If Marion Millar’s case were getting any real press coverage, feminists of every shade would be spazzing out over it.
One young Englishwoman stumbled upon it, and her conscience demanded she say something… Even if her understanding of politics obscured exactly what.
I’m just gonna sit down right here and have a good, hard think!
The Authentic Observer is my new favorite YouTube channel. YouTube has pretty much become my TV, I’ve somehow even managed to recreate my middle school viewing habits of bouncing between The History Channel, VH1 and A&E.
The Authentic Observer focuses on literature and culture. Galatea – TAO‘s young writer, director, editor, costume designer and star – gave herself burnout at the end of last year birthing a Halloween video that is truly a work of art. Her posts have been pared down and less frequent since then.
[Edit: I meant to link the Halloween video, but it’s disappeared. She mentioned worrying about the follow-ups she promised, but I hope she reconsiders and puts this one back up. It really struck me, and I’m just glad I watched it twice!]
So, no way I was gonna miss her latest video, what’s happened to free speech? The lack of capitalization shows the flare of a passionate imperative.
Libfem Freakout
“I feel compelled to talk about this. I normally script my videos, this is very unscripted. I’m not gonna really edit it, either.” She devotes the first 1:26 to apologizing for the video, “I just felt like I wanted to talk about this, and kind of wanted to talk about it now.”
“So, I just heard about this case, and I found it incredibly shocking.” The emphatic urge to speak up pushed Galatea to hit record, even though she’s not sure what she wants to say. Making it public is a small but passionate act of defiance.
“I kind of feel like it should be all over the news in this country, and it’s not. And I also have a suspicion that this is gonna be really controversial, um, which… I mean it might not be, but I feel like it probably will be, which is something that I would find very confusing.
“I don’t think this necessarily should be controversial.” Perhaps the lack of coverage is part of what gives her this impression?
At the 2:00 mark, she finally feels safe enough to tell us what’s going on. “Marion Millar … she’s facing, potentially, up to two years in prison, for tweets.
“And I’ll talk about the content of the tweets, which, like, I just wanna make it clear as well, this video’s not really about the tweets and whether or not I agree with them, or whether or not, you know…” women are full human beings, and all that.
“I feel like that is kind of irrelevant to this, to be honest.” I mean, yeah, it definitely should be.
Galatea sure seems to wish Marion’s words didn’t mean anything. She also seems to understand on some level what this is really about, but every time she’s about to turn that corner she stops and redirects herself.
“I just feel that, unless you are directly threatening someone, or directly calling for violence, um… you shouldn’t be facing prison time for tweets, however offensive they are. I’m sorry if that’s controversial, I don’t think that used to be controversial.” Not old enough to remember the Before Time, relying on the accounts of others is the Twentysomething’s dirty secret.
The benefit of being a little older is, I know that Galatea is correct.
I’ve been counting cards this whole time, hon!
“I don’t know why, it seems to be over the last few years, that it’s become a dirty word to be for free speech. And people seem to project… If you support free speech, people are accusing people of that being a dog whistle for the Alt-Right.
“If you support free speech, that’s just you saying you want to hate people and you’re, like, an anti-liberal. Which I find really ridiculous.”
Right again. I wonder if the question of Why will inspire her to do further research.
Because she dances very close to the flame here, “Why is the Left giving free speech away? It just doesn’t really compute in my brain.” Because they’re about as Leftist as I am English; Probably somewhere back in the mists of time, but it’s been so long they have forgotten what any of it means.
“Why are you giving it to the Alt-Right? Surely that should be a fundamental liberal right.” Neoliberalism is just an update of Classical Liberalism from the 18th century, when ordinary citizens amassing their own wealth was a new thing.
Freedom of speech was a dangerous idea that the Free Market found to be unprofitable a long time ago. Discrediting it would leave us with only official sources for information. That’s the bedrock of authoritarianism in all its forms.
