be not backed down. Very proud of all those who showed up today & this is the first of many!  Lets continue our resistance. Free Palestine!"

We mustn’t let the left erase the truth of 7 October - "The IDF has put together a graphic 43-minute video of the savagery Hamas filmed itself committing against the Jews of Southern Israel on 7 October. The morally deracinated cynics of the liberal Western media say the video is an IDF ruse to whip up support for its war in Gaza. In truth, Israel felt compelled to put out this gross footage of anti-Semitic mass murder because there has been so much 7 October doubt in influential circles in the West. It was the atrocity denialism of unhinged Israelophobes that forced Israel to say: ‘Okay, here are the atrocities.’ They showed the film in London last week and Mr Jones was in attendance.  To be clear, Jones does not deny that Hamas committed ‘grave war crimes’ on 7 October. He is not an October denialist as some on the viscerally anti-Israel left are. And yet his reaction to the footage is chilling nonetheless. He casts doubt on many of the claims about 7 October. He sows seeds of suspicion. It is a masterclass in moral obfuscation. Yes, Hamas did wicked things, he says, but where’s the evidence for the really wicked things it is said to have done? The beheaded babies. Raped women. Children killed ‘intentionally’. There’s no ‘conclusive evidence’ for that, he says. I am trying my best to understand the mind that can see images of the corpses of Jewish children and wonder, ‘But were they killed intentionally?’. But I cannot. It is beyond my moral bandwidth to understand this.  Even in this era of virtual narcissism, even with the fashion for filming oneself saying and doing all sorts of self-abasing things, Jones’s video stands out for its creepiness. He speaks in clipped, detached tones about the worst act of racist terrorism of modern times. He pores over the largest act of anti-Jewish violence since the Holocaust like the rest of us might ask a waiter, ‘Are you sure this dish has no parsley?’. He looks straight to camera and says the wildest things, like: yes we see a young woman’s burnt corpse with no underwear on, but can we be certain she was raped? This is possibly the maddest thing I have heard a journalist say. A staggering double standard haunts this video. We have recently come out of the #MeToo era where the cry of the right-on was ‘Believe women!’. Jones himself, in 2014, wrote of the West’s ‘renewed understanding’ of how important it is to ‘believe survivors’ of sexual abuse. Finally, he said, victims are ‘listened to and believed’. Yet on Israel’s claim that women were sexually assaulted by the known misogynists of Hamas, he scratches his chin. ‘If there was rape and sexual violence committed, we don’t see this on the footage’, he says. He cites a Rolling Stone piece that quotes a disappointed attendee of the LA screening of the atrocity film who shouted, ‘Show the rape’... When the well-to-do journalist Kate Maltby said she received sexual advances from a Tory MP, Jones raged against our ‘culture that fails women who speak out’. Yet when the IDF shows him an image of a stripped, brutalised young woman he essentially says, was she raped though? That poor woman can’t be ‘listened to and believed’, of course, because she was murdered by medieval reactionaries.   Then Jones moves on to beheadings. People were beheaded, he admits, but we can’t be sure if they were beheaded before or after they were killed. Even when he sees a dead Israeli soldier with no head, he sows his seeds of doubt. We can’t be sure if he was beheaded while alive as a ‘form of execution’. Call me a soppy old moralist, but I think beheading is an act of savagery whether it’s done before you die or afterwards. Jones refers to footage of an ‘unsuccessful attempt’ to behead a ‘dying Thai migrant worker’. Why mention that the Thai was dying? To emphasise, again, that we can’t be sure the beheading was the thing that killed him? This is sinister stuff. I can read it as nothing other than an effort to defend Hamas from the accusation that it does ISIS-style things like behead living people...   I find it hard to believe Jones has had a Damascene conversion to the old-fashioned journalistic task of always asking for evidence. This is a man up to his neck in identitarian bollocks and trans mysticism. If a 6”5 bloke called Dave were to identify as a lesbian, Jones would believe him instantly. He would say Dave is literally a woman, and literally a lesbian, and only a bigot would say otherwise. Yet when he sees a real woman murdered and burnt and denuded of her underwear, suddenly he wants evidence. ‘Show the rape.’ What a lowlife.   It strikes me that political influencers are chipping away at the historic enormity of 7 October. Some deny it entirely; others, like Jones, question some of its extremities. Many say Israel’s response has been morally worse, certainly in terms of numbers killed. The gravity of 7 October, its position as the worst act of anti-Semitic slaughter in more than 70 years, its standing as by far the worst racist crime of many of our lifetimes, is being eroded. There is denialism, denialism-lite and obfuscation, and all of it has the predictable impact of making people wonder if 7 October was as bad as we’ve been told.  I find it unconscionable. It is historical revisionism in real time, with the naked aim of questioning the victimisation of Israeli Jews in order to sanctify the hallowed victim status of Palestinians. It seems clear to me that the reason so many in the Western left are screaming ‘Genocide!’ and ‘Murderers!’ at Israel is in order that they will not have to reckon with the racist barbarism of 7 October, and the fact it was carried out by ‘their side’, and the truth of their own snivelling failure to condemn it early and forcefully. They rage against Israel to try to wash away the moral stain of their own cowardice and their abandonment of the Jews."

