The Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, who co-created the unforgettable character Father Ted, has been persecuted for years now over his opinion that nobody can change sex, that transwomen aren't women, and that sexual self-identification is a nonsense. As a result of his stance, he has lost lucrative work, become financially destitute, and has seen his marriage collapse.
Just this week his scheduled appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was cancelled because of his views on transgender. The venue Leith Arches said that "his views do not align with our overall values." Whatever that means.
It's incredible and shocking that in the year 2023 someone's opinions can be ruthlessly monitored and they can be victimised and censured simply for having an opinion that differs from the prevailing view.
Who gives these fanatical activists the right to act as thought police? Why don't they realise that what they're doing is outrageous? And why aren't more people speaking up and saying this is unacceptable behaviour?
It's beside the point whether you agree with Graham Linehan's opinions or not. What matters is that there's a long tradition of freedom of speech in Britain and suddenly that tradition is being relentlessly trampled on.
PS: He performed in front of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday evening.
Pic: Graham Linehan
Nick I do know nothing about this Graham Linehan, but sorry to say that his opinion is narrow-minded and stubborn. Did he ever heard of hermaphrodite persons who decide to keep their double sexual signs and are for god sake no more operated immediately after their birth? May I ask you why you seem so much concerned by this transgender subject , as it is not the first time you write about it. I cannot take the place of transgender persons , what they feel etc. ,so why this Graham somebody has the right to certify what's about their gender condition.You decided to have no children and would certainly not accept if someone says that Jenny is not a real woman because her body is there to procreate and you are perfectly right if doing so.. So these transgender people have in my eyes the right tp protest.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Clearly we have very different views on this subject. I don't think Graham Linehan is certifying anything or anybody. He is only expressing his own opinion, which happens to differ from the prevailing view of trans people. He's not causing anyone any harm, unlike those trans bullies who try to crush and destroy anyone with alternative views.
DeleteAs for why I'm so concerned about the subject, I'm not prepared to explain publicly but I have very good reasons for my interest.
Nick no problem about different views on this subject. I do not know much about public life and opinions in Ireland concerning transgender and I apologize for my question concerning your interest in this subject.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: I have an idea. If you post a comment at 6 pm your time (5 pm my time) with your email address, I'll note the address and delete the comment. Then I can explain myself to you properly.
DeleteNick , never mind. Only my husband has a professional e mail. I do not comment or write on other blogs, only on yours because your subjects are always interesting , clear and speak to me.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: Thanks for the compliment. Hopefully my posts will continue to be interesting!
DeleteNick, I just read about G.Lineham , well he is an
ReplyDeleteanti transgender activist and in a certain way a sexist and makes money in his shows or comedy episodes about this subject by making in my eyes strange jokes Do.not.like this guy.Well I await for your readers and see their comments and I defend always the idea "respect" first.
Hannah
Hannah: I've never seen his comedy act so I can't comment on it. But I agree, respect is the key when talking to other people.
DeleteNick, where to start?
ReplyDeleteThought police. Only last night the Angel and I were talking about free speech. Don't ask. Even my own father (and my brother) curtail what I am allowed to say. What subjects (not) to bring up. Whether to copy in other family members. On threat of my emails being trashed (spam/deleted/you name it). Whatever next? Scanning my bookshelves? Setting fire to them?
It's shameful.
Anyway, never mind. That's their thought funeral not mine. Disappointing. It happens. Main thing to keep one's equilibrium.
Transgender? It is a difficult subject. Fact is, you are born either male or female. Sure, a cocktail of conflicting hormones may cause confusion. However, I have no time for, say, trans swimmers (male) taking part in female swimming contests. Yes, you may feel feminine on the spectrum; nevertheless, god/nature/whatever gave you that upper body strength that women don't have. Unfair advantage. Hollow victory.
I am not sure whether I am totally on subject you raised, Nick. Even I occasionally miss the point. If so, forgive me. And don't be shy to correct me. No thought police here. I don't even have a holding cell.
U
Ursula: Indeed, trans sport competitors born male will always have a physical advantage over born females, even if they're swimming in female hormones. And yes, if you feel "feminine" that doesn't make you a female, only a man with a feminine identity.
DeleteUrsula , male or female ? In Germany there are more than 10 000 known hermaphrodite and a high number born with not defined genital signs. I'm 77 years old and really surprised how much most people defend harshly the idea of female and male. This permanent distinction creates trouble in our societies. You are a man and feel yourself as a woman let it be. Why our society has to judge and bring up theories concerning these people feelings. We always speak for others, about Africa, about all countries without asking the concerned nations . All this makes me angry.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: I think a lot of people still confuse sexual/biological identity (male or female) with gender stereotypes about expected behaviour for your sex. It's the gender stereotypes that cause so much trouble, not whether you're male or female.