And Marion Millar’s case lights up this black hole of modern liberal hypocrisy. “From what I understand, she’s been charged for a lot of different tweets, most of the tweets relate to the trans movement.”
Galatea describes Marion’s photo of the Suffragette ribbon. “As I said before, the question of whether that’s offensive is kind of irrelevant. And whether or not she’s being horrible to trans people…” This would be the part that’s actually irrelevant.
“Again, I’m not saying people can’t be criticized for things like that,” Galatea is careful to let us know she is a nice girl, because she doesn’t want her society to reject her, too.
Oh shit, this old dress fits great! But I could never wear it anywhere…
“But to face up to two years in prison…” She trails off into fragments, unable to complete this thought. “It’s implied in the tweet, anyway… for when did people tweeting implied things… I just think it’s… yeah.”
“I’m really shocked,” at the idea that the ribbon looks like a noose. “I think that’s a bit of a stretch. It is… possible… that that is… is what the message was… I really doubt it, though.”
Galatea tries to square the circle, but she can see the pieces don’t fit. Even still, she feels the need to couch a very straightforward objection in opinion: “I think that’s kind of a loose interpretation, which I think is a dangerous way to interpret the law.“
“I know there’s more tweets, but… and the point being, again, I really wanna clarify, I really wanna make this clear – Whether or not her tweets were offensive is kind of beside the point.” Generally, yes. But Galatea can’t address it anyway, because she really, really wants us to know that she’s not badmouthing the trans movement.
“I just happen to think that, in a free society, people have a right to be offensive.” The blunt truth of this causes a small short-circuit, and she redirects herself again.
She has the right to be offensive, but she’s not comfortable using it. Or, maybe her society isn’t free.
“The other thing is, do trans people want this? I can’t imagine that they do!” Who do you think has been brow-beating the authorities to interpret the law this way? Two words: Mermaids and Stonewall.
“I mean, maybe some trans people do, but… I don’t know. I could be wrong, but I can’t imagine that… I mean, they all have different opinions on this, most likely, and taking offense at that’s a different thing, but I can’t imagine…
“Would most trans people want someone to go to prison for tweeting out offensive things? That’s not to say that they can’t find it hugely offensive and criticize her for it, but…” this has gone too far.
Her eyes go blank for a second or two, then she comes right back to the nitty-gritty of it: “The mother of two young autistic children is facing two years in prison because she tweeted an image of a suffragette women – “
I triple-checked this Freudian slip. She meant to say ‘ribbon,’ of course, but I have to wonder if this isn’t the true subject of her rant peeking through.
Lemme adjust this, it’s coming in a little too clear!
” – and is criticizing trans people… whatever your opinions are on that…” She rallies herself a bit and the next words come out strong, “How is that grounds for prison? What is going on in Scotland??”
Galatea tells us the point of her video is the linked petition to change the statute. But she already reminded us that interpretation is 9/10 of the law.
She seems to go through all five stages of grief trying to absorb the facts of the case. Her mind races and her mouth struggles to keep up. “I’m really getting worked up about this … It’s just tyrannical. You can’t convict people for free speech.
“I just don’t see how it can be anything other than… like, it’s just tyrannical.” Preach! “I think it’s just tyrannical and authoritarian.” Galatea is very sharp. The younger half of my generation fill me with hope.
“Would most trans people, in the case of Marion Millar, want her to go to prison?” Another excellent question. You’d think the media would be tripping over themselves to sell ad time for this one.
Unless, of course, the answer to Galatea’s question is a bit politically incorrect. “I think it’s kind of doing them and their movement a disservice, by painting them as authoritarian.” Yeah. Funny, that.
“If you don’t support people’s right to be offensive, then you don’t support free speech.” And someone who doesn’t support free speech is not someone who should be in charge of anything. I thought we all agreed on this a long time ago, too, Galatea.
She is totally flabbergasted. This young woman is in utter disbelief how her country, which glorifies the ‘law and order’ they brought to the world, has come to this. And she didn’t see it coming.