Hamas, Nazi ideology linked to Kishinev pogrom and Oct. 7 massacre - analysis - "“The massacre of the Jews in Israel on October 7 and the Kishinev Pogrom are both rooted in systematic and violent antisemitism and an education that promotes hatred of Jews,” Mark Weitzman, a renowned expert on antisemitism and advocate for Holocaust-era justice, said this week during a poignant address at a conference in Chisinau, Moldova, commemorating the 120th anniversary of the Kishinev Pogrom. He highlighted the ideological parallels between the Hamas-led massacre of Israeli communities and the historic Kishinev Pogrom. He stated that “the motive for the murder of an estimated 1,200 Israelis on October 7 can be traced, at least in part, directly to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a text also linked to the Kishinev Pogrom.” Weitzman presented evidence from the original Hamas charter, adopted in 1988, to support his claim. “The Zionist plan is limitless...The Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the notorious forgery of czarist Russia, which he quoted from the charter."
So much for "resistance"

Democratic leaders and Jewish groups condemn video of support for Hamas at Oakland debate - "The contentious remarks at Oakland’s debate were prompted by a proposed amendment condemning Hamas for the 7 October attacks, which was voted down 6 to 2. As the amendment was being read out, there were loud boos from the public floor, according to Associated Press. The video clips circulated on social media showed individual members of the public repeating conspiracy theories disputing that the 7 October attacks were carried out by Hamas. “The notion that this was a massacre of Jews is fabricated narrative,” one public attendee said of the attacks inside Israel. Other public speakers offered unconditional backing to Hamas. “I support the right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation, including through Hamas, the armed wing of the unified Palestinian resistance,” one woman said. Several speakers said that to condemn Hamas was racist or a form of white supremacy. “Calling Hamas a terrorist organization is ridiculous, racist and plays into genocidal propaganda,” said another.  A woman was heard in the edited clips saying: “As an Arab, asking with this context to condemn Hamas is very anti-Arab racist.”... The Bay Area chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which backed the ceasefire motion, said that it did not agree with “every single comment” at the meeting. But “overall the hearing was a peaceful gathering of residents”. In a statement given to the Guardian, JVP suggested the video clips were part of a “malicious propaganda campaign” designed to “undermine Oakland’s life-affirming resolution”."
Weird. I thought the left tells us no one supports Hamas
"This is not happening, and it's good that it is"

Meme - lan Wishart @investigatemag: "So the BBC cannot "verify" Israel claims that Shifa has long been controlled by Hamas? June 2007, British Medical Journal report:"
"New York Times, Dec 2008"
"Nov 20 2014, Finland TV reporter describes rockets launching from Al Shifa Hospital. Were they stored in the tunnels below?"
"2014, Washington Post, Shifa Hospital is de facto Hamas command centre"