DeleteIt’s indeed frightening that free speech is now being threatened universally. Mature adults should be able to voice differing opinions. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for medical professionals and those in the psychology field today.
ReplyDeleteI saw something funny online the other day. A woman said she now identifies as a family of 4 . . . because she can eat an entire box of Kraft macaroni and cheese (you might need to be American to get the humor).
Bijoux: I suspect health professionals, like many others, are keeping their heads down and pretending to go along with the trans bandwagon in order to keep out of trouble. Yes, I think I get the joke - nice one!
DeleteThey have been doing this kind of thing for years now, in many countries. They demand respect, but offer none. Often they use outright violence and threats -- see the attack on Kellie-Jay Keen in New Zealand, for example. The fundamental weakness of their position is revealed by their bullying tactics. Those who have solid arguments have no need to resort to such. When the cause you're upholding includes men invading women's sports, housing male sex criminals in women's prisons, yelling and screaming at people who refuse to pretend a man is a woman, and surgically mutilating gullible teenagers, you can't tolerate letting your critics have a say in public.
ReplyDeleteThe use of thuggery to silence opponents is one of the defining features of the trans ideology. They are the Brownshirts of today.
Infidel: As you say, if you have solid arguments or beliefs you have no need of bullying tactics. Do churchgoers need to bully and persecute atheists? No, because they're comfortable with their own beliefs. The comparison with the Nazi Storm Troopers is very apt.
DeleteNick , please what a crazy comparison. I'm shocked. Members of my Jewish family where arrested and killed by the Nazi troopers , so I do not like at all when people get out their small knowledge they learnt in history lessons.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: Sorry if I upset you. Perhaps a rather extreme comparison, but what I was referring to was the ruthless persecution of "undesirable" individuals. As for history lessons, as far as I remember I was never taught anything about WW2, the Nazi atrocities, the Storm Troopers or the Holocaust. I had to discover all that later on.
DeleteThe Brownshirts (as opposed to the Nazis more generally) were specifically known for beating up opponents and violently disrupting opponents' meetings. The comparison with the modern trans movement is thus quite apt. Eventually even Hitler came to consider the Brownshirts a threat, and purged their leaders soon after he came to power.
DeleteInfidel: Thanks for that. The comparison is not as outlandish as it may seem.
DeleteNick , I have a problem when people cf infidel753 start to compare events concerning persons they do not agree, with the 3rd Reich. During the Covid restrictions right winged extremists get out with a yellow Jew star on their clothes. I'm sorry but I just cannot accept those things. I think we still live in democraties and should not be tempted by old demons.
DeleteHannah
I am not obsessed by Jewish life and as you know my husband is a Palestinian , to marry hin was a real challenge 50 years ago. But as I am a Jew and have a traumatic famly story I have a problem when people speak about things that really cannot imagine..That's why I understand ipartly Transgender people .
DeleteHannah
Hannah: I wouldn't for a second identify with right-wing extremists, or with Jew-haters. If they're what you mean by old demons, I'm not tempted by them.
DeleteHannah: Sure, there are levels of suffering I can barely imagine, but that doesn't mean I don't sympathise or do whatever I can to prevent such suffering in the future.
DeleteOur elementary age great nieces and nephew are deciding what gender they want to be. I think, for them, it's a fad rather than an identity. Of the three we have a they, an it, and a him (born female.) While I believe it is true that some people can feel wrong that young, I don't think that is the case for them. Which worries me a bit. But, it is not my place to express that to the parents or the kids. So, I'll just watch from the sidelines with interest to see if they stick with those choices.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: There's been such an explosion of young people claiming to be trans, there has to be an element of faddishness or social imitation. And why do people need "preferred pronouns"? Why can't they just be what they want to be, without playing around with language?
DeleteI don't care what someone else does with their body or if they want to call themselves something. What I do have a problem with is others wanting me to change what I call myself or have to agree with their thinking. You do you and let me do me.
ReplyDeleteMary: I totally agree. Yes, just let people be what they want to be, and not what someone else wants them to be.
DeleteThat's exactly the issue. If somebody wants to pretend he's a giraffe, that's a harmless quirk. If he want to force everybody else to pretend he's a giraffe, that's a huge problem.
DeleteInfidel: Precisely.
DeleteWhy are we listening to these people? A tiny minority feeling empowered to bully, harass and physically intimidate those who do not share their views of themselves. I blame HR departments, too worried about covering the institution's backs in possible discrimination claims...and I blame the courts for total laxity in deciding such claims, while health professionals should be charged with
ReplyDeleteGBH for mutilating children. You note it is the men who claim to be women who are responsible for the majority of these offences.....here comes the patriarchy in a frock.
Well said!
DeleteFly: Indeed, so many people in a position to stop this nonsense once and for all, but who sit on their hands and pretend everything's fine.
