Transphobia row leaves Scottish poetry scene in turmoil

[Boiler 46,121]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/05/transphobia-row-leaves-scottish-poetry-scene-in-turmoil

 

There was a pretty impressive report yesterday? about a Court Case involving the person who gave birth to a child wanting to be registered as the father, I gave that one a miss, however this one I could not.

 

A bitter conflict is escalating in the Scottish literary scene with the Scottish Poetry Library (SPL) standing accused of “institutional transphobia” after it said that it would not support “bullying and calls for no-platforming of writers”.

The organisation – an influential part of Scotland’s thriving poetry scene – released its statement in February after what it described as an “escalation, particularly on social media, of disharmony” and an increase in writers being no-platformed at literary events. It stressed that the statement was to encourage freedom of expression and was not tied to a specific incident, but, speaking to the National, SPL director Asif Khan said that these issues had affected the mental health of some unnamed poets, claiming some had become suicidal.

 

On Wednesday, more than 200 writers including author Lionel Shriver and comedian Graham Linehan put their names to an open letter of support for the “unequivocal stance” of the SPL: “From universities to arts organisations, libraries and government departments, the no-platforming and bullying of anyone holding views not actively endorsing extreme gender ideology is destroying our cultural life,” says the letter, although the SPL had mentioned not gender. “Scotland has always been an example of progressiveness in arts, education and culture, and we are proud that the first stand against this aggressive chilling of intellectual debate and thought has been taken by Scotland’s national poetry library.”

The writers of Wednesday’s open letter say that many of them have been forced to sign the letter anonymously or under pseudonyms because “we are afraid for our reputations, our jobs, our livelihoods … This is how deeply this ideology has already travelled, that to speak against it is a danger,” they write.

[Dashinka 24,799]

Fascism seems to be running rampant in the "Woke" community.

[Boiler 46,121]

For some reason the connection with a Scottish Poetry Society tickled my funny bone, probably the mental picture it produced is not accurate.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

Why is it every picture I see of Asif Khan looks like he's just been worked on by Sean Hannity's makeup artist?

 

A more serious question.. are Scots more open to free expression? (as in, is this view more the norm or is it more a rarity)

 

I kinda assumed that the English no-platforming/PC police culture had extended to the rest of Britain. 

 

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

For some reason the connection with a Scottish Poetry Society tickled my funny bone, probably the mental picture it produced is not accurate.

The woke left are basically creating massive rifts between themselves and liberals, trying to wield the mighty "transphobia" cudgel to try and forcefully compel others to their viewpoints. You see that as well with liberal feminists being derided as "TERFs" because they don't accept that men are women.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds

[Boiler 46,121]

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft a-gley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain For promis'd joy.

 

Some hae meat and canna eat, -- And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.

 

O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us. (O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us.)

 

Not something I think that Robbie Burns had to deal with, maybe there is a connection due to the kilt?

 

I had always assumed that the Scots would be less receptive to this sort of stuff, more likely to put someone in their place who tried it, but I am sure it gets everywhere.

[laylalex 7,300]

Thank you for posting this. I am in a pre-coffee haze and will need to read that Guardian piece. My own experience of Scotland is very much limited to the Southern Highlands, presumably v different from Edinburgh and Glasgow.