Assailant in stick attack of Israeli Columbia University student charged with hate crime - "The 19-year-old accused of beating an Israeli Columbia University student with a stick this week was slapped with hate crime charges – and granted supervised release during her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday, prosecutors said.   Maxwell Friedman – who uses she/her pronouns – was charged with second and third-degree assault, both as hate crimes – in connection to the 6:10 p.m. Wednesday assault of the 24-year-old male student in front of Butler Library on the Morningside Heights campus, according to the criminal complaint and an account from the NYPD.   Part of the assault was captured on video, according to Assistant District Attorney Alberto Gomez, who pushed for the highest level of supervised release to ensure that Friedman – who lives in Brooklyn but has family out of state – returns to court.   Judge Soma Syed ultimately agreed to supervised release, but at a lower level.  The victim – who spoke to The Columbia Daily Spectator but only identified himself as “I.A.” – was part of a group that had been posting flyers around the university about the number of Israeli casualties during Hamas’ bloody sneak attack over the weekend, according to the court document.   They had also posted a photo of a kidnapped family from Israel in a designated news bulletin area, the complaint states.  Friedman began tearing down and ripping several of the posters, before she allegedly made snide remarks toward the group.   “F–k you. F–k all of you p—k crackers,” Friedman sneered, according to the complaint.  “I disrespected you. What are you going to do about it? Do you want to talk about it like adults? If you have a problem, we can deal with it right now, fam. P—–s.”  Friedman then shoved the victim and struck him with a hard wooden object that appeared to be a broomstick – leaving him with a fractured finger and a cut, the complaint states."

Pro-Palestine protesters plan to 'flood' Brooklyn -- near Hasidic Jewish site - "A pro-Palestinian group is set to stage a “louder’’-than-ever march in front of the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday — just down the road from the Jewish Hasidic Lubavitcher headquarters.   Jittery NYPD cops are increasing their presence in the area, while a furious Jewish leader raged, “We will not be intimidated.”... Local Jewish businesses are “very concerned” about the upcoming rally this weekend, said Rabbi Joseph Potasnkik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis — adding that he has been in touch with the NYPD.  “To do this rally on the Sabbath when people are practicing their faith?! It’s a total insult to the Jewish faith,” Potasnkik told The Post... Cohen also condemned the organizers’ use of the word “flood,” saying it is what the Palestinian terror group Hamas used when it murderously attacked Israel on Oct. 7...   Earlier this week, Jewish students were locked inside a library at Cooper Union in Manhattan as a Pro-Palestine protest invaded the school, banging on doors while screaming."
It's only a dog whistle if it's someone the left disapproves of saying it

Meme - Andy Ngo @MrAndyNgo: "Extremist Palestine account "wolPalestine" (Within Our Lifetime), who has over 120k followers on Instagram, posted a "zone of direct actions" map where followers can carry out attacks on targets. They list businesses, banks, media and more."
"New York, New York
FROM PALESTINE TO NYC
GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA
ZONE OF DIRECT ACTIONS"
@MrAndyNgo: "The same extremist Palestine group put out another map of attack targets on its Instagram that includes several Jewish organizations."
"wolpalestine and arabsofcanada:
New York, New York
GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA
ZONE OF OPERATIONS"

Pro-Palestine group gives out NYC map calling for 'direct action' on landmarks as city blasts 'hateful rhetoric' and alerts the NYPD - "The page that posted the map goes by the name Within Our Lifetime and has described itself as a Palestinian-led community organization that's said, 'We will free Palestine.'... On November 9, a pro-Palestine group stormed the New York Times building as they criticized the news outlet's coverage of the war.   Demonstrators took over the lobby of the building as they waved flags and held up 'Ceasefire now' sings. They then went on to read off names of those killed in Gaza from a paper called 'The New York Crimes.'  Earlier that day, New York City high school students, parents and teachers participated in a walkout protest calling for a ceasefire.   Organized by groups such as Teachers Unite, NYC Educators for Palestine and Palestinian Youth Movement, the students walked out of class and gathered at Bryant Park.  Crowds chanted, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' a phrase used to call for a Palestinian takeover of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which includes Israel... The group is calling for a ceasefire and an end to what they called Israeli genocide"
If you condemn terrorist threats that the left supports, this is a dangerous attack on free speech
Weird how all these people marching for "peace" didn't care when Hamas slaughtered so many people. Clearly they want Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists to be free to kill as many Jews as possible, all while pretending they are against genocide