DeleteI have a pile to say on this subject (as you well know, Nick) and am horrified at the actual death threats being levied against Stock, Joyce and JK Rowling, etc for being so clear and concise on the harm that this transgender movement is doing to women.
ReplyDeleteJails are infested with these fake women raping female inmates.
Rape Crisis Centres and Women's Refuges are no longer safe.
Women's bathrooms are now invaded, I have backed away from some as I don't feel safe, imagine how a girl child feels.
Locker rooms.
Female sports are slowly being taken over by males and the caricatures/parodies/"performance" of women turn my stomach. You don't see these impersonators sans excessive makeup and wearing sensible shoes.
The damage to children being fed puberty blockers just because the father doesn't want his son to be gay and would rather he be "female" chills me. And the fact that transgenders now attach themselves to the gay movement (my gay friends are horrified) is repugnant.
That's enough for now.
XO
WWW
www: As you say, more and more women's facilities and activities being infiltrated by males. And yes, the trans activists have attached themselves to the gay community to appear more legitimate. I do admire J K Rowling for persistently standing up for common sense and refusing to be intimidated by the trans militants.
DeleteNick, referring to a fairy tale writer is for me not the example to chose. Her "common sense" needs a bit more knowledge. She should keep silent and stick to Harry Potter which in our family has no place.
DeleteHannah
Nick, I hope you will forgive me for replying to Anonymous, but, Anonymous, I am disturbed by your reaction to the comparison of the aggressive trans activists with the Brownshirts. I understand fully that, given your family history, you cannot possibly have any emotional distance from the events , but you should not assume that others know nothing of the persecution of Jews - and of communists, trade unionists and homosexuals - in that period. A movement achieving its aims by violence describes both Brownshirts and transactivists in my view.
DeleteOn J.K. Rowling in my opinion her books are meretricious trash, but her books are distinct from her views on the trans issue. Why should you assume that she has insufficient knowledge of the problem?
Mon nom est Hannah et pas anonyme et je n'ai pas très envie d'ouvrir une polémique sur la question des transgenders . Je ne vous permets pas de supposer que je ne puisse pas avoir une distance émotionelle face aux événements de ma famille.et de mon judaisme. .que je ne pratique pas. Mon mari est Palestinien et cela depuis 50 ans. Je donne mon opinion sur un sujet et je commente sur le blog de Nick. Comme vous parlez certainement très bien la langue française vous pouvez traduire à Nick ce que j'ai dit.
DeleteBonjour Hannah,
DeletePermettez-moi de suggérer que le langage utilisé dans vos contributions sur le sujet montre bien clairement vos opinions sur la question transgenre et aussi sur les effets du traitement de votre famille dans l'Allemagne des années trente.
S'il vous plaît, comprenez que je trouve désagréable d'accuser les gens d'ignorer les faits alors que vous ne vous souciez pas de la comparaison qu'ils font entre la Sturmabteilung et les militants trans agressifs.
Je dois m'excuser si mon français est rouillé... Je ne l'ai pas utilisé depuis une quinzaine d'années... mais je suis intrigué que vous pensiez que je devrais maîtriser la langue.
Bonjour fly, si vous considerez que la SA était une des branches de la NSDAP . je trouve hallucinant de comparer les actions des activists transgender avec l'idéologie de la SA. Il serait plus intelligent de s'interroger pourquoi les minorités doivent parfois faire usage d'une certaine violence . J'ai lu un jour sur votre blog , il y a très longtemps, que vous avez passé de longues années en France et votre français est toujours excellent. I will stop to comment on Nick's blog in French ,even if German and French are my two mothertongues and it's more difficult to express my opinions in English.
DeleteHannah
Yes, Hannah, i agree, best to remain in English as the blog is English language based. I do understand about expressing oneself in a language which is acquired rather than native...as a long term expat -or immigrant - I do feel that it hampers one. French comes back to me, though, while I still struggle to express myself in the minutiae of things in Spanish.
DeleteI quite agree, at some point a minority has no other way but violence - but against the state. My father was involved in the Red Clyde movement between the wars when tanks were brought in to subdue popular revolt and the people fought back.
The comparison with the S.A. and the trans activists seems to me to lie here....both elements operate with the consent of the police...with the consent, however tacit, of the state. Legitimised violence.
I'm all for giving trans people recognition and I didn't know there were so many problems with it.
ReplyDeleteI do have issues with cancel culture and I think the people doing the cancelling have failed to recognise that we all are a hodge podge of good and bad
Kylie: I think a lot of people have never properly thought through what all the transgender demands mean for women's rights and single-sex facilities. They're being undermined left, right and centre.
DeleteHannah and Fly: Thanks for your French comments. My French is pretty rusty but I understood most of it.
ReplyDelete