Liberal feminism as a whole is speeding down this same dead-end road. This confrontation of ideas is being delayed by the so-called ‘thought leaders’ on the so-called ‘left,’ who can only repackage tired mantras so many times before they wear through.
As pushback has grown, gender activism has shed layers of subtlety. When ‘TERF’ started losing its punch, the rhetoric was stepped up to accusations of white supremacy. Because TERFs are Nazis, right?
But those layers also shrouded it and protected it from the harsh glare of logic.
Who’s Driving This Train?
“The so-called ‘gender critical’ movement is a radical anti-trans movement with ties to far-right organizations like the Heritage Foundation. Indeed, it is a hate group that (predictably enough) engages in precisely the kind of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorizing that one associates with QAnon, probably the closest US equivalent to the UK GCs”
So wrote Grace Lavery this week, one of the few besides Galatea commenting on the Scottish Government’s startling test of our freedoms. Lavery is a TIM married to a TIF called Daniel. And, if that weren’t enough reality-bending, Daniel took Grace’s name, pronouns be damned.
An Associate English Professor at UC Berkley, Lavery is credited as, “the most followed transgender scholar in the world on social media.” Lavery is also English, originally from Birmingham. In his UC Berkley professional statement, he says, “My work in trans feminist studies is focused on the belief that transition works; that it is truly possible to change sex.” A strange focus for someone listed as specializing in Victorian literature and culture!
The Thought Leader continues, “I have been involved in anti-cop politics for a long time, and do not support the arrest.” Such a relief!
“Indeed, I imagine that most trans people I know are equally opposed to the use of the police state to apparently safeguard our interests.” Not gonna bother to actually ask them, though? Other people’s opinions don’t seem to interest him much.
But I’m sure his dedication to the cause is why he wrote this post, demanding The Guardian pull one of the only mainstream sources on Marion Millar’s case. That’ll teach those cops!
No comment from Grace on whether he supports prison time for Tweets.
Honey, did you proofread this??
I can’t know how well Galatea is acquainted with Grace’s musings, but these ideas have seeped into just about every corner of mainstream culture on both sides of the pond following a direct effort by busybody academics just like him.
And Miller’s case spotlights the elephant in the ladies’ room – Not only has trans rights hijacked both feminism and the gay rights movement, women remain the only underprivileged group without specific government protections in many countries.
Attack a black man because he’s black? That’s a Hate Crime. Beat up a kid just for being gay? That’s a Hate Crime.
Hurt a woman just for being a woman at the wrong place at the wrong time? Oh, they’re having a domestic. Best stay out of it, I’m sure they’ll settle it between themselves.
In the US, it’s technically illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sex. Or, at least, it was until a few months ago. But the Equal Rights Amendment has been languishing for over 40 years.
The only case to invoke sexism in recent memory was a fellow who felt his employer forbidding him to wear dresses was discrimination.
Women are often treated as lesser in our daily lives, but it’s seldom been taken seriously by the law. #MeToo exists because we need a political movement to say, ‘Don’t rape us!’
How many do you suppose #MeToo missed? If us Mean Old Feminists had our way, a lot of what many consider normal male behavior would suddenly be criminalized. The enforcement logistics alone would be mind-boggling.
And who polices the police? My confidence in them is not exactly surging lately.
We live in a house of lies!
Galatea resists falling into this dark place. Her focus on the ‘right to offend’ isn’t wrong, but even the best law is subject to interpretation.
She compares Millar’s case to a conviction from a few years ago, where a man taught his girlfriend’s dog to do a Nazi salute to upset her. Details are few, but the bare fact of women’s rights being compared to Nazis in official precedent tells the tale.
Why we consider certain things offensive needs to be discussed!
Libfems are quickly running out of time to decide whether TWAW, or if Radfems have a point. The question will have to be asked, ‘Do I really support prison for tweets?’
New battle lines are going to be drawn. ‘Be Kind’ just isn’t cutting it anymore, and young women like Galatea are going to have to reckon with their conscience after all.
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