Group at York U calls for reinstatement of employees charged in Indigo defacement - "A group of faculty, staff and students at York University is calling for the reinstatement of three university employees who were suspended after police laid charges in the defacement of an Indigo bookstore in Toronto. The exterior of the large Indigo location was splashed with red paint and posters were glued to the doors and the walls earlier this month in what Toronto police investigated as a hate crime amid tensions over the Israel-Hamas war... Toronto police last week said they charged 11 people with mischief over $5,000 over the incident at the Indigo store... Zalik, who is a member of the group calling for the reinstatement of the three York employees, said York University faculty, staff and students were walking out of classes Tuesday afternoon in protest of the suspensions. "Many faculty members are outraged that the administration has suspended these individuals rather than defending them publicly," she said. "We feel that the administration should be standing up for rights to free expression and should be ensuring that there is proper due process followed in all cases." York University confirmed in a written statement that it has placed the employees on "non-disciplinary leave," calling it a "difficult" situation. "York has adopted this approach out of concern for the safety of our community including the individuals charged by the police," deputy spokesperson Yanni Dagonas wrote. "York is acting in the best interests of student learning and in keeping with our stated values, including our commitment to free speech and open dialogue in peaceful ways that do not violate the law, university policies, or codes of conduct."... Zalik said the school should protect staff engaged in any kind of activism."
Left wing logic: vandalism to spread left wing hatred is free expression.
Of course, if staff engage in right wing activism, that will be literal genocide so they need to be fired

FIRST READING: York University's brave fight to vandalize bookstores without consequence (for Palestine) - "200 faculty and students walked out, calling the suspensions “an effort to repress Palestine solidarity peace activism.” “Stop campus reprisals! Reinstate them NOW! Permanent ceasefire NOW!” reads the official literature for the walkout, which was organized by a “coalition of York faculty.”... social activist Naomi Klein will headline another demonstration outside Indigo to pin up additional posters and denounce what they call “police intimidation tactics against peace activists.” None of the actions are claiming that the Indigo demonstration never happened, or that the accused York University staff had nothing to do with it. Rather, the gist is that using posters and red paint to accuse a bookstore CEO of genocide is not only “legitimate and necessary,” but should be defended by York University administrators. “Many faculty members are outraged that the administration has suspended these individuals rather than defending them publicly,” York University associate professor Anna Zalik told The Canadian Press... The statement also denounced the Toronto Police for “grotesque use of inflammatory language” in accusing the alleged Nov. 10 vandalism of being connected to “hate.”... CUPE locals representing York University staff have issued multiple statements accusing Israel of “genocide” and “apartheid,”  while making no mention whatsoever of the Oct. 7 massacres that sparked the current conflict. “We remain dedicated to fighting against Canada’s own settler-colonial violence,” reads one from Oct. 18."
Vandalism is "activism". Presumably if they go to jail, this will be political persecution

Intelligence soldier's warning of invasion in July dismissed as 'imaginary' - "A non-commissioned officer (NCO) in Unit 8200 of the IDF Intelligence Directorate warned in July that Hamas was conducting large-scale exercises in preparation to invade kibbutzim, but her warnings were dismissed as an "imaginary scenario"... The NCO stated, "This is a plan designed to start a war," adding that some of the battle cries heard in the exercise were "Prepare to kill the Jewish pigs" and "prepare to go in and decapitate."... The NCO and the junior officer also shared their concerns with a senior commander from another unit who told them "these are fantasies"... In her warning the NCO stressed that based on an analysis of the operational plan of Hamas and in relation to the IDF forces present along the border, it would not be possible to the protect the towns in the area. The NCO expressed concerns that the IDF did not have an operational response to Hamas's plans, but her concerns were rejected, with intelligence officials saying that "it doesn't make sense." According to Walla, sources in the intelligence community said that the NCO saw the plan she was watching Hamas form as a possible course of action, while everyone who read her emails before the war thought they were "nonsensical" or impractical in a way that did not correspond with reality and assessments... The dismissed warnings of the NCOs and officers join additional reported warnings and alerts that were issued and ignored in the IDF and other arms of the defense establishment in the months leading up to the October 7 massacre. In recent weeks, multiple reports have been published in Israeli media detailing how IDF lookouts operating along the Gaza border repeatedly warned their commanders that they had seen unusual activity near the border and that Hamas appeared to be planning a large attack. The lookouts' concerns were dismissed and, according to N12, in at least one instance one of the lookouts went to a senior commander and was told "I don't want to hear again about this nonsense. If you all bother us again with these things, you'll be court-martialed.""

Hamas forced hostage kids to watch videos of Oct. 7 atrocities, family member says - "Hamas terrorists forced the children held in captivity to watch videos of the atrocities they carried out inside Israel on October 7, the aunt of Eitan Yahalomi, 12, told French TV following his release...   The accounts relayed by Yahalomi’s family of the horrors he endured are in direct contrast to Hamas’s attempts to portray itself as having treated the hostages humanely. Shortly after each group of hostages was transferred to the Red Cross each day, the terror group published propaganda footage of the abductees smiling and waving goodbye to their captors.  While Hamas and its supporters have claimed that the footage is proof of the humane treatment of the abducted women and children, others have pointed out that the gestures were clearly demanded by the captors and made under duress... “The most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was that she was just whispering, you couldn’t hear her. I had to put my ear on her lips,” he said. “She’d been conditioned not to make any noise.”"
Clearly, they are all crisis actors as part of the Zionist false flag

StopAntisemitism on X - "Javid Dhankwala, a Microsoft manager of 10 employees in Seattle, denies women were raped and babies murdered during the October 7th massacre in Israel.  His response was noted by fellow employees on Microsoft internal chatting platform.  Imagine being a Jewish employee working under this man."

Colin Wright on X - "50 innocent Israeli hostages in exchange for 140 terrorists. The fact that it's not 140 for 140 demonstrates how much more Israel values life compared to Hamas."

Adin - עדין on X - "The list of the 150 released prisoners just completely debunked the lie that Israel just arresting innocent Palestinian women and children who "just threw stones". Almost all the women committed stabbing or shooting attacks, Almost all the "children" were 17-18 years old men with terror affiliations. And those are supposed to be the most light charges"

Sabrina Maddeaux: Hamas murdered Vivian Silver in cold blood, but Liberals would like to pretend otherwise - "CTV News ran a story with the headline, Canadian Peace Activist Vivian Silver, Who Went Missing After Hamas Attack, Has Died — as if she had first simply wandered away from her home and taken a wrong turn, then happened to die of natural causes... That a national news outlet can’t bring itself to state the obvious — Silver was, in fact, killed by Hamas — isn’t a display of objectivity, but of how some media outlets are skewing reality in favour of a terrorist organization. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly didn’t fare any better. On Twitter, she wrote, “Vivian Silver was a proud Israeli-Canadian and lifelong advocate for peace. I met her son in Tel Aviv, and he described her as kind, generous and selfless. Canada mourns her loss with him and her loved ones.” Joly makes it sound as though Silver died peacefully in her sleep rather than being brutalized and desecrated to the point where she was literally unrecognizable. This was not simply a “loss,” this was a woman who was slaughtered for no other reason than that she was Jewish. It’s difficult to imagine Joly using similar language to commemorate victims of other terrorist attacks or mass murders. This is not the first incident of its kind on Joly’s Twitter feed, either. After Palestinian “officials,” who are in fact Hamas, claimed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital was bombed by Israel, Joly wasted little time tweeting, “Bombing a hospital is an unthinkable act, and there is no doubt that doing so is absolutely illegal.” When it emerged that not only had Israel not bombed the hospital, but the hospital wasn’t bombed at all save for its parking lot, Joly didn’t issue a correction or a new statement. She never deleted the tweet, either. Again, it’s difficult to imagine any similar scenario involving another country where the original tweet would go uncorrected and undeleted. But when it comes to Israel, the rules appear different for some on the left. As bad actors, antisemites and Hamas supporters seek to sow confusion and denial about the attacks and their aftermath, it’s more important than ever to get language right and call things what they are. Too many on the left, who love to lecture others about word choices and precise language, seem entirely unbothered about how their own word choices are now impacting both Israelis and Jews around the world."

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War | OHCHR - "The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded."
Damn war crimes!

US extremists exploit Israeli-Gaza tensions with calls for violence, hate: Experts
I like all the gaslighting, trying to pretend that it's the "far right" and "foreign actors" who are anti-Semitic

Protesters spray paint ‘Free Palestine’ on New York Public library - "The facade of the New York Public Library now reads “Free Palestine” after pro-Palestine protesters spray-painted the landmark in opposition to the war in Gaza... The New York Public Library told The Independent in a statement that it “strongly supports the right to protest.” However, the institution described the Thursday demonstration as “a shameful act of vandalism,” explaining that the cleanup will be expensive, especially as it is already “facing steep budget cuts.”... The defacement came the same day that protesters also disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade by allegedly glueing their hands to the ground in the middle of 6th Avenue."
Damn Zionists! Damn neo-liberal governments cutting library budgets!

Too much of 'wokeism' can become too much of a good thing

Too much of 'wokeism' can become too much of a good thing | The Straits Times
Being woke, or socially conscious of injustice, is a good thing. But there is nothing to be gained from hyper-vigilantly policing other people's words and thoughts, waiting to pounce on their 'mistakes'.​

The "woke" movement seems to be gaining traction among the young people of Singapore today, judging from social media comments.

This should be a matter of some concern for everyone, whether or not you identify as woke, or socially aware, and even if you have no opinion on "wokeism" whatsoever.

This is because excessive adherence to woke concepts can have rather more serious consequences than devotion to K-drama or sports teams.

The basic premise of being woke is fairly simple to understand in itself. The term "woke" has seen widespread usage in the West for some years, and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017 as: "Originally: well informed, up to date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice".

So if you are woke, your eyes are opened to various societal injustices, and you try your best not to perpetuate them and to raise awareness about them. You are also prepared to take a stand against them by, for example, censuring a friend or family member for a racist remark, or calling for policy changes on social media.

Sounds like a good thing, right?

Sure, but there can also be too much of a good thing.

Make no mistake: I wholeheartedly believe in what "wokeism" - as the woke movement is sometimes called - purports to achieve.

There is no question that I would rather live in a society that is respectful of individual differences and offers equal opportunity to all, rather than in one where discrimination and inequality are part of the status quo.

Entrenched stereotypes and biases held by the majority, the wealthy and the powerful can and often do unfairly stack the deck against minority groups.

At the same time, I cannot help but be dismayed by the toxic by-products generated by increasingly prominent strains of wokeism: conflict instead of compassion, constricted silence instead of open conversation, and far too many "truths" and not enough grace.

There are three ways, I think, by which wokeism can be taken too far and become too much of a good thing.

Firstly, it is a short slippery slope from taking a firm stand against discrimination to self-righteous bullying and ostracisation, especially when behind the veil of Internet anonymity.

So-called "cancel culture", for instance, is an extension of woke mindsets that involves denying money, attention or support for companies or people that are perceived to have offended others through what they say or do.

The underlying assumption is that if you disagree with what someone has said, you have the right to punish them, all the more so if there are enough people who agree with you.

Prominent past targets include Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, who was judged to have tweeted remarks offensive to transsexual people last June.

Closer to home, celebrity blogger Xiaxue was dropped by sponsors last year after a police report was made against her for allegedly racist remarks tweeted in 2010.

But cancel culture has also made a victim of an African-American high school security guard who lost his job in 2019 for using an African-American racial slur while telling an African-American student not to direct the word at him.

There are times to be forceful when pushing for change, but I am not sure that punishing people for innocuous remarks taken out of context can count as a victory of any kind.

If the goal is harmony and a shared respect between different groups in society, then there is nothing to be gained from hyper-vigilantly policing other people's words and thoughts, waiting to pounce on their "mistakes".

Nothing except a smug sense of moral superiority, which is used to boost one's ego or salve one's conscience. We can and should be better than this.

Secondly, there is also a slippery slope from carving out a space for all shades of identity to coexist, to enabling the weaponisation of these identities and accentuating the differences between people instead.

The question is one of degree, and I think it fair to say that there is a clear difference between offering respectful reminders on minority viewpoints, and aggressively thrusting said viewpoints in the face of people who may not even be about to offend you.

One is needful, the other, at best, self-indulgent and entitled.

For example, I am a Chinese male and also a left-handed twin with a predilection for miniature schnauzers and extremely long novels.

Suppose I live in a matriarchal society of a certain culture, where being a Chinese male is a stigmatised minority.

If someone who loves miniature schnauzers strikes up a conversation with me, then the similarity is naturally what we focus on and how we relate to each other.

I don't have to force him or her to relate to me as a Chinese male, or to acknowledge the discrimination I may feel lifelong as a Chinese male, especially if they are neither Chinese nor male and doing so only makes them uncomfortably aware of how we are different.

Multiply this uncomfortable awareness a thousand times for every person we might have to communicate with across just one year, and you get an idea of how divisive a rigid overemphasis on certain aspects of identity can be.

What we will end up with, in the worst case scenario, is a society carved into thousands of pockets of micro-identities, each virulently hostile to all others for the simple crime of being different.

We are all made of composite identities. While being woke sensitises us to injustice, being human and considerate also teaches us to emphasise common identities, not always pick at differentiated ones.

Thirdly, the strong emotions aroused by wokeism can equally be harnessed to effect genuine change or be exploited to serve the agenda of malicious, opportunistic individuals.

Last week, the Capitol Hill riots in the United States demonstrated just how much damage an emotional mob can do to a hallowed societal institution when incited by a sufficiently powerful and unscrupulous person.

Young people attracted to woke ideas must be alert to the possibility that their good intentions can turn rancid.

The irony is that, at its most pernicious, wokeism can become exactly what it says it is fighting - an ideological sledgehammer that brooks no dissent and creates a new unthinking binary between those who are woke, and those who are not. Wokeism at its worst creates a new in-group and out-group.

Sensible woke people understand this and exercise their social consciousness with consideration, and do not demand that others come on board the journey immediately, or leave the vessel.

I doubt I am alone in being sceptical and a little worried about the excesses of the woke movement and would encourage those with similar concerns to voice them.

If not, we are tacitly allowing the more vocal and extreme adherents of wokeism to shape and dominate discourse just because they are willing to be louder, to the point that their message becomes the only message.

And if that is what being woke means, then I would much rather stay asleep.


Related:

Jason Wong (mirror)

"Many of you know that I initiated a national social movement - the Yellow Ribbon Project - with the aim to educate the public on the plight of ex-offenders and eliminate such prejudices against them. I am glad that as a result of this social movement, many in society have become ‘woke’, and many of our ex-offenders have found second chances and are now living meaningful and purposeful lives...

Applying this to the Yellow Ribbon Project, extreme wokeism may look like this: someone may blame the tough drug laws for the plight of ex-drug addicts and argue for the legalisation of recreational drugs as the way to help drug addicts. Or he may lay the blame fully on employers and discriminatory practices when ex-offenders can’t find employment instead of the unwillingness of some of these ex-offenders to take on lower paying jobs or going for re-skilling to enhance their job search opportunities.
 
Applying this to a hot button issue in society – LGBTQ – may be food for thought. I agree with many that we should not discriminate against anyone, including those who identify as LGBTQ, for they too are human beings that should be treated with dignity and respect. However, recent episodes have led me to see how the cancel culture is driven by some from the LGBTQ community, and those who are sympathetic and “woke”. Let me explain. 
 
LGBTQ persons who do not agree with the views of the LGBTQ activists are increasingly being bullied and cancelled. A growing number of people have shared their stories on Truelove.is about how they have chosen to “come home” and leave their past behind. They shared how they overcame their depression, mistakes and wrong choices, and are now living happier and healthier lives.
 
However, not everyone shares their joy. Some people have worked together to have Facebook ban TrueLove.Is’ sponsored posts so that the stories of overcomers cannot be promoted (see link in Comment). Others are pressuring the Government to ban the professional, and (for some) spiritual, help that have benefited these overcomers. Banning such support will deprive those who need help from receiving the help that they desire.
 
Such behaviour (or rather misbehaviour) by these ‘wokeists’ reminds me of my previous season as a prison officer. When members from the “Sah Lak Kau” or “Sio Kun Tong” want to leave their gangs (which, to many of them, is the only community that they identify with), most would be ostracised. Some have to pay a high price before they are allowed to do so. Amongst those who remain in the gang, some are quietly wishing that they were brave enough to leave too.
 
I know of LGBTQ persons who are attracted to what the overcomers are sharing, just that they are too afraid of being cancelled by their own community. They are deprived of opportunities to explore what they deem to be a healthier and more joyful life. And this does not only affect LGBTQ persons, but also the people around them who care for them – their spouse and family members.
 
Every one of us play a part in culture, whether we stay silent or whether we speak up. I encourage us to speak up against extreme wokeism; just because some people are willing to be louder does not mean that other voices should not be heard. Let’s speak up respectfully and honour one another, and together we can enable our society to thrive for